ORANGE : Library Site Panel to Be Named Soon

A committee will be taking shape soon to consider possible sites for a new main library in the city.

The current library, on Chapman Avenue between Center and Shaffer streets, was built in 1960 when there were 22 library staff members and a city population of 26,000, library director Karen Leo said.

With 50 staff members and a population of more than 107,000, the present 22,140-square-foot building is considered inadequate.

A consultant hired by the city recommended two locations for the new library, but residents at a public hearing last week criticized both sites.

One of the proposals is to raze the present library and rebuild on the current site, but this would require either building a smaller library than recommended by a consultant or buying about 10 homes to the north of the library for expansion.

Buying the homes, in a section of Old Town, is unacceptable to many, City Councilwoman Joanne Coontz has said.

Building at the other site recommended by the consultant, the corner of East Chapman Avenue and Yorba Street, was unacceptable to some because it is a former dump, Leo said.

Mayor Don E. Smith suggested another location, the County Fire Department headquarters on East Chapman Avenue at Water Street. Smith said the county may move to another location.

The committee, the five library board trustees and five residents to be appointed by the City Council, will consider these and other possible locations for a new library and will report back to the council at a study session scheduled for March 27, Leo said.