Citizens put stamp on new library

Architect Craig Galati says it takes more than sandstone and stucco to build a library -- it takes people.

People such as Marilyn Kirkpatrick, who has lived in North Las Vegas for 30 years.

She was one of about 25 participants in a weeklong process that culminated Friday with a public presentation of the architectural plans for the new North Las Vegas Branch Library.

"I want to help the city grow in a positive way," said Kirkpatrick, the mother of two girls -- Sarah, 7, and Tara, 6.

Kirkpatrick and her daughters gave their input at one of three design workshops held to solicit public input on the configuration of the new facility planned near the southwest corner of Alexander Road and Martin Luther King Boulevard.

"I think it's the best idea they ever had," she said. "They should do this (design workshops) on more community projects."

Kirkpatrick, who lives near where the new branch will be built, said where she wanted to have the most input was the children's portion of the library.

"There are 8,000 kids in this area (the northwest), and they spend a lot of time at the library," she said. "They need to make it accessible."

Kirkpatrick said she also would like to see a community center with an amphitheater as part of the library.

At Friday night's unveiling, the group of volunteers, library staff, city officials and representatives from Lucchesi, Galati Architects who were all involved in the design got the first glimpse of what will become the first addition to the North Las Vegas Library District -- complete with plans for an amphitheater.

"When we walked in Monday, all we had was a recipe," Galati said. "Then we put on our chef's hats, and we created something unique and North Las Vegas."

Galati and the team leaders went step-by-step through the process beginning with the community meetings designed to find out what residents would like to see in a new library.

Then came the first workshop, at which each of the four teams put together initial design layouts using foam pieces on a background representing site dimensions.

"We talked as an entire group about what we wanted to capture (in the design) and found throughout this process that we got closer as a community," said Denise Cook, one of the team leaders from the architectural firm. "This is your facility, and your input made this happen."

The architectural firm's staff took all four teams' ideas and developed two hybrid designs. During the second workshop, participants were given the pros and cons of each design and asked to integrate them into a final design.

A children's workshop provided perspectives from the library's younger users. Their designs and ideas will be incorporated into the children's area.

The architects then met with landscapers and other technical representatives to critique the final design. Exterior elevations and interior ideas were developed and presented to the teams for discussion.

"We facilitated; you guys created," Galati said.

Resident Tony Miele said this was his first time to be involved in a design-by-community process.

"It's a terrific exercise," he said.

Along with an amphitheater, the northwest branch will house a lush outdoor courtyard complete with a rock waterfall.

"Everything focuses around the courtyard," Galati said. "The water feature will create a cool, soothing environment."

The facility will feature a live tree and storytime room in the children's area as well as a gallery and community meeting rooms for adult functions. There also is a lease space available for a coffee shop.

Final decisions about the exterior textures and colors as well as the interior will be made at future community meetings, Galati said.

After seeing the protypes, Anita Laruy, library district director, said she was thrilled with the work of the architects and the residents.

"It's great. It's beautiful. I'm shocked at how good they are and how they have motivated the community," she said. "I'm so thrilled the communituy has taken ownership of the library. ... I think we will have an excellent product."

Las Vegas City Councilwoman Paula Brown said she could describe the results of the weeklong exercise in one word. "Wow," she said. "I've been working on this new library for four years. I worked to get the bond passed (that narrowly failed). This is a dream come true."

Brown said her favorite workshop was the one involving the children.

"I was watching the kids and how their thought processes worked, and it was very heartwarming," she said. "They know that when the library is built and they go there, they had a hand in it."

Brown added that she was pleased with the quality of the residents' work.

"The attention to detail was very, very good," she said. "What I like about it (the process) is that citizens who live in the area that use the library have a hand in what it will look like."

Galati said he was 100 percent pleased with the group's reaction to the final design.

"It once again reaffirms that this is the right process for a community building," he said.

He described the experience as rewarding, adding, "We feel we are a part of North Las Vegas now."

Laruy, who was the city's lobbyist before taking the district's helm more than two years ago, was instrumental in lobbying the Legislature to approve a new library district for North Las Vegas four years ago.

"We have never been a part of Clark County (library district); we've always been a library operated by the city," she explained. "We decided because of the growth of the city there was a need to have our own district."

There also was talk in 1993 of Clark County taking over the North Las Vegas Library, at 2300 Civic Center Drive, and possibly closing its doors. That's when Laruy went to the Legislature.

The need for a new branch is obvious, according to Laruy.

"In order to serve our growing population, it was determined we needed four libraries by 2000," she said. Currently there is only the downtown library to serve almost 100,000 residents. "There's only one other city in the valley with one library -- Boulder City. And they serve 14,000."

Laruy, who has been with city for 11 years, said having its own library district also helps the city's identity.

"We are very proud to have our own district," she said. "It's time we get some new stuff ... enough of this negative Northtown nonsense."

New stuff would include the district's quest for its first branch, a seed that was planted more than four years ago when a prominent local businessman, Barry Becker, donated 4 1/2 acres of land near the intersection of Alexander Road and Martin Luther King Boulevard to the library district.

"It is a prime location for residents because the closest library is 10 miles away, and the downtown library is a long way away," Brown said.

Brown, who is in her second term as chairwoman of the library district, said the city subsidizes the library to the tune of $224,000 annually as well as by providing basic services such as buildings, personnel and grounds maintenance.

The district also is funded through property taxes and various grants.

The 1996 Legislature gave the district $350,000 to design the new northwest branch library. Galati's firm also is tasked with finding grants to help fund the new construction.

"They are responsible for helping raise money to build it and determining what our construction costs will be," Brown said of Lucchesi, Galati Architects. "They will draw up the architectural plans and when they are through, if money is available, we will start construction."

The new facility carries an estimated price tag of $6.5 million, which will be paid for in part from property taxes collected in areas of the city recently annexed from Clark County.

Galati, whose firm used community input in its design of the Laughlin Library, estimated the North Las Vegas branch library will be completed by fall 2000.

Galati said the Laughlin Library was completed in 1994. There construction began six months after the design charrettes.

"This one will take longer," he said, referring to the North Las Vegas project, because it is larger. He estimated 10 months to finish the blueprints and another year to finish construction.

District estimates say the new library will open with a 135,000-volume collection and a monthly circulation of 40,000 volumes.

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