Black Mountain leaders strongly opposed to potential library closure

Proposal calls for consolidation of Swannanoa and Black Mountain branches

Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
May 11, 2021

Local leaders are opposed to a proposal by the Buncombe County Libraries that would close branches in Black Mountain and Swannanoa in favor of a larger regional branch. Photo by Fred McCormick

A proposal to modernize Buncombe County Public Libraries calls for the closing and consolidation of the branches in Swannanoa and Black Mountain in favor of a modern facility. 

The recommendation is part of the Buncombe County Libraries Facility Master Plan, which has yet to be presented to the county commission, and was brought before the board by town attorney Ron Sneed in the May 10 regular monthly meeting of the Black Mountain Town Council. 

“My personal concern, of course, is that the library is always a community center,” Sneed told council members during his public communication near the end of the meeting. “That’s why it caught my attention. I’m on the library board and that strikes me as potentially losing a big piece of the community, and that’s why I brought it to this board.”

In response to an email inquiry from Black Mountain Mayor Larry Harris, county commission chair Brownie Newman stated the proposal had yet to be presented to Buncombe County’s governing body. 

“I just want to be clear, and certainly from my perspective and from what I can understand of this, I’m certainly not supportive of this plan,” Harris said. “I’d hope the council would feel the same way. When it becomes clear for us it’s time to pass a resolution, unless we know something extraordinarily different than what we’ve heard, it’s hard for me to think of supporting a plan to close the Black Mountain Library.”

The topic was added to the agenda for an unrelated special call meeting scheduled for Thursday, May 13.

“We added this to the agenda so the council can take it up if need be,” Harris said. 

Councilmember Pam King shared the concerns of Sneed and Harris.

“It hasn’t come in front of the (county) commission yet, and this is in the very early stages, but I think it’s good that the community knows,” she said. 

King added she planned to meet with Buncombe County Libraries Director Jim Blanton on May 11. 

“I have a million questions of my own and if you all have any questions you’d like to send my way I’d be glad to get some answers and share them with you on Thursday,” she said to the mayor and board.

“For my purposes, if it’s agreeable to council, I’d like you to let the director know that we’re not supportive of that, at all,” Harris responded. 

“I’m fully prepared to convey that message,” said King, who served three years as the president of the Friends of the Black Mountain Library. 

The proposal to combine the two branches into one 20,000-square-foot regional facility was part of a larger plan presented to the library board, April 27. 

The document reports that the two branches are among the smallest in the county system and rank lowest in conditions. Neither building is owned by the county, the plan states, rendering the funding of major renovations to the existing structures impractical, according to the library system master plan. 

The project timeline summary within the plan indicates the consolidation of the branches would occur within two years.