The Baldwin Public Library Board of Directors and the Birmingham City Commission agree that it is time to explore the future of the Baldwin Public Library building.

PROPOSED CHARGE TO JOINT BUILDING COMMITTEE
February 16, 2012

The Baldwin Public Library Board of Directors and the Birmingham City Commission agree that
it is time to explore the future of the Baldwin Public Library building.  To further that goal, they
have agreed to form a Joint Building Committee consisting of three representatives from the
Library Board, three representatives from the City Commission, and one representative from
the City of Birmingham Planning Board.

The meetings of the Joint Building Committee will be publicly noticed, and all interested parties
will have the opportunity to attend the meetings or otherwise offer input.  

The objectives of the Joint Building Committee are:

1. To develop a timeline for the work listed below.
2. To clarify the responsibilities of the Library Board and City Commission in the building
renovation and/or expansion process.
3. To determine, through benchmarking and other studies, where Baldwin currently stands
in relationship to public library best practices, and to undertake an analysis of probable
future library trends and how they will affect library building utilization and
configuration. 
4. To develop, through public input, a consensus on what kind of Library the citizens of
Birmingham need, want, and are willing to pay for.
5. To consider the role of the Baldwin Library’s three contract communities in this process.
6. To list the most critical features that will appear in the updated building.
7. From the above information, to determine which path is more desirable:  
A. A renovation of the building’s current footprint, or 
B. An expansion of the building, or
C. A combination of the two
The selected plan might or might not resemble either of the plans already sketched out
and presented to the public.
8. To recommend the appropriate method of obtaining professional assistance to develop
the building plan fully.
9. To explore funding options for the building plan and make a recommendation on which
option(s) to pursue.  The funding options may include, but are not limited to, current
Library and City millages and cash reserves, a new voter-approved millage, and private
fundraising.
10. By December 2012, to present to the Baldwin Public Library Board and the Birmingham
City Commission a set of recommendations on how to proceed.

With the information provided by the Joint Committee, the Library Board and City Commission
can then budget for the next stage of the project in FY 2013-14.  That stage would include the
preparation of an architectural plan as well as detailed financial estimates.