Florida: “New Chapter for the Boca Raton Library About to Begin”

From the South Florida Sun-Sentinel:

This week, the bookshelves went up at the new, $9.5 million facility that’s double the space of the current Downtown Library, in preparation for an opening expected in the next 45 days. Patrons will find that the bookshelves are one of the few remaining features that the new library has in common with the old.
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Tom Sloan, director of Boca’s library services, said the new facility is designed to be just as relevant in 2063 as it is in 2013.
“It’s a very open and flexible space that is going to evolve as the needs of the community evolve,” Sloan said.
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Still, though, the new Downtown Library construction has been a lightening rod for criticism, particularly since the $10 million Spanish River Library and Community Center was opened in 2008.
“I just didn’t think we needed a second library three-and-a-half miles from the other one,” said Tarina Rasmussen, who has lived in Boca for 36 years.
Linda Baumann, another longtime resident, said all four of her grandchildren have Kindles or Nooks, and wouldn’t think of visiting a library.

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