Dayton, Ohio: Library’s $187M Plan Would Reshape System

From the Dayton Daily News:

Voters will shape the future of the Dayton Metro Library System and the services it offers with an up or down vote on Issue 70, a $187 million bond issue to fund a system-wide construction and renovation project on November 6.
If passed, the proposed plan for the system will consolidate the main library in downtown Dayton and 20 branches into 17 buildings. Newer suburban branches would get updates. The endeavor would be one of the largest building projects with direct neighborhood impact in Montgomery County, since the $627-million Dayton Public Schools construction program.
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If voters approve the 26-year, 1.56 mills property tax levy, the library board will seek design proposals by next summer. Groundbreaking on renovation projects would begin in 2013 and most, if not all, of the projects would be completed in four years.
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More than 3.6 million patrons visited a Dayton Metro Library in 2011, checking out 7 million books, compact discs, movies and other materials. Kambitsch said waiting lines for computers have become routine. Many of the branches are too small for library programs and lack community space.

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