By Michael Goldman with Deborah Marks, co-founders of
Citizens for Sunnyvale Parks and Green Spaces
Deborah Marks is also leader of Sunnyvale Urban Forests Advocates
http://www.SunnyvaleUrbanForestAdvocates.org/
We keep hearing that since Sunnyvale is growing, we need to get a library suitable for not just our current population (149,000), but for a 36% growth to 200,000 in 2040.
Let's look at CA cities with the same or larger population as Sunnyvale's up to our maximum projected size of 200,000. Sunnyvale's library fits in very well. Our main library is roughly the same size as those in many of these cities, but they build branch libraries to extend services. Neighborhood branch libraries that people (especially kids) can walk to, do wonders in getting books to people that need them the most while creating enjoyable, walk-able neighborhoods.
Our current library is
60,000 square feet. ABA says we "
need" a single
144,000 square foot library. A 144,000 square foot library would be the 6th largest in the state. Here's a photo of one that size in Tampa, FL
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| John K. Germany Library in Tampa, FL - Click to enlarge |
Much more on that and other large libraries here:
Following are all 16 CA cities with population between Sunnyvale's current 149,000 and projected 200,000 - plus Fremont. Only one has total library space even close to the 144,000 sq. ft. ABA says we "need". Analysis at the end.
1. Torrance (Pop. 149,000) One main and four branch libraries. Their combined size is very big for a city it's size as we will see in looking at other libraries.
72,400 + 7,200 + 4,400 + 3,973 + 3,973 = 91,946 SF
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| Main Library - 72,000 Square Feet - click photo to enlarge |
2. Escondido (pop. 150,000)
Three libraries: 40,000 SF + 14,000 SF + 3,700 SF = 57,700 SF.
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| Escondido Main 40,000 Sq. Ft. - click photo to enlarge |
The smallest library is a reading room adjacent to the main library.
3. Pomona (pop 153,000) has one library of 57,000 sq. ft. built in 1963
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| click photo to enlarge |
4. Hayward (pop 155,000) One new main and one branch:
57,000 + 8,600 = 65,600 SF
5. Salinas (pop. 157,000) A main and 4 branches (including county libraries with Salinas address):
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| John Steinbeck Public Library in Salinas - click photo to enlarge |
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| Buena Vista Branch Library - Shared with Middle School - Salinas |
6. Palmdale pop. 158,279 One main and one branch: 12,790 + 4,250 =
17,040 SF
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| Click photo to enlarge |
7. Lancaster pop. 161,043 One library 48,721 SF
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| Lancaster Public Library - Google "Street View" - click photo to enlarge |
8. Corona pop. 161,486 One main and three branches:
62,300 + 14,100 + 10,000 + 10,000 =
96,400 SF
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| Aerial View of Corona Main Library - click photo to enlarge |
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| Main Library "Street View" - click photo to enlarge |
9. Elk Grove pop. 163,553 Suburb of Sacramento with no main and two branch libraries:
19,621 + 13,850 =
33,471 SF
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| 19,621 Sq. Ft. Elk Grove Library Branch |
10. Ontario pop. 169,089 One main and one branch: 58,000 + 14,800 =
72,800 SF
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| Ontario CA Ovitt Family Community Library - click photo to enlarge |
11. Santa Rosa pop. 174,170 Part of the Sonoma County Library System. One main and three branches: 61,800 + 15,000 + 7,840 + 4,288 =
88,928 SF
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| Sonoma County Main Library in Santa Rosa - 61,800 Sq. Ft. - click photo to enlarge |
12. Rancho Cucamonga pop. 174,305 Two equal sized libraries:
23,000 + 22,500 =
45,500 SF
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| Archibald Ave. Library - click photo to enlarge |
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| Paul A. Biane Library sharing building with City Cultural Center - click photo to enlarge |
13. Oceanside pop. 174,558 One main and two branches:
32,000 + 12,500 + 1,054 =
45,554 SF
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| Oceanside's Gorgeous Main Public Library - 32,000 Sq. Ft. - click photo to enlarge |
14. Garden Grove pop. 175,078 Three branches:
21,484 + 5,279 + 5,279 =
32,042 SF
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| Civic Center Library - click photo to enlarge |
15. Santa Clarita pop. 181,557 One main and two branches:
30,100 + 23,966 + 17,000 =
71,066 SF
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| Street View of Newest branch - click photo to enlarge |
16. Glendale pop. 200,167 One large main and six(!) branches:
92,000 + 21,000 + 13,510 + 6,452 + 5,267 + 4,923 + 2,190 =
145,342 SF
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| "Street View" of Main Library - 92,000 Sq. Ft. - click photo to enlarge |
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| Aerial View shows how large main library is. "Street view" showed only upper right corner. |
That covers all the California cities with population between Sunnyvale's current 149,000 and potential future of 200,000. Since Fremont city is in the SF Bay area and a number of people have seen their main library, we skip over the next six CA cities by size to look at Fremont. And find its main library not much different from Sunnyvale's.
17. Fremont pop. 228,758 One main and three branches:
68,532 + 6,000 + 5,760 + 2,152 =
82,444 SF
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| Most of the front hidden by trees. This entrance is a small part. - click photo to enlarge |
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| The entrance in the previous photo is seen here in the semi-circle on upper left side. Only the area in the red square is the library. The rest is County Library Administration Offices |
Analysis:
Of the 17 cities in California covered, Sunnyvale's
total library space is larger than that of nine. Only 8 (less than half) have larger total library space than Sunnyvale.
Only 5 have larger main libraries than Sunnyvale's (60,000 sq. ft.) and usually by a very small amount.
Only 2 cities out of 17, Torrance and Glendale, have main libraries larger than Sunnyvale by more than 15% (i.e., bigger than 69,000 Sq. Ft.).
With a 17,000 square foot branch library, we would have more library space than 4 out of the 17 library systems in the cities surveyed - all of which are more populous than Sunnyvale.
In other words, if we are in some sort of competition to have the largest library facilities among cities up to 200,000 population, we could "win" with a small addition to our current library and building two to four branch libraries. By the way, if we win this competition, do we get a prize?
Here is a summary of our data - population of city, total library square feet for city, and SF (square feet) per person.
Total population of cities surveyed = 3M, Total library size = 1.2M SF, Avg. SF per person = 0.384.
To keep our current square foot per person of 0.405 with a population of 200,000, we would need a total library size of 81,000 sq. ft. We could get that by adding a branch library or two to add 21,000 square feet to our existing main of 60,000 SF.
We could match Glendale's total of 145,000 sq. ft. of library space with a 30,000 SF addition to our current library and a bunch of branches - like Glendale's. That would also beat Santa Clara, on a square foot per person basis, for what it's worth.
Before we indulge our inner cheerleader let's build some branches (maybe jointly with schools) to get the books to people (like kids) that need them.
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| We're Number 1! In square feet per person!! If anyone cares! |
Population info from:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_largest_California_cities_by_population
Library info from:
https://ca.countingopinions.com/index.php?page_id=3
ABAG's growth projections here:
http://planbayarea.org/pdf/final_supplemental_reports/FINAL_PBA_Forecast_of_Jobs_Population_and_Housing.pdf (search for "Sunnyvale")
