As part of the Auburn Parks, Recreation, and Culture Master Plan, Auburn is reviewing their public library services.
“It only works if we’re delivering things people tell us they want and need,” said Auburn Public Library Director Chris Warren.
On Sept. 27, the city held a series of meetings with the public to gauge the desires of residents.
“We can try and guess and build a building that we think people might want, but the whole public input process . . . and all of those different pieces fit together for us to say ‘this was based on meaningful feedback that we were able to get from the community,’” Warren said.
While generally pleased with the city’s current facilities, some of the attendees at one of the Sept. 27 meetings said they would like to see more library branches, particularly in North Auburn.
Locations in different parts of town, the residents said, would make it easier for them to use the library more frequently, and give more children access.
One resident said her child, along with many other students in the area, walk to the library every day after school, and worries that not all children around town have that opportunity.
Library resources available for younger students was one of the most discussed topics at the meeting. One attendee, Mike Reinke, said that he liked ideas presented at the meeting that would get more children “not just reading,” but also “actively involved in creative endeavors.”
Reinke has been an Auburn resident and member of the library for 30 years, and credits visiting public libraries as a kid for much of his career.
“I was an only child and did not have a lot of money,” he said. “I spent a great deal of time in the public library.”
Reinke went on to say that he earned four degrees before ending up as a faculty member at the Auburn University School of Pharmacy.
“I would honestly have to say that all started in the public library in Jamestown, North Dakota,” Reinke said.
Warren said the master plan will provide the library with enough information to form a strategy for the next five to 20 years.
The library public meetings accompany other public meetings on the city’s parks and recreation facilities.
The next library input meeting will be held Oct. 19 at the Harris Center on Perry Street.
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