Community makes a statement

An aggressive effort to gather public comment on a new library wrapped up last week.
The Nampa City Council and the Library Board toured the nationally-acclaimed Salt Lake City Public Library on Wednesday and had detailed and probing discussions on what to do and what to avoid. On Thursday, 27 community members spent all day at a design workshop putting down their ideas at the Nampa Civic Center. These efforts capped seven community forums, a design contest and e-mail correspondence that all tried to answer the question, "What do you want in a new library?" The comments were compliled into a report that will help direct a search for a developer and architect to build the library.
From all this discussion we have learned that people cherish a library not only as a place to get books, magazines, CDs and movies, but for a public meeting place, a quiet meditative place, a place where an individual encounters society, culture, art and the community.
This process has been very helpful for the Nampa community and its leaders. It appears Nampa residents and their leaders have a much clearer idea about what sort of library is right for Nampa.
Dan Black
Library Community Relations Coordinator