Board works on basics of new library

The Daily Inter Lake

Flathead County's new Library Board has begun considering what it is looking for in a new main library building.

But the board still has a way to go before it can give guidance to a building advisory committee.

On Friday, the board held a workshop to brainstorm what should be tackled in building a new library.

The board will continue those discussions on Oct. 23 at its regular meeting.

The new board plans to review votes by former board members to see if any past decisions should be rescinded. That might bring the controversial Tidyman's location back into play after former board members rejected it in December 2007 and February 2008.

Chairwoman Laura Long is the only member with more than three months on the board.

The library system is looking into either remodeling an existing building or constructing a new one to replace the downtown Kalispell library.

The main library occupies 23,250 square feet of leased space in the 29,250-square-foot former post office building owned by Kalispell Public Schools on First Avenue East in Kalispell.

A preliminary architectural study came up with a price tag of $16 million to $19 million for a 55,000-square-foot library with 200 parking spaces at either the old Tidyman's grocery site or at Flathead Valley Community College.

The new Library Board has not yet decided whether it will stick with either of those locations, the bigger size or the price tag - or what new target figures should be.

This month, the new board is trying to figure out what it wants to tell the dormant building committee to get that group researching the issue again.

If the Library Board decides to set up a new Kalispell library away from the downtown, it might end up building a new main branch and a new downtown branch, board member Connie Leistiko speculated.

On Friday, board members listed several issues that should be examined. These included:

. How can a new building accommodate current and future technologies?

. It should be designed to get the best efficiencies with space, money and staff.

. Figuring out the best location. Some board members speculated that a new main library should be located among similar cultural ventures so they could provide traffic for each other.

. Setting the library up as a community center, with flexible meeting spaces. An auditorium for movies and lectures, plus an outdoors children's area, were suggested.

. Obtaining sufficient parking. A huge drawback of the current library is that it has no parking.

. How to come up with a plan that will get significant public support.

Reporter John Stang may be reached at 758-4429 or by e-mail at jstang@dailyinterlake.com