March 10, 2004
Tough sledding for library funds
Community sledding party raises awareness about proposed library
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
Swooping down the hills at Twin Lakes Camp Sunday afternoon, young residents of Long Lake Township were helping the township create a new library.
One of the fastest growing communities in the region, Long Lake Township received a green light for a branch library in the fall of 2002 from the Traverse Area District Library board.
Since summer, a volunteer capital committee has worked to raise the $1 million necessary to construct the facility. The Traverse Area District Library will furnish and run the branch library once the township builds it. No new township taxes will be levied to pay for the construction.
Sunday's Community Sledding Party, while not a fund-raiser per se, was an investment in the library's future by getting the word out to township residents.
"Today is just to raise awareness," said Larry Dobler, co-chair of the capital committee. "There is lots of community support but funds are tight right now; I thought it would take us six months to raise the money, but I've been wrong."
The party featured sledding on the camp's hills as well as sweet treats and story time in the lodge. Drawings and architectural plans for the proposed library, which will be located at the corner of North Long Lake and Manhattan roads, were also on display.
"This is a great thing to do for the community and it gives the library a little more notice in the community," said Martin Kuttner of Long Lake Township, who attended the event with his family.
Much of Long Lake Township's growth is based on young families either buying or building in the area. The community features two of the larger elementary schools in the Traverse City Area Public Schools district and also has some students who attend nearby Silver Lake Elementary School.
Saving parents the ten-mile trek into town to check out or return library books is one benefit community members embrace.
"I'm excited to have a library in the community," said Ann O'Leary, who attended the sledding party with her family. "I have one daughter in kindergarten this year and one in it next year and they love to read. We usually go to the library on Woodmere, this will save so much time to go two miles instead of ten."
The Long Lake Township Reading Room has offered a stopgap book fix for the township for the past seven years in its closet-sized facility. This room, located in the township hall, draws readers of all ages during its limited hours. However, use of the facility long ago outstripped capacity.
The new branch library will also be geared to a variety of community events for all ages. It will also feature Internet access and a children's area as well as a variety of library services.
"Really part of this library notion is that it will be a community center as well as a library," Dobler added. "It can be used for senior citizens, scout troops and all sorts of community-related things."
Putting money into libraries is a long-term community investment, Dobler said, laughing at the notion that books will soon be outdated.
"Sometimes I get this comment that libraries are a thing of the past but I don't believe it," he said. "Reading is more than a visual thing, it's a tactile thing, an olfactory thing. There will always be books."