EDITOR: Having lived in Morgan Hill for a little over 30 years
and having experienced our previous library in a business shopping
center (Morgan Hill Center on Hale and Main), it is my strong
opinion that mixing businesses and a library would be a negative
step back in time.
EDITOR:
Having lived in Morgan Hill for a little over 30 years and having experienced our previous library in a business shopping center (Morgan Hill Center on Hale and Main), it is my strong opinion that mixing businesses and a library would be a negative step back in time.
This previous arrangement involved shared library and business parking. During busy times of the day sharing a parking lot with other businesses was highly frustrating and inconvenient. Imagine trying to walk across a crowded and hectic parking lot with small children in tow and having to carry an arm load of books while watching out for the safety of your children. Imagine older citizens feeling jittery from all the commotion of cars darting around seeking parking spaces and having to walk quite a distance to get inside the library. Expansive asphalt and concrete sidewalks outside the library and businesses were less than appealing. The setting felt hectic and looked less than appealing.
When the current library opened at the Civic Center nearly 30 years ago, I immediately found it to be so much more enjoyable and refreshing to go to the library. The setting was much more peaceful – an oasis of calm in a safe environment. Extensive lawns, trees, landscaping, a reflection pond, a full-on view of El Toro, and lots of easy parking were a real plus. It felt so much better to be in a noncommercial environment and it was easy to drive to get to it.
A library in a park-type setting away from the hustle and bustle of the hectic ordinary life is highly desirable. It is a place to let reading expand your mind and take you to “incredible places.” The library experience is enhanced in a place that is more serene, pure, and in line with the principles of simplicity in living. The idea that the library and business would provide “synergy” is a crock. It is not a mutual advantage for the library to be with businesses. It dilutes or detracts from the pure library experience. More signs with bolder lettering on various streets in town should point the way to the library so more folks in town can find it and businesses should find other ways to enhance the downtown area.
The Civic Center site continues to be a wonderful setting and I strongly believe it should be the site for our new library. That site has a solid proven record of acceptance with the Morgan Hill citizens. The ordinary citizens have repeatedly for years indicated through surveys and other public input that this is their first choice of location. I urge the council members to respect and honor the wishes of ordinary citizens to build at this choice location.
The city owns the land and it is available for building now without undue complications and there is lots more space for a larger one story more efficient library building with better expansion possibilities. Plus there is room for 100 parking spaces on the lot and that amount could be easily doubled by street parking. It is a safe, quiet, family friendly environment and only four blocks from historic downtown. I hope that my opinion and that of other citizens matters as stated on the last survey I completed. I ask the City Council members to chose to build on the Civic Center site or if you are not willing to chose that site please put it on the ballot for the voters to make the final decision of the location.
Citizens interested in signing a petition to get the library location decision on the November 2004 ballot may contact me at Ma********@*ol.com or 779-7592.
Marie Lamb, Morgan Hill
