One of the requests back in the mid-1990s before the present Wake Forest Library was built was that it include a conference or meeting room. As we wait for the library to be expanded from 5,000 to 8,000 square feet, it may be reasonable to ask if the community needs to have a conference or meeting room in this public building.
We have a large number of civic, interest and philanthropic organizations in town that meet in a variety of places. Karen and Don Winstead open the small rooms at The Forks Cafeteria to several groups, many of which hold lunch or dinner meetings. Some boards meet at the Wake Forest Historical Museum or at the Wake Forest Chamber of Commerce. At least one group meets in the Northern Regional Center.
Are there other groups that need a place to meet or are there individuals such as literacy or homework tutors who need or want a private place to work? Are there other mentoring groups which need a private room?
Or is there some other need that should be met in the library expansion?
The Wake Forest expansion will come after the construction of the Northeast Regional Library to be built in Wakefield. It will have 22,000 square feet and will have a programming room for children and a conference room for adult programs and community meetings – but it will not serve for Wake Forest club and other meetings.
Wake Forest will become a large community library and will operate more hours per week with more staff members, have more children’s programs, more areas for adult reading, more public computers and a larger book collection.
It should also have what this community wants because Wake Forest has supported its library through 50-plus years in ways other communities have not. We built our own library, the town owned the building for years and paid all the expenses even after the county organized the county-wide system and paid the librarians, the town donated the land the current library stands on, and Mr. Henry Miller donated $53,000 for its construction. There is another $47,000 plus interest waiting to help from a separate Miller donation to help with the expansion.
The Friends of the Wake Forest Library and all its contributors have donated books, furnishings, money for educational programs and for assistance such as the teen intern program. Individuals have volunteered to help shelve books and box them for return to other libraries. Individuals and the Friends purchased magazine subscriptions when county funds were low. The support from this community has been constant and consistent.
What do you want to see in the library? Would you attend a meeting to learn what the current plans are? Should there be a meeting here in town to review the current plans and ask questions of the county library staff?
3 Responses
Meeting rooms are hard to find in Wake Forest…The Chamber has started charging $40 for the use of their board room and trying to hold a meeting at one of the local restraunts or businesses is less than productive based on noise, etc. We need a public facility available for our use…
At this stage of the town’s growth I do not feel that a conference/meeting room is needed in our library. I would like to see quiet study alcoves for our students and computer desks with electricity where one can use their laptops like they have in the Cameron Village regional library.
A conference room would provide a meeting place for book clubs. Face to face communication is becoming a lost skill. A natural progression from “story time” could be age or interest related book clubs.