2008 City Innovations Showcase
Library Services
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Library and Recreation Center Partnership
City of Clearwater
Clearwater’s public library system has long been regarded as one of its greatest assets, with five branches in a city of just 110,000 residents. The department’s neighborhood-based library system was threatened by the recent state-mandated budget reductions. The City Council considered closing the beach branch, whose leased location cost nearly $60,000 annually in operational costs. Rather than shutting its doors to the residents and tourists who used the branch, the department has partnered with the Parks and Recreation Department and the Clearwater Beach Association (a coalition of homeowners) to incorporate the library into an expanded Clearwater Beach Recreation Center joint-use facility.
Contact: Barbara Pickell, Director
Clearwater Public Library System
City of Clearwater
P.O. Box 4748
Clearwater, FL 32758
Phone: (727) 562-4971
E-mail: barbara.pickell@myclearwater.com
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(Not So) Extreme Makeover – Library Edition
City of Plant City
Until the Bruton Memorial Library could be expanded, changes that would make services and space usage more efficient and the interior more attractive were required. New public service desks were purchased and a new service concept was instituted. The collection was downsized and the computer, teen, magazine, reference and audiovisual collections were relocated. The new spaces received bright new signage. Half of the $100,000 budget was donated funds and the remainder came from efficiencies in the city and state aid budgets. The result is a brighter, more open and welcoming library with accessible collections and efficient services.
Contact: Anne Haywood, Library Director
Bruton Memorial Library
City of Plant City
302 McLendon Street
Plant City, FL 33563
Phone: (813) 757-9215
E-mail: ahaywood@plantcitygov.com
Integrated Library System
City of West Palm Beach
The City of West Palm Beach Public Library was a beta tester for a new approach to the traditional request for proposal (RFP). An e-marketing services company developed an innovative business model with a 1,708-functional-descriptor spreadsheet to measure each integrated library system’s (ILS) capabilities (no other RFP the city had seen had even one-tenth of this specificity). Library staff then rated the importance of each descriptor on a scale of 1 to 5 and the spreadsheets were sent to all ILS vendors. The company analyzed the results and the library was able to use them to clearly delineate the best ILS for its needs.
Contact: Chris Murray, Acting Library Director
West Palm Beach Public Library
City of West Palm Beach
100 Clematis Street
West Palm Beach, FL 33401
Phone: (561) 868-7717
E-mail: cmurray@wpb.org
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