The Evolution of a Library

Here we are at the end of week 2, getting ready to officially open the new library, and we thought it would be nice to look at the way the new space has evolved. Click on the pictures for full-size versions.

New Moves, Old Moves

We are halfway through our big move to new quarters for the DeWitt Community Library, so for today's post we thought it would be fun to look at the 1975 archives and the original move in comparison to this one. And let me tell you, kiddies, we have more in common with '75 than a penchant for bell bottom jeans and jive talk. A lot of the circumstances of the two moves are similar: the need for a lot more space; the timetable for the move (then, like now, we had until April to remain in our old space until plans for demolishing it were put into effect, and the earliest date the new space would be ready was January first); Greater Syracuse Moving and Storage Company was employed for both moves (although the cost definitely increased, as in 1975 the company was "to move the books, shelving, furniture and equipment for $500-$600); and, although Greater Syracuse Moving and Storage is doing the bulk of the work, during this move the staff has helped a great deal by packing out and unpacking the entire non-fiction and most of the computers ourselves, just as in 1975 the library had Boy Scout Troop 162 helping to pack up and move a lot of books and materials.

In the previous move, we had planned to and succeeded in securing that location for a great number of years, and as library services and materials increased we made as much room as we could; but this time, our move is temporary. Although we had over 7,000 square feet in the main area of our old library (not counting some office space we rented down the hall a few years ago), and we are moving to a space with about 12,000 square feet, ultimately the DCL needs 24,000 square feet to be comfortable and have room to grow. Therefore, the terms of our lease state we must occupy this new space for at least 3 years, and our lease with the mall isn't up until 2015, but the library Board of Trustees is going to use this time to find property on which we can build our own stand-alone space somewhere in DeWitt. So, it may not be long before we're packing up and moving again, but for now we have a beautiful new space in ShoppingTown, with much greater visibility within the mall, better lighting, and better use of space than we had in the old basement.

Famous Names at the DCL

While perusing our archives (which we do frequently), we realized that the DeWitt Community Library has hosted some pretty big names in the writing world, so we thought it would be fun to look back at a few of them.

In 1975, for example, the Onondaga County Library System sponsored a visit by Matt Christopher, who has written over 100 children's sports novels that have sold almost 6 million copies. Some of his titles, available at the DeWitt Library, are: Catch That Pass!, The Dog That Pitched a No-Hitter, Mountain Bike Mania, and most recently a book called Dirt Bike Racer.

We have also had Alyssa Satin Capucilli visit us twice. Capucilli writes a popular series of children's books featuring Biscuit the Dog. She came to talk about the process of publishing a picture book in 2002 and then again in 2005, and stayed to enjoy refreshments and sign books afterwards. Her titles include: Biscuit Finds a Friend, Mrs. McTats and Her Houseful of Cats, Biscuit Visits the Big City, and of course the original Biscuit.

Most recently, we have had visits from Miriam Grace Monfredo and Tamora Pierce. Monfredo, author of the popular Glynis Tryon series, read from her work in January of 2006, when her book North Star Conspiracy was chosen as the CNY Reads novel for that year; and Pierce, who writers Young Adult fantasy novels, some of which comprise her Circle of Magic series, gave a reading and signed books in May of 2007.

Click on the pictures to see full-size photos of our big-name guests. All the books mentioned in this entry are available at the DeWitt Community Library.