Dear Friends:

Wonderful changes are underway in Kanawha County. We are a region on the move, yet there is more to be done if we are to realize our potential.

After years of planning and extensive input from library patrons, community leaders and citizens from all across our region, we have launched the Open a Modern Classic Capital Campaign to build a state-of-the-art main library in downtown Charleston. The Campaign will also enable us to fund improvements to six of our nine branches, finalizing the long-range vision that the Library Board established twenty years ago. These projects will be completed by 2012 at a comprehensive project cost of approximately $50 million for land acquisition, construction, transition and furnishings.

Great communities deserve great libraries, and Kanawha County deserves a first-class library system. Our goal is to create a lifelong learning campus in the heart of downtown Charleston that stimulates the intellect of children, teens and adults. The new main library and enhancements to the six branches will have a lasting and profound effect on the Kanawha Valley and its citizens.

We invite you to become a part of the Open a Modern Classic Capital Campaign. The vision and plans outlined in the brochure will indeed become a reality. If you would like to help build Kanawha County's bright future, please contact us or the Library's Marketing & Development office at (304) 343-4646.

Sincerely yours,

Michael A. Albert, President
Kanawha County
Public Library system

Thomas A. Heywood, President
The Library Foundation
of Kanawha County, Inc.

Mike Albert, Esq.

Tom Heywood, Esq.

Why a new main library? Essentially, there are two reasons: space and access.

Our patrons are children and adults, parents and grandparents, business owners and retirees, students and life-long learners. The main library alone is currently used by 40,000 patrons per month. Patron visits increased by seven percent over the past fiscal year.

Since the main library moved to its current location in 1967, the publishing industry has experienced tremendous growth. In 1967, 28,762 books were published in the United States; that figure rose to 157,431 in 2004. In the face of such growth, the limited space of the current building hampers the library's ability to maintain a comprehensive collection while serving the expanding interests of patrons.

The back-room responsibilities of the main library have also increased exponentially. In 1967, there was only one branch library and a bookmobile in the County.

With the addition of each of the nine branch libraries, the need for space and employees to support those branches has increased. Over the years, the support functions of the main library have encroached upon the public areas, further diminishing available shelving space.

The Kanawha County Public Library system offers more than 400 free, educational programs annually for children and families attracting over 10,000 people to the main library and its branches. While vital to the library's mission, these programs regularly compete for space, and there is little or no opportunity to offer simultaneous programs.

Improved access to the library is also a vital need. Currently, individuals with strollers or walking aids must enter the back of the building and utilize an undersized elevator to access any part of the collection – if they can find a parking space. Access through adequate parking is critically important to library patrons, and research shows that new library facilities typically experience a 50 percent increase in usage during the first year.

Access also refers to the ability of the library system to offer area residents meeting and gathering space. A modern library needs to reflect the vitality of the community it serves. It serves as a community living room offering opportunity for an open exchange of ideas and information. The main library currently has only one meeting room which accommodates a maximum of 60 individuals. Numerous organizations are turned away annually because of this limitation.

In a knowledge-based economy, demand for information continues to grow and the range of services which libraries are now expected to provide has also grown exponentially. The internet has increased awareness of the critical need for information and fostered an even greater role for what has been described as the "People's University". This need is particularly great in West Virginia since the "digital divide" is greater than the national average.

Branch libraries provide community anchors throughout the Kanawha Valley. They are sustained and nourished by the main library in Downtown Charleston, but remain an essential key to meeting the needs of area residents. These branches serve as information, technology and community centers in their respective areas. Since opening, all have been embraced and heavily utilized by the public.

In addition to a new main library, the Open a Modern Classic Capital Campaign will enable us to fund major improvements to six branch locations. A total of 16,800 square feet will be added to existing branches, and two new libraries will be constructed to replace the current branches at Elk Valley and Marmet. Enlarging and renovating these libraries will enable each location to increase its effectiveness by expanding collections, adding computer stations, enlarging areas for children's books and programming and improving community meeting spaces.

Cross Lanes Library: The current building, opened in 1999, serves the greater Cross Lanes area. This area continues to develop at a rapid pace, thereby increasing demand and usage at the Cross Lanes branch. An additional 2,000 square feet will provide more shelving, expand the children's area and provide more space for public computer workstations.

Dunbar Branch Library: The Dunbar Branch Library, opened in 1976, lacks sufficient space to meet the current community's varied service needs. Approximately 2,400 square feet will be added to the 8,600 square feet in the current building. There will be a new entry from the parking area. A reconfiguration of the meeting room will allow more than one group to use the space simultaneously. In addition, increased space in the children's area and more computer workstations will allow the entire family to better utilize the library. An upgrade to the HVAC system will provide increased efficiency in heating and cooling the building.

Elk Valley Library: The library, a former church, opened in 1977 and serves the communities of Mink Shoals, Big Chimney, Blue Creek, Elkview and Pinch. A new building of approximately 8,200 square feet will result in a larger children's area, a substantially larger meeting room space for the community, more public computer workstations, more shelving and additional parking for patrons.

Marmet Library: The library serves residents in the towns of Marmet and Chesapeake and adjacent unincorporated areas. The current building, opened in 1980, has only 429 square feet which makes it impossible to offer any programming within the building. A new facility of approximately 5,500 square feet will include a separate children's area and a community meeting room space, more public computer workstations, greater seating capacity and shelving space for a much larger collection.

St. Albans Library: St. Albans is currently the largest branch library, circulating more materials to more patrons than any other branch. The current space will be renovated and an additional 9,500 square feet will be added to create a more efficient building. These changes will enhance the children's program area, add space to the public computer workstation area, and create better storage and workspace.

Sissonville Library: The current Sissonville Library building opened in 2001. An addition of 1,500 square feet at this very popular facility will result in a larger children's area, more space for public computer workstations and more shelving for the collection.