Page 2 - Florida Sentinel 7-21-17

Feature
Meeting Held Recently To Update Community On Reconstruction Of C. Blythe Andrews, Jr. Library
BY KENYA WOODARD Sentinel Feature Writer
Security and color schemes dominated the dis- cussion at the latest meeting about the new C. Blythe An- drews, Jr. Library.
About 20 residents and li- brary employees and sup- porters gathered Tuesday at Robert Saunders Library to hear updates on the con- struction process for the branch’s replacement build- ing.
Meeting attendees got the chance to review color swatches and drawings of the library shared by representa- tives from design firm Fleis- chman Garcia.
Slated to open in Decem- ber 2018, the new building will be two stories and fea- ture a grand staircase, meet- ing rooms, patio space, a café, computer labs, and space devoted to the digital archives of the Florida Sen- tinel Bulletin newspaper.
The meeting rooms open out to the patio area which is positioned right off of land- scaping surrounding a large, beloved tree on the grounds, said firm leader Sol Fleis- chman.
“This is a very exciting project,” he said. “It’s really come together.”
The design team also wanted to get attendees’
The late C. BLYTHE ANDREWS, JR.
input on suggested color schemes and patterns which include shades of red, green, and gray.
“We’ve tweaked and tweaked to make it better and better,” said Carolina Curran, an interior de- signer with Fleischman Gar- cia. “It’s a process.”
While the plans generally were well-received, some residents did take issue with the placement of the Chil- dren’s Library on the second floor because the location is out of the line of sight of se- curity on the first floor.
Some favored moving the Children’s Library to the first floor.
But the second floor is de- signed so that the Children’s Library surrounded by win- dows and positioned adja- cent to the circulation desk so that staff can keep an eye
Rendering of the new C. Blythe Andrews, Jr. Branch Public Library. (Photo courtesy Fleischman Garcia)
on the area at all times, Fleischman said.
Brenda Staton, a for- mer member of the Tampa- Hillsborough Library Board, said she’s not convinced the above design measures are enough to ensure the safety of the branch’s littlest pa- trons.
“Security is always my concern,” she said.
Nonetheless, Staton said
the new building will be a great improvement over the old branch which had be- come too small for the neigh- borhood it served. Built in 1994, the library was re- named in 2010 after late Florida Sentinel Bulletin owner and publisher, C.
Blythe Andrews, Jr., who died the same year.
“I’m excited for the neigh- borhood because this library will offer lots of things to do,” she said. “I think it’s going to be a wonderful opportunity for the children and the neighborhood.”
PAGE 2-A FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY FRIDAY, JULY 21, 2017