Swannanoa Library to close after 57 years
Buncombe County will not renew lease beyond June
Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
February 23, 2024
Buncombe County officials announced, Feb. 13, their intention to not renew a lease for the Swannanoa Public Library this summer. Photo by Fred McCormick
Swannanoa residents will be without library services this summer for the first time in 57 years, following a Feb. 13 announcement that Buncombe County would not renew its existing lease for the structure beyond this summer.
The decision to close the branch in Grovemont, based on a 2021 condition analysis of the building that identified $635,000 of repairs needed to maintain safety standards, is a “shock” to Swannanoa community leaders.
The Buncombe County Library system commissioned a facility study three years ago that recommended the closure of the Swannanoa and Black Mountain branches, which operate in leased buildings. The proposal also called for the future construction of a regional Black Mountain-Swannanoa facility, before Buncombe County Commissioners reversed course in response to public backlash.
In November of 2021, elected officials unanimously directed county management to “maintain the country’s current (library) facilities and presence in the existing libraries, including Black Mountain, Swannanoa and Weaerville.”
“We want to let folks know the services you have, and the facilities you have, we want to keep that and build on it,” Chair Brownie Newman said during the meeting.
Closing the Swannanoa branch, however, was an operational move by county management, according to Assistant County Manager DK Wesley.
“The decision by the commissioners was regarding adopting the Library Master Plan,” Wesley said in an email regarding the announcement. “This decision, made by County management, is an operational decision and would be the same even if the County owned the building.”
Costly repairs to the structure, which was constructed as a community center in 1952 and is currently owned by local nonprofit organization Swannanoa Community Council, were a factor when it ranked last among the 38 locations studied. Operating the branch does not represent the “best and highest use of public funds,” according to county staff.
The county began providing library services in the building in 1967, through a leasing agreement with the SCC. The existing lease will expire before the fiscal year begins, July 1. The branch’s final date of operation will be Saturday, June 29.
The SCC, which maintains the building, an adjacent playground, park and the historic Grovemont Square, calls the decision to effectively end library services for the Swannanoa community “unprecedented in the history of Buncombe County,” members wrote in a Feb. 19 letter to county commissioners.
The email, signed by SCC Chair Allen Dye, stated that “eliminating the (library) would be another significant blow to a community that’s already underserved.”
Swannanoa resident Roots Marshall echoed that sentiment, Feb. 20, in public comments during the county commission’s regular meeting.
“The purpose of government is to serve people and we are not served by the removal of our greatest public assets in one of the poorest areas of the county,” Marshall said. “I hope the county commission will reconsider this decision and allow our library to stay with us.”
Closing the branch would have a detrimental impact on the community, Marshall added, citing the access it provides to free Wi-Fi and computers, books and programs for children as key resources for a growing number of families moving to the area.
County staff, however, maintain that current mobile programs through its preschool outreach program, the possible addition of “21st century mobile programming” and potentially connecting recreation and library services could fill the gaps.
“If the community operates that facility as a community center, there will be opportunities for events like story time,” Wesley said.
Carol Groben, who serves as the vice chair of the Friends of the Swannanoa Library board and as a member of the Friends and Neighbors of Swannanoa (FANS), was “completely shocked” by the announcement that the lease would not be renewed for the 2024-25 fiscal year.
“It came completely out of the blue,” said Groben, an active member of the FOSL for approximately 25 years. “We thought we were on a completely different track, moving forward with the county to try to improve what was already very inadequate library services in Swannanoa. We had reason to believe we were on track.”
In March of 2022, the SCC met with county leadership to discuss recommended facility improvements, according to the nonprofit’s treasurer, George Scott. The parties met throughout 2023, while the SCC contends that a potential closure of the facility was never mentioned.
“We believed we were working toward a solution that would keep library services in Swannanoa,” Scott said. “So this announcement really caught us off-guard.”
The building needs new walls, water lines and an American with Disabilities Act (ADA)-compliant stairwell, according to county representatives. An updated HVAC system, ductwork and windows were also included among the necessary improvements, officials added.
The decision-making process, according to Groben, lacks transparency.
“It’s a really critical decision that appears to have been made behind the scenes,” she said. “There are some serious process issues, and usually flawed processes lead to bad decisions. I believe that’s what is going on here.”
Community support for the library has been the primary source of upkeep for the facility for decades, Groben added.
“Most of what has been done in that building has been through the blood, sweat and tears of volunteers in this community and money we have raised with the SCC to make improvements to the building,” she said. “The county has invested no significant amount of money into this library whatsoever, and now they’re balking at having to spend money to bring what is an inadequate library that has not fully served the needs of Swannanoa residents up to speed.”
The 3,276-square-foot Swannanoa branch served nearly 21,000 users in 2023, according to county data, the lowest among current facilities. Closing the library, according officials, will allow the county to reallocate resources across the system.
“Change is never easy. We know this may be disappointing for those neighbors who utilize this library, but operationally, we just can’t justify these extensive ongoing costs,” Wesley said in the Feb. 13 announcement. “While we will no longer operate this leased property as a library at the end of the fiscal year, we are planning to grow our services at the East Asheville and Black Mountain Libraries in ways that will ensure the Grovemont and Swannanoa communities have great options to support their love of reading and connecting. We’ll also explore mobile programming in conjunction with our CORE programming from Parks & Recreation this spring and summer.”
Community advocates, however, urge elected leaders to reconsider.
“I think we all believed that Swannanoa would continue to have a library facility in our community, and the county would begin working with the SCC to serve the library needs of Swannanoa residents,” Groben said. “That, in fact, began to happen until this surprise announcement.”
Losing a critical service in an underserved community, she added, would leave Swannanoa residents without a valuable resource.
“It leaves our community feeling overlooked, disrespected, unheard and marginalized,” Groben said. “You can’t solve the problem of inadequate services in a community by removing the services altogether.”