By Valarie SchwartzÂ
Having a library within walking distance of my childhood home fed my growing mind and kept me out of trouble. It even provided a safe place to break up with my first serious boyfriend. Throughout life, my local library was the place to go when bored or needing a lift — where there’s always something new waiting to be found.
Members of Friends of the Carrboro Branch Library know such facts about libraries. They knew it 20 years ago when they first started petitioning for one and have kept the knowledge fresh through the years since 1995, when the Carrboro Branch Library opened up inside McDougle Middle School.
They have been grateful for the library there, but they will not be satisfied until Carrboro lives down the statistic of being the largest town in North Carolina without a freestanding library.
“Our books are locked up and un-useable most of the week,†said Nerys Levy. The library at McDougle is shared by the schools there, so patron hours begin after school lets out: from 3:30 to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday; Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.; and Sunday, 1 to 5 p.m. It’s closed on Fridays. Making it even harder to use, parking is difficult on school days — and on any day, it’s quite a walk for people with limited physical abilities.
The mailing list of Friends of the Carrboro Library contains about 140 names, but the heavy lifting has fallen mostly to a core group: Levy, Martha Tyson, Dolores Triantafillou, Linda Browner, Barbara Dewey, Heidi Perry, Catherine Devine and Karla Reed, who, despite discouragement from town and county politicos, continue to fight for money and a space to build a library where the people of Carrboro can easily gather seven days a week to open their minds, do homework, use a computer, enjoy community.
“As a retired teacher, I see it as a meeting place for all ages, from pre-school to senior citizens,†said Triantafillou. “I see it as a gathering place where education occurs in many ways, with art programs, musical presentations, readings and cultural interaction.â€
Right now, the thing they most need is an infusion of community energy. Each quarter, they hold a book sale, where they sell books worthy of any library — not just to raise money — but because the purchase of current books pushes older books out of the limited space in the branch location.
“We’re constantly cleaning out our shelves to make more room,†Browner said. “It breaks my heart, but it’s necessary to meet the needs.†Part of that need is being with the school library, which forever needs more space for students.
At each sale, especially on Carrboro Day held at the Town Commons, they hear people exclaiming that they didn’t know Carrboro had a library.
“It’s a transient community,†Triantafillou said. “Just when we think everyone knows, and we’re feeling good about it, a new group moves in. It makes a difference when we have a lot of Friends.â€
“There are 1.75 full-time employees at the library,†Tyson said. “Friends have stepped in and done so much, providing the appearance that it’s doing great.†She said that whenever a poll is taken asking what Carrboro needs, a library always tops the list.
The Friends have taken a new tack. Rather than requesting a freestanding library for Carrboro, they are asking for a Southwest Regional Orange County Branch, which, after years of begging, has been provided (on paper) about $3 million. They of course hope to find a site for it in Carrboro.
They’ve heard the arguments about the proximity of Carrboro to the Chapel Hill Public Library and campus libraries, where parking is an issue at each. “But there are no children or senior programs at campus libraries,†Tyson reminds.
Grateful, discouraged, yet steadfast, they more than anything need to hear from the people of Carrboro — and southwest Orange County. Not only do they need volunteers with strong backs to help them lift books during sale preparations, they need more voices backing them up.
If you care at all, call the Carrboro Branch Library and leave a message with your contact information. If you can help with sales, call 929-7954 and offer your strength.
Imagine it — a building near the heart of Carrboro where children and adults can walk, ride the bus or a bicycle (or drive), and enter a place that can take their minds on a journey and provide all comers access to computers, printers and copiers. Certainly, if you know of an available site, let these diligent women know about it. They want the infrastructure of future Carrboro to include its own library.
“There’s hope,†Levy said, “but people need to come forward and be a part of it.â€
Contact Valarie Schwartz at 923-3746 or valariekays@mac.com.