A Community Library for South Davis
By Dave Rosenberg, Yolo County Supervisor, 4th District
Great oaks sometimes grow from little acorns. The little acorn in this case is the concept first mentioned to me by South Davis resident Heather Caswell that we should have a South Davis Branch of the County Library. The great oak that may emerge from this acorn is the reality of a public library in South Davis.
In June of 2000, the Yolo County Board of Supervisors authorized the County Librarian Mary Stephens to begin work on a countywide facilities plan encompassing the three largest cities in its service area: Davis, West Sacramento and Winters (Woodland is not included in the county's service area as Woodland operates its own city library). The plan also included an assessment of library service needs in Yolo County's rural areas. At the urging of my colleague on the Board of Supervisors, Lois Wolk, and I to include an analysis of a South Davis branch library, the entire Board of Supervisors readily agreed to study the development of such a branch.
Led by a three-person team of library consultants (all librarians), and Yolo County Library staff representatives Jay Johnstone and Peggy Rollins, a Davis Planning Committee performed a community needs assessment which formed the basis for recommending a South Davis Branch Library designed to serve a projected population of just over 18,000 people by the Year 2020. My representative on the Planning Committee is my district director, Mariko Yamada. Also active on the Planning Committee is South Davis resident Camille Lim, my appointee to the standing Yolo County Library Advisory Committee. Other members of the Planning Committee are Heather Caswell, John Ferrera, Brent Felker, Sharon Halberg, Nora Brazil, Cynthia Gerber, Wendy Chason, Anne Brunette (of the City of Davis), Sheryl Patterson, Ron Vogel, Elida Fernandez, Mary Wood, Mary Ellen Baldwin (Lois Wolk's aide), Pam Day, Toni Rey, and Jean Holsten. The service area includes not only the incorporated parts of the City of Davis south of Highway 80, but also the large unincorporated areas to the south of Davis, including El Macero and Willowbank.
Davis' Main Library (at 315 E. 14th Street) is well utilized and very popular in the community. However, according to the consultant's report, the South Davis Library would be an important adjunct to the main library. I had suggested to the County Librarian and the planning committee to consider a specialty library in South Davis, focusing on children's books and collections. And in fact, based on South Davis demographics which reflect a significant population under the age of 18, this branch could well emphasize services to children and youth as well as to recreational readers of all ages. While maintaining its own collection, the proposed new branch in South Davis would also draw heavily on the main library's extensive collection. With a 3-volume per capita index, by the Year 2020, the South Davis branch should maintain a 54,000 volume collection to meet the needs of a population base of 18,000 or more.
Books are only part of what might be in store in the new South Davis branch library. The planners also recognized the need for a community meeting space. South Davis needs and deserves a community meeting room! Additionally, a South Davis branch could have public access computers and multi-media resources, and student study space where small groups can work together in enclosed, comfortable settings.
The proposed new South Davis branch library would be housed in a building of about 19,000 square feet designed to be a place for the community to gather, meet, talk, exchange ideas, learn and celebrate its identity. Funding such a significant "center" will require broad community support, however, including a possible library bond measure as well as significant private fundraising.
Recently, the concept of a South Davis branch library got a huge boost as part of a broader extension and amendment of a "Pass-Through Agreement" between the county and city (negotiated on the county's behalf by Lois Wolk and myself). The main focus of this agreement is to protect Davis' borders from urban development in the county and to preserve agricultural land through the year 2025. However, one of the supplemental deals arranged in this agreement, at the request of the county, is the city's agreement to sell the county a parcel of land located in South Davis' Walnut Park for the price of $1 for a South Davis branch library! Accordingly, the land for the library is already in place and, at the grand price of one dollar, is clearly affordable.
But this little acorn of an idea has a life of its own now. The County of Yolo just constructed a well-received branch library in Esparto. Currently, a new branch library in Winters is moving forward with construction scheduled to start in 2002. Next on the agenda is a new branch library in West Sacramento, scheduled to start construction in 2003. And because of the interest expressed by citizens in Davis, a South Davis branch library is also in the plans, with a projected start date of 2004. Let's make it a reality.