Library Project Description

Richard Band, our library director, has created the following summary of the Indian Land Library project. He forwarded this to Brooke Moore of Sun City so that she could post it on the resident's message board.

Feel free to link to this anytime you find yourself needing to explain our project to someone new.

DEL WEBB LIBRARY AT INDIAN LAND
PROJECT DESCRIPTION


The Lancaster County Library Board is planning the construction of a new library in 2007 to serve the Indian Land area of the county. This project would contribute funds to help the library meet our Capital Campaign target goal of $700,000.

Del Webb, the developer of the Sun City Carolina Lakes community, has pledged $1.5 million and donated a two-acre site for the library. These funds will be secured by revenue bonds issued by Lancaster County this year.

The total cost of the library project is estimated at $2.2 million. Construction costs will be about $1.5 million for the 12,000 square-foot facility. The building will be designed for future expansion, given the likelihood of rapid gains in the population of the panhandle. The funds to be raised will go toward books and materials, shelving, furnishings, technology, equipment and architectural fees. Contributions will be sought from developers, businesses, foundations and individuals. To facilitate the campaign, the Del Webb Library Steering Committee has been established.

The library site is in a highly desirable location, in the planned commercial section west of Jim Wilson Road, 17 miles north of downtown Lancaster. It will be visible and convenient to everyone traveling Highway 521 between Lancaster and Pineville. Neighboring tenants will include a grocery store, two banks, a medical center and restaurants. We look forward to the challenge of meeting the needs of a thriving service area that ranges from Waxhaw Creek north to the state line.

Citizens of Indian Land have had a long wait for their library. The demand continues to grow as the rural landscape undergoes dramatic changes. The Sun City and Edenmoor developments alone will add 6,000 housing units over the next eight years. Other housing projects along the U.S. 521 and S.C. 160 corridors, along with new industries and business parks, will create more pressure for services. A strong public library is one of the institutions the corporate sector looks for in assessing an area’s quality of life and living standards. The library will serve as a unifying presence ... a gathering place for lifelong residents and newcomers alike.

The Indian Land Library will offer a full range of circulating materials: books, periodicals, DVDs and audiotapes. Public access computers will be available for online research, school projects, word processing and computer literacy training. Also planned is a multi-purpose room for public meetings, classroom space and use by civic clubs. A conference room and several small study rooms will be included. We will offer pre-school story times and programming for children and adults. With a new high school and middle school for Indian Land on the drawing board, the library will provide an important educational resource for students and for adult lifelong learners.

The library will be administered as a satellite of the headquarters library in Lancaster. For the first year of operations, three full-time and three part-time staff members will be trained. Construction could begin as early as February, 2007, with opening day around December or January. The timetable depends on the success of fund-raising and other preparations. Materials for the collections, for example, must be selected, ordered and processed beginning eight to ten months prior to opening day. The cost of the starter book collection will be about $225,000.

We are extremely excited about our plans for this vitally needed facility: more than a library, it will truly be a community center for residents of all ages. The Indian Land Library will be a positive asset and source of pride to the whole county.


Richard Band, Director
313 S. White St.
Lancaster, SC 29720

803-285-1502
lanclib@infoave.net