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Library metamorphosis

The Citrus Springs library, built with donations and run by volunteers, is likely to get a boost in county funding.

By CATHERINE E. SHOICHET
Published August 15, 2005

	[Times photo: Stephen J. Coddington]
	Evelyn Bell, a volunteer clerk, arranges books on shelves at the Citrus Springs Memorial Library, which is seeking an increase in funding from the county. For 19 years, the library has been run mostly off donations, and all the staff members are volunteers.

CITRUS SPRINGS - John and Virginia Buelke drove up and down Florida's west coast, looking for a place to settle down for their retirement. Citrus Springs won their hearts. It seemed like a place where people would mind their own business and steer clear of neighborhood squabbles.

But once they arrived in 1981, they realized something was missing.

She was a retired English teacher. He was a retired professor of education and psychology. Books were important to them. The Citrus Springs library, however, consisted of a few sparse shelves tucked underneath the windows in the community center.

So, in 1986, with land donated from a developer, Deltona, the Buelkes designed a library and donated money - nearly $60,000 - to build it. They called it the Citrus Springs Memorial Library and dedicated it to their parents.

They didn't expect the 1,450-square-foot library to grow.

After all, "Citrus Springs was in the boonies," said Virginia Buelke, 87.

Now, with two additions, the library is 2,640 square feet.

And Citrus Springs, which celebrates its 35th anniversary this year, is in the boonies no longer.

"Since then, everything has just ballooned," Buelke said. "It's hit us between the eyes."

Within a year, she said, 12 homes have been built within three blocks of the library. And as costs rise and demand increases, Buelke said, the library is having trouble making ends meet.

For 19 years, the book-crammed library has been run mostly off donations. All staff members are volunteers.

Since 1999, the county has given the library $5,652 per year, even though the Citrus Springs Memorial Library doesn't fit within the county's library plan. County officials realize the library provides an important service to the community, County Commission Chairwoman Vicki Phillips said.

But with the rapid growth of Citrus Springs, the community library's leaders say that money is no longer enough. They're asking the county to double it. They argue that Citrus Springs property owners contribute about 15 percent of the property tax revenue the county collects for library services.

Growth is good for Citrus Springs, Buelke said. But if the library can't get more money, it won't be able to keep up with demand.

According to an October 2004 inventory, the library has more than 20,000 items in its collection, including 14,498 books, 526 videos and 270 puzzles. The library has nearly 2,000 cardholders, with 12 new members joining each month.

As Buelke zips around the library, she points out signs of its growth.

There's the small square quilt made by members of the Citrus Springs quilting group that began in the library. The group grew so large that it had to start meeting at the Citrus Springs Community Center.

There are the stained-glass windows donated by supporters of the library, a smiling clown for the children's section and a depiction of a family tree for the genealogy section.

And then there are the images in Buelke's mind. The memory of friends - many of whom have passed away - on their hands and knees, scrubbing the floors to prepare for new carpeting during the library's expansion.

To see how Citrus Springs is changing, Buelke said, just take a look at the library's patrons.

The library used to be a resource mainly for the area's many retirees. It contains shelf after shelf of mysteries and romance novels, biographies and large-print bestsellers. A special point of pride is the library's collection of western books.

"Men love them," Buelke said.

But people increasingly are coming in to request library cards for their children. Buelke said she expects the children's area of the library, which contains hundreds of books, will become more popular.

Fay Ziech, 80, who has been volunteering at the library since she moved to Citrus Springs 19 years ago, said she hopes to start a children's program at the library on Saturdays this fall.

The library, Buelke said, is a testament to the strength of the Citrus Springs community. "It shows that when you believe in something and when you can convince others that it's important, you can get something done," she said.

When Norma Rourke, 79, and her husband built a house in Citrus Springs in 1988, they picked a site near the library "just to be near books."

When the couple moved into the house in 1990, Rourke started volunteering at the library right away. "It's a wonderful little library. We have everything that anyone would want," said Rourke, who helps with the library's publicity and regularly checks out nonfiction books.

The library likely will receive the requested increase when the County Commission approves its 2006 budget, said Cathy Taylor, county director of management and budget. Now, she said, the budget includes $11,304 for the library.

The extra money from the county would be well spent, Buelke said.

The library would like to start a DVD collection, for example. It owns only one DVD.

"There are a lot of things we'd like to do, but we're hampered by funding," Buelke said.

--Catherine E. Shoichet can be reached at cshoichet@sptimes.com or 860-7309.

[Last modified August 15, 2005, 02:30:20]