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75 <br /> Option 3 — Build a full service branch library in West County. <br /> Issues <br /> ■ As mentioned above , the West County population is large enough to warrant a full <br /> service public library branch , although not a large one . <br /> ■ Commercial/retail business and other attractors are numerous here . A library can be <br /> built in a location near public attractors and with high visibility if appropriate <br /> property is available for sale . <br /> Option 4 — Open a popular branch library in West County. <br /> The availability of retail and commercial establishments along S . R . 60, including an <br /> enclosed shopping mall , provides an opportunity to meet local needs at a lower level of <br /> service and less expensively than a full service library . <br /> Issues <br /> ■ The Main Library is less than four miles from the mall and even closer to the <br /> commercial areas along S . R . 60 . West County residents can access Main quite easily <br /> by car. Public transit improvements will allow limited access by bus in future . <br /> r■ <br /> ■ Popular branch service is appropriate for a heavily over 65 population because of <br /> their interest in best seller, genre fiction , informal gathering and reading spaces . <br /> ■ The lack of formal gathering space (meeting and conference rooms) in a popular <br /> service branch will be a detriment to this part of the county where free meeting space <br /> is not readily available for the community. <br /> Recommendation : West County <br /> Option 2 — Build a joint use public/community college branch library on the IRCC, <br /> Mueller Campus large enough to meet the needs of the West County area, with <br /> construction and operating costs shared. <br /> South County <br /> Library and county management recognize the need for local public library service in the <br /> southern part of the county. Local service has been close to a reality in the past but then did not <br /> happen . South County residents rely on the Main Library for their service now but they need a <br /> local library for the reasons below . <br /> ■ Population — The projected 2005 population of the South County area is estimated as <br /> 34 , 363 people . By 2025 that is projected to grow to about 50 ,000 . The Main Library <br /> will not be adequate to continue as the nearest public library in the face of this much <br /> population growth . Map 1 shows that parts of this area have a heavy density of <br /> registered library users . The incidence of persons living below poverty is from 10 to <br /> 17 . 65 % per census block , indicating a need for library service . There are also pockets <br /> of population whose residents have a high incidence of no high school diploma. This <br /> area appears to have children who use the library — juvenile registered borrower <br /> density is high . <br /> w <br /> Indian River County Library Master Facilities Plan 2005 - 2025 <br />