November 8, 2007
Westover Hills Library to get a facelift
Today’s T-D profiles the Westover Hills branch of the Richmond Public Library. As one of the components of the “City of the Future” plan, the library should see such improvements as “more computers and digitized catalogs to meet rising demand, and new electrical systems to handle them [...] new, energy-efficient windows and doors, better-equipped work spaces and public meeting rooms, fresh carpeting and paint, signs and shelving.”
It’s been painfully obvious that the library system has been neglected for a long time (the Main branch downtown is, frankly, embarrassing for a “flagship” building), so this is indeed welcome news.
We’ve been hearing about “City of the Future” funds for a long time. If the money is really there, why are volunteers being solicited to paint the children’s story room? Curious….
If they’re getting rid of their card catalogs, I have a neighbor who desperately wants one… I’ll alert them to this renovation.
I am the secretary of the Westover Hills Library Advisory Group, and our group organized the repainting of the room.
While it’s true that City of the Future money will have an impact on the branch, the room has long been in need of a makeover. We debated whether to proceed, but decided in favor because that even if funds were immediately available, there would still be a lag before any changes would actually take place. We felt that the immediate benefits of the improved space (the room gets lots of use, and the new branch manager has plans for new events), outweighed the wait.
Our group has supported activities like these for many year, and has always looked to fill in the gaps, as municipal support for the library system waxes and wanes. The branch is very active, used by three different neighborhoods, and we try to do everything we can to help out.
Westover Hills library is an institution to our area. Gosh, I can remember visiting that building years and years ago. Married and moved away, returned several years ago and like a time capsule. Nothing new, other then computers. I’m glad Westover Hills library is getting spruced up. Long overdue. Too all the volunteers and library staff…..thank you.
As a follow up to Steve Smith’s response on the library room meeting renovation, we absolutely welcome anyone to attend WHLAG meetings on the first Saturday of every month at 9:00 a.m. at the library. It is an active group of committed volunteers who make decisions as a group and dedicate a lot of personal time to the library and many annual events. We often get asked how people can help from time to time for projects, so we thought we’d put our latest project out to the community for people who may be interested in a one time volunteer opportunity. It was a project that had been discussed for a long time- and we decided to proceed with our plans- with permission from the larger library system. In the past we have waited for things to happen that never did or took a significant amount of time longer than expected- as things often do. The meeting room has desperately needed renovation. We are all very excited about the City of the Future plans as well!