Library Officials

More books. Artwork. Spaces where reading aloud is OK. Those were among the suggestions made by Anne Arundel County residents who told county library officials last week what they would like to see in the 15-branch system's future. Officials are take comments as they work toward adopting a 20-year modernization plan by the end of the year, in time to compete for funds in the county's next budget. Among considerations is whether — and where — to add public computers and print materials to bring the county libraries in line with state trends and to even out resources around the county, consultant Jeffrey Scherer told those who attended an input session Wednesday in the North County branch in Glen Burnie.

Anne Arundel County will need to spend more than $175 million over several decades to bring its library buildings up to snuff, according to a recent analysis done for the library system — and that doesn't include the cost to design and furnish them. The figure comes from a consultant's plan to overhaul the 15 library branches and the headquarters building. The system is trying to adapt as the role of its facilities changes and patrons call for more digital access and community space.

Opening the Westminster branch of the Carroll County Public Library on Sundays would be a popular move, but library officials said they won't do it if it means giving up money for books and materials."

When it opened in 1962, the Charles E. Miller branch was the flagship of Howard County's library system — the first and only permanent branch in the county Nearly 50 years later, the Ellicott City location is once again leading a transition, as the library system replaces the original Miller branch with a $29 million, state-of-the art structure that will serve the county seat. It will be the largest of six library branches in the county. Along with space to hold 58 percent more books and other materials, the new library will have features the others don't, including an "Enchanted Garden " for outdoor classes and activities focused on health, nutrition, gardening and the environment, and a large area containing the library, archives and offices of the Howard County Historical Society.

Harford County Library officials say they will be able to keep the library open 20 more hours a week starting in September if the increased funding in the county's fiscal 1995 budget is approved by the County Council.Library Director Philip A. Place, who detailed the plans to the County Council in a budget work session Thursday, said County Executive Eileen M. Rehrmann's proposed library budget of $5.1 million will allow restoration of 50 percent of the hours that were cut in September 1992 because of financial constraints.

Harford County library officials say County Executive Eileen M. Rehrmann's proposed budget for fiscal 1995, which adds $818,664 to the library's operating budget, will go a long way toward improving its collection and restoring hours of service to their 1992 level.Library Director Philip A. Place said the increase, which amounts nearly 19 percent over last year's budget of $4.33 million, will help meet the library's two key goals -- buying more books and keeping the nine library branches open longer.

City library officials believe Holes will be the perfect way for area youth to fill in those dreary summer gaps. Louis Sachar's 1998 novel about friendship and destiny has been selected as the fourth annual "Baltimore's Book" and will be handed out to children in fourth grade and above who register for the state's summer reading program today at an event at Mondawmin Mall. Holes, a popular children's book that spawned a Disney feature film, chronicles the odyssey of Stanley Yelnats, who is wrongly sent to a boys' detention camp and ordered by a vicious warden to dig holes all day. The book interweaves two mysterious story lines brought together and resolved by Stanley's courage.

A PROPOSAL BY Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke to close 10 of the 28 branches of the Enoch Pratt Free Library deserves the public outcry it is receiving. It's not that every branch is sacred and should never be closed. But any closing should be the result of careful study and the establishment of viable service alternatives for neighborhoods. No such study has occurred.Past experience should have taught the mayor that no city neighborhood will voluntarily give up its library branch. Many branches have become anchors of their communities, especially safe, quiet places where children can gather after school to do homework while waiting for parents to return home from their jobs.

Kevin Stillmock, who is hooked, recalls his first time. It was barely a week ago, and it happened at his neighborhood library."I was just looking for a book and I saw the Internet, and I clicked on it and became addicted to it," said Stillmock, 18.Since then, the Perry Hall teen has been a regular at his local library branch, where he trolls cyberspace for everything from articles on theology to satellite television listings and up-to-the-minute reports on...

County library officials, hoping to avoid cutbacks in services and book purchases during this difficult economic period, are seeking a 50percent increase in overdue fines and photocopying fees.Director Edward Hall has recommended that the fine for overdue materials be increased from 10 to 15 cents per day and that the maximum charge for a single overdue item be raised from $4 to $6. The cost of photocopying would rise from 10 to 15 cents per page.The 24-member Board of Library Trustees is scheduled to decide onthe fee increases at its Thursday meeting.

More books. Artwork. Spaces where reading aloud is OK. Those were among the suggestions made by Anne Arundel County residents who told county library officials last week what they would like to see in the 15-branch system's future. Officials are take comments as they work toward adopting a 20-year modernization plan by the end of the year, in time to compete for funds in the county's next budget. Among considerations is whether — and where — to add public computers and print materials to bring the county libraries in line with state trends and to even out resources around the county, consultant Jeffrey Scherer told those who attended an input session Wednesday in the North County branch in Glen Burnie.

When Howard County unveils its new 63,000-square-foot library in December, patrons will be welcomed into a high-tech facility with a computer classroom and a historical center. Officials also plan a garden that they envision will be charming enough for weddings. Baltimore's Enoch Pratt Free Library system will this month open its first small eatery in a neighborhood branch, where people can snack on fresh pastries, sandwiches or coffee while they use the library's wi-fi. Far from the stuffy, silent archives of old, today's libraries are inviting patrons to come often and linger, have a snack and meet with friends.

Most of Anne Arundel County's 15 libraries opened before anyone thought about computer literacy — and four of them opened before astronauts walked on the moon. Over a half-century, county residents have drastically changed the way they use libraries. They're not just about books anymore. Public computers, meeting space and study zones are the hot tickets, and the facilities are home to activities as diverse as antique car clubs and employment assistance services. Library officials say it's clear that most of their facilities weren't designed for such uses, and are looking for ways to improve the system.

Local cartoonist Michael Cotter asked the assembled youngsters at the Annapolis area library to name a big story in the news, and 13-year-old Rhaei Brown, who was sporting a Ravens jersey, couldn't utter his answer fast enough. "The lockout!" the Annapolis resident exclaimed, referring to the NFL work stoppage that recently ended. Then Rhaei created a cartoon about the lockout in which he depicted an NFL executive and a football player tugging at opposite sides of an oversized dollar bill.

Search the Howard County Library's website for books on gardening, and you'll come up with hundreds of titles. But soon the shelves won't be the only place at the library to learn about gardening and healthful lifestyles. The Friends of Howard County Library, a nonprofit organization that supports the library system, has received a $25,000 grant to develop a community-based teaching garden at the soon-to-open Charles E. Miller Branch and Historical Center in Ellicott City. The new branch is slated to open in December 2011 adjacent to the current structure that bears the same name.

The problem: A library's doors are too heavy for people in wheelchairs to open. The backstory: The Enoch Pratt Free Library system was founded with the goal of providing patrons access to books regardless of race or class. But a reader contacted Watchdog about a barrier far more basic: the door. The reader called Watchdog to report that the doors to the Central Library on Cathedral Street are too heavy to open. The reader, who rides a motorized scooter, could not be reached for this article.

Julie Drabenstadt lives two minutes from the Savage library, but the branch is small and often crowded. Children's classes often fill up before Drabenstadt can get her 4-year-old daughter registered, and she frequently has to wait for materials to be sent from elsewhere. "It seems like a lot of the books I want have to come from the Central and Glenwood branches," said Drabenstadt, who often goes to the county's larger libraries. Elkridge residents have expressed similar complaints about their branch.

Readers navigating the stacks at the Patterson Park branch of the Enoch Pratt Free Library are drawn to writing on the wall: "Coleccion En Espanol."Under the poster, two long shelves offer a smattering of bilingual and Spanish-language reference materials, nonfiction books, children's stories and other literature, all meant to entice the city's growing Latino community to use the library."

Julie Drabenstadt lives two minutes from the Savage library, but the branch is small and often crowded. Children's classes often fill up before Drabenstadt can get her 4-year-old daughter registered, and she frequently has to wait for materials to be sent from elsewhere. "It seems like a lot of the books I want have to come from the Central and Glenwood branches," said Drabenstadt, who often goes to the county's larger libraries. Elkridge residents have expressed similar complaints about their branch.

Those who look at the construction in the 5100 block of Roland Ave. often stop, stare and ask the same question of the building's workers. When is the library going to reopen? "The curiosity level has been very high," said Carla D. Hayden, executive director of the Enoch Pratt Free Library system. "It's like a Christmas present being unfolded." At noon today, the Roland Park branch will reopen after an 18-month, $5.3 million renovation, marking an end to a major overhaul of the library system for this year.