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 News
Riverside Library/Museum Task Force finalizes guidelines Trustees endorse task force's 'guiding principles' for library, museum expansions Riverside panel recommends separate museum, library expansion plans Vital Expansions: Separate -- and don't scrimp on -- Preserve Precious: Past Riverside library thrives where many struggle: Riverside's Main Library and its museum need more space. The new Main Library could be the crown jewel of the Riverside Renaissance. Right now the city's estimate of cost is $25 million, 1.4% of the Renaissance budget. It has been 42 years since the Main Library opened. We must take this opportunity to "get it right" for this important community resource. Libraries have changed. Today more materials are digital and compact, but reader's spaces are large and must accommodate computers. Computer sessions, audiovisual materials, popular materials, and programs are in high demand. Libraries function more and more as the intellectual and cultural center of their community and need more interactive, flexible, and program space. On January 16th, the great majority of the 323 people who attended the first public meeting on the project indicated with a show of hands that they thought the expansion of the Main Library and the Museum should be seperated. Many speakers urged the city government to do right by both. People said that the opportunity to address the needs of the Main Library happens only once in a lifetime. They said the expansion and renovation that happens now must provide for Riverside's future needs for a Main Library. |
