Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Library has hopes of growth

The neighborhood library wasn't expected to take off the way it did. And now that it has, the Family and Friends of the West Las Vegas Library say it's too small.

Kenneth Evans, a member of the library support group, noted that 60 percent of the library's books are checked out by children and teenagers. He believes there is room to expand the facility.

"Right now, it's too small," Evans said Tuesday. "We're just pointing it out and looking for the library district to take some action. There's 25 to 30 feet in the yard to expand the Young People's Library to twice its size."

When the West Las Vegas Library opened in 1989, there were those who said the small library wouldn't be successful, said Marzette Lewis, who joined Evans and half a dozen other community members at a news conference at the library at 951 W. Lake Mead Blvd., just east of Martin Luther King Boulevard.

"When you get little children in here trying to read, trying to color, it's chaos," Lewis said. "We've been talking about it for a long time. It's time to stop talking and do something about it."

The 12,200-square-foot library was funded by a bond issue that also built several other libraries around the valley. It also received grants from the state, Clark County and the city of Las Vegas. That bond money, however, is gone, said Kelly Richards, the library branch director.

Richards agreed the library is over capacity.

"Just go out there and look," he said. "Where don't you see a bookshelf? We're pretty much maxed out for shelf space. It's been known for a long time that it's too small."

Richards credited a new librarian, Nancy Hutchinson, for increasing the circulation of the Young People's Library from 30 percent to 60 percent of the books checked out.

"This is a hangout for young people," Richards said. "It's very successful. They come here and check out books and sit and talk. They use it as a safe haven."

Total circulation at the library increased from 66,174 books and materials checked out in 1994 to 136,741 in 1995. And this year, Richards expects it to increase 70 percent.

As for space, there are just 16 chairs in the children's library. When 40 or so children and teens fill the room, which happens often, many have to stand, Richards said.

Darrell Batson, director of the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District, agreed that the West Las Vegas Library is busy. But he said it's not necessarily a sign that it's over capacity.

"There are many times when you walk in there and it's crowded," he said. "It's simply the mark of a used facility."

He pointed out the 299-seat theater adjacent to the library that opened last year as also serving the needs of West Las Vegas.

Still, he said: "We're not debating that it's to capacity. We're willing to look at the needs of the community.

"It's a matter of having the money to expand. There are other areas in the valley where there is no library."

Evans said the Family and Friends of the West Las Vegas Library plans to take the issue to the Library Board.

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