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City considers joint library with M State
Published 07:28 a.m., November 6, 2009
The Fergus Falls City Council has not ruled out a possible library partnership with M State, though some local officials question whether a shared facility is a feasible option.
Council members met in a work session Monday to discuss the potential for a local joint-use library — a facility that serves two distinct user groups and is governed cooperatively. In this case the partnership would be between M State and the city of Fergus Falls, which is considering ways to expand or relocate the public library.
“At this point we’re in a process of discovery,” said M State Provost Anna Wasescha, who spoke before the council.
Joint-use libraries are becoming increasingly popular in states like Colorado and Florida, Wasescha said. Partners in these projects must have a clear sense of their goals and be able to identify a shared mission, she said. A successful joint-use library provides a broader array of resources to patrons than if the user groups were working separately.
David Barton served as director of Viking Library System in the 1980s and is the current dean of Minnesota’s only university/public joint-use library. That facility is the result of a partnership between Metropolitan State University and the St. Paul Public Library, which opened a joint-use library in 2004.
The facility is located along a main thoroughfare on the university’s St. Paul campus, Barton said. Planners showed a commitment to community engagement from the start, intending the building to be a center for community-based learning.
“That was a key factor in why this partnership has worked,” Barton said.
Though they share the same building, the academic and public libraries function largely independently. The public library leases space from the university and controls their own area, from staffing to materials to hours of operation.
Wasescha said Monday she did not know whether or not a shared Fergus Falls facility would need to be located on the M State campus. The college could ask for capital improvement dollars from the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU) system, though it’s unclear how much of the project MnSCU would cover if those dollars were awarded.
Peg Werner, current director of Viking Library System, said she believes MnSCU would fund only the college portion of a joint-use facility. That money could be a long time coming — as many as 10 years from the time of the request.
M State is not ideal as a location for a public library, in part because of accessibility issues, Werner said. The Minnesota State Library Board would dislike the location, she said, and a college site may make it more difficult for planners to obtain library bonding dollars.
Back in St. Paul, Barton said he was surprised to learn Fergus Falls officials were considering a joint-use facility, as he believes adding on to the current library building makes the most sense.
That’s what some library staff have said, too, though they’re willing to consider other options. At Monday’s meeting, Sara Thronsedt, president of the Friends of the Fergus Falls Public Library, said a joint-use facility “is something we should keep on the table. I don’t think we should discard anything.”
A next step would be to form a committee to explore a potential partnership, Wasescha said.
“I think if we do the hard work required we could find some kind of agreement that would help us do more together than we could apart,” she said.
The city council did not take any action on the proposed facility Monday. The group is scheduled to meet in another work session Nov. 16 to discuss the library and law enforcement projects.
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The Daily Journal is happy to host community conversations about news and life in Fergus Falls and the surrounding area. As hosts, we expect guests will show respect for each other. That means we don't threaten or defame each other, and we keep conversations free of personal attacks. Those who persist with racist, defamatory or abusive postings risk losing the privilege to post. To post a comment you will need to register. Or, if you're already registered but have not included your true, verifiable identity with your registration, you will need to update your account to include your identity. Effective Dec. 1, 2009, all posts appear with the commenter's true identity, which must be verified by site staff. Those who registered prior to Dec. 1, 2009, should be aware that once you update your information with your true identity, all prior posts under your user name will also indicate your true identity. If you do not wish to link yourself to prior comments, you should register again with a different user name.Posted by metasonics (Jamie Cooper) on November 6, 2009 at 9:28 a.m. (Suggest removal)
perhaps we should utilize the state funds matching options as has been repeatedly suggested by library staff?
as I recall the justification for having a "municipal" liquor monopoly was to fund the public library.
when voters voted against diverting those funds into building the bigwood events center and the city council threw the communities opinions away to build it anyway, they created a funding gap for our public library.
we should throw out the city councils shameful and underhanded ice arena vote based on the fact it was never voted on by the public nor properly debated, nor properly researched in advance of the final incompetent decision, and instead, hold a referendum prioritizing funding options for our public library, new law enforcement facilities, acceptable citywide water pressure, and sensible researched possibilities with confirmed numbers for the Ice arena. the city councils failures to take advantage of already existing state allocated funds matching programs to fund our library is so obscene, the words escape me to properly debase. to support a new hockey arena over proper police facilities is tantamount to abandoning a successful and fulfilling career in order to get drunk at a hockey game.
and if the residents succeed in their boycotts against the council members who ramrodded this issue through, my comparison may not just be a parable.
people of Fergus falls, Arise and make your voices be heard!
Posted by FFWoman (anonymous) on November 6, 2009 at 11:07 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I really don't want to see the city library moved to the M State campus. It is not centrally located for those of us who are not college students. It wouldn't be within walking distance for the majority of users, making accessing it difficult for those who don't drive. The current site was chosen because of the accessability to the users. Let's keep it where it is, close to downtown and the schools.
Posted by bjensen (anonymous) on November 6, 2009 at 12:28 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I think is's crazy to duplicate services in any city with the budget the way it is.
Some towns have combined the local library with the school library and that has saved a lot of $$. It may be a little more difficult but we need to save our tax dollars any way we can.
Posted by battlelake102 (anonymous) on November 6, 2009 at 12:28 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Funny isn't it how it might take 10 years to find the funds for a library, but we "found" $4 million for the hockey palace in just a couple of weeks?
Posted by BobWilliams (Bob Williams) on November 6, 2009 at 12:32 p.m. (Suggest removal)
College libraries and the daytime day care centers that are many public libraries don't mix. Let these select groups of kids have their own space.
Posted by username (anonymous) on November 6, 2009 at 2:21 p.m. (Suggest removal)
As a college student and a parent, I ABSOLUTELY agree with you, Bob.
Posted by Bcannell (anonymous) on November 6, 2009 at 7:58 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Whats the big concern now with saving taxpayer money? This incompetent city council certainly wasn't concerned with saving money when they foisted this white elephant Ice Palace upon the taxpayers of this burg.
Posted by BigDawgBig (anonymous) on November 7, 2009 at 7:50 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Quite complaining unless you’re willing to do something about it. Just like the hockey arena, all the people b*tching about it and only 2 people did something about it seriously get out their and do something.
Posted by sassymomof2 (anonymous) on November 7, 2009 at 9:02 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I truly believe that the Fergus Falls Library is one of the top reasons I will stay in this community, therefore with careful thought... I think joining with the college is not something that would help our already amazing library system move forward. I consider the parking concerns, as a parent who uses the library every day..it would become an inconvienance more than a convienance.
I also see the level of distractions increasing...College students use the library for hours, they are trying to get a grasp on thier future, unlike the rest of us, we use the library for entertainment, for fullfilling our love of reading, and I as a parent love involving my children in the area for them.... with the puzzles, the computers, the story hours, the extra crafts and science things they do, the chess players... I believe the library needs to be more a public access and the college needs to stay for the college, we are not a Minneaopolis, or a St. Paul suberb, we are not even close, even Wapheton and Breckinridge beat us on many public outlets for thier community, let us keep the pride that we can definately take with our library system and expand, pass it, and leave it as it's own building it is far more important than most of our city councils topics for discussion!
Thank you
Posted by jwayne418 (anonymous) on November 9, 2009 at 1:33 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Leave the library in town! It is a valuable resource for a variety of people. Kids that live in town use it and it would be hard for them to get to the college. The city can find money for what they want, find money for ths.
Posted by jdlucky (anonymous) on November 9, 2009 at 8:57 p.m. (Suggest removal)
watch out. the only one to benefit would be the college in my opinion. Isn"t it a coincidence that this should come up after LELAND GOT TO BE MAYOR??? Any connection????
Posted by mgordansons (Marty Gordansons) on November 10, 2009 at 10:15 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Since when does the public library need to be expanded or moved? In the past decade I have never seen more that about 6 people in the public library at one time and most of them are using the computers. Maybe the public library building should be the new FFPD building and add a sally port, etc. Then we could convert a room in the court house to a computer room with a few dozen public computers. We could store the books in the basement where they would get just about the same amount of use.
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