Why Fayetteville Rules: Fayetteville Public Library
When the Fayetteville Public Library broke ground on its new location on April 27th, 2002, Fayetteville residents probably had no idea what an incredible gift they were going to receive upon its completion.
Officially opened on October 9th, 2004, the Fayetteville Public Library is like none other in the area. First of all, the building is awesome with over 90,000 square feet of space for books, cd’s, dvd’s, books, magazines, books, and did I mention books? Second of all, you can read your books in an awesome well-lit cafe while enjoying a half-caf-double-tall-non-fat-whole-milk-foam-bone-dry-half-pump-mocha and a muffin from Arsaga’s. You can check out that new Toni Morrison book, or the next installment of the Twilight Series, or the complete works of Shakespeare that you need for your World Lit class for free (that is, if you remember to bring it back on time, and if you live in Washington County or Rogers, or if you work, go to school, or own property in Fayetteville). You can also check out DVD’s and CD’s for free, and the Fayetteville Public Library has a pretty good selection of both.
Last week, the FPL reported 1,000,000 checkouts in 2008, which is pretty insane for a city with only around 72,000 people in it.
It’s a testament to the awesomeness of not only the building, which is comfortable, modern, and spacious, but also to the donors, the board of trustees, and the staff that have maintained the library so well, and kept it stocked with new and relevant media for almost 4 years now.
The FPL is also a great place for book club meetings, community events, readings and book signings from well known writers, art exhibitions, reading programs for kids, etc. Plus, the staff is always friendly, helpful, and sexy.
The ol’ FPL was the first LEED certified building in Fayetteville building in Arkansas to register for LEED certification and was officially LEED-Silver certified in 2006, just a year after winning a national award in 2005 as the Thomson Gale/ Library Journal Library of the Year. Eat that, Springdale.
Show me a community in Northwest Arkansas with a better public library, and I’ll personally give you $1000, because it doesn’t exist. The Fayetteville Public Library, or the Blair Library, as it is sometimes called, is totally awesome, and yet another reason why Fayetteville rules.
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Louise Schaper
June 19, 2009
I love this article! Just an FYI, even though the accolades are great, we were not the first LEED certified building in Fayetteville. Blair Library was, however, the first building in Arkansas to register for LEED certification (2001). However, we had to build and complete the building in order to apply for certification. The SILVER certification was not official until 2006. The UA Innovation Center is the first building in Fayetteville to be LEED certified.
Being a LEED-Silver certified building is fantastic. We saved about $46,000 off our energy bill in the first full year of building system performance. Plus, it’s great to work in and spend time in a building that is not off-gassing. We are continuing to green the building with such efforts as LED lights, green computing, more sustainable work practices and, soon, photovoltaic solar panels.
Louise Schaper,
Executive Director
Fayetteville Public Library
Todd Gill
June 19, 2009
Thanks for the clarification, Louise! We’ve updated the story to reflect that info.
Laurie from HOPE
August 17, 2009
My brother, an up-and-coming illustrator of children’s books, is in town for a month. He was recently looking for a good spot to research and draw for a project, and I told him to check out the library. He has since told me that I am a genius. I would like to think it’s because… well, I am. But I think it’s because the library is so CRAZY cool and he found the peace, the resources, and the space he needed to get some awesome work done.
So, thanks FPL – you rock!!
p.s. and thanks for having my brother’s books on your shelves! :)
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