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PART IV PROGRAM NARRATIVE The City of San Marcos is served by a single 10,416 square foot library which was constructed in 1966. Though orig inally designed to house a collection or 30,000 books, the library now houses over 43, 000 items including a wide variety of audiovisual materials and equipment, computer hardware and software, maps and local history materials. Each new variety of materials added to the collec- tion has required special shelving and space allocations. Likewise, library services have expanded over the years to include I iteracy and G ED tutoring, income tax assistance, and an active program of leisure learning for both adults and children. Again, each new service offered by the library puts a special demand on our limited space. In addition to growth in these two areas, the library staff has increased in size from three people in 1967 to thirteen people (8.55 FTE1s) in 1985. As a result, the library is now faced with a critical shortage of work space, shelving space and reader space. According to the City of San Marcos Masterplan, one of the city's stated objec- tives is to expand the central library located in downtown San Marcos at 310 W. Hutchison Street. I n April 1984 the community took an important first step towards attainment of that objective by voting in favor of selling $450,000 in general obligation bonds to expand the library building. Current plans for expansion provide for a 9,500 square foot, single stor"y structure to be buill onto the north side of the library on a vacant, city- owned strip of property. The expansion would be. approximately 190' x 50' and would create an "L" shaped building with one leg of the "LI! extending into the library parking lot. Adding 9,500 square feet of floOl" space to the present building would create a 19,916 square foot facility, thus meeting Wheeler and Goldhor's minimum space standard of 0.6 square feet per capita. (The population served by the San Marcos Public Library is estimated by the Texas State Library to be 33,084.) It is the city's intention to fund the libl-ary expansion by applying for $100,000 in LSCA, Title II funds and matching this with $450,000 in revenue generated by the sale of general obligation bonds. The availability of federal funds will make it possible to increase the si ze of the building to meet mini- mum space standa rds set forth by Wheeler and Goldhor. Federal funds will also make it possible for the city to hire a library building consultant and to furnish the addition, thus insuring that the city would have a high quality, fully usable library upon completion of the project. An estimated timetable for the Pl"oposed building project may be found on the nex t page. The state senator- and t-epl-esentative set"ving this area aloe: Senator" Gonzalo Bal-rientos Representative Anne Coopet- P.O. Box 1201>8 P.O. Box 2910 Capitol Station Capitol Station Austin, TX 73711 Austin, TX 78711