by Bradley Parsons
Staff Writer
The president of Jacksonville’s Friends of the Library said Monday the City has not delivered on a commitment to provide storage space for recycled and donated books, perhaps threatening the group’s used-book sale, which earns about $100,000 annually for the City’s libraries.
Jeanine Peterson said Library Director Ken Sivulich and Rex Holmlin, the Better Jacksonville Plan’s library project manager, had promised since May that her organization could use a City-owned University Park site, starting Sept. 1, to store and sort books. Just 10 days before the Friends were to move, Peterson said Holmlin told her the building — a former Kmart and future branch library — would not be available. She was told insurance and liability issues scuttled the deal.
“It was either an insurance problem or a City lawyer problem,” said Peterson. “It really puts us behind in what we can do to get ready for our book sale.”
The Friends have signed an agreement with the Jacksonville Fairgrounds to hold its annual Great Book Sale from March 4-7. The sale recycles thousands of donated books — the majority of them from the City’s libraries — and re-invests the profits into the libraries. Unless suitable storage is found soon, Peterson said her group could be forced to postpone or cancel the sale, costing the libraries and possibly leaving the Friends liable for the fairgrounds rental fee. Peterson said her group paid $7,000 for the fairgrounds last year.
Peterson credited the City for its attempts to secure a new location. However, the proposed sites all lacked space or amenities. Peterson said the site would require more than 3,000 square feet just for storage, and would require additional space for volunteers to sort through the books. She said air conditioning and a safe location would be essential to attract volunteers.
Until a location is found, Peterson said she will continue to put off volunteers who call her daily, wanting to know where they should go to help sort. If storage is found in the next two months, Peterson said the delay will simply mean more work for her organization and their volunteers. However, if the books are still homeless come November and December, Peterson said the March book sale “probably wouldn’t happen.
“It’s frustrating, because we do them a favor. We take books that are withdrawn from circulation and turn it into cash,” said Peterson.
This year’s struggles have made Peterson’s organization wary of their dependence on the City to provide storage. She said her group is not obligated to donate the book sale funds and could instead keep the money, saving it to buy or lease their own building.
More likely though, Peterson said the group would move into a City-leased or donated building. Holmlin already proposed to lease a University Boulevard warehouse paid for out of his budget, but the space was too small. The rent would have cost the City about $16,000. While Holmlin looks for suitable space, Peterson said there was an open invitation to City property owners with 10,000 feet of empty storage space.