Friends of the Orange County Southern Branch Library would like your input about a proposed new Carrboro branch at 300 West Main Street in 2017.

The last community engagement session on March 25 about a possible branch at 300 East Main yielded one unsurprising conclusion: People still want books. Physical books.

Here’s Library Director Lucinda Munger of the Orange County Public Library:

“They also want to make sure that there is the latest software, computers, technology that’s available in the library – WiFi. But they also want some spaces that are dedicated to art –even to creation of music.”

The standing-room-only event at Hickory Tavern was a chance for Orange County Libraries and The Freelon Group of Durham to get a sense of how the branch could serve both the rural and downtown communities of Carrboro.

And there were some interesting suggestions.Some people wanted a space for dance and yoga. One person asked for a treadmill.

And remember folks, this is Carrboro we’re talking about here, so…

“Some people even said, ‘We want cats.’”

That’s right, folks – cats. What could be better than a soft kitty curled up in your lap while you’re reading The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn?

It’s too soon to say whether cats will make the cut, but you can add your voice to the discussion Saturday, April 12 at Carrboro Town Hall from noon until 2 p.m.

For this session, The Freelon group wants to dig deeper into some of the responses they received at the March 25th session.

“The commissioners have not made any final decision about where this proposed library should go,” she says. “This is part of the information finding that we’ll present back to the BoCC.”

That presentation will happen in May, at which time Commissioners could decide whether to move forward with the property.

Munger says that people seem to like the location, for “the synergy between the library and the ArtsCenter, The Cat’s Cradle, the hotel and the shops.”

“So many possibilities,” she says. “So many partnerships – not just with the businesses, but with the residents of the Caring Community, the Spanish-speaking community, and some of the low-income areas.”

The new branch would replace the Carrboro Branch Library at McDougle Middle School; and the Cybrary at the Carrboro Century Center.

To fill out a community-engagement survey regarding the Southern Branch Library, click here.