May 12 evening session set for parents, students and school staff interested in planning for a new Venice library

Meeting will be held in the Venice High School cafeteria at 6 p.m.

Sarabeth Kalajian. File photo
Sarabeth Kalajian. File photo

In response to requests from Venice-area parents, Sarasota County staff has scheduled a separate evening session specifically for parents, students and Sarasota County School District staff in Venice to participate in the planning of a new public library for that community, Sarabeth Kalajian, director of libraries and historical resources for the county, has announced.

After Kalajian reported to the County Commission last week that a session would be held just at 4 p.m. on May 12 for parents, students and school staff, Commissioner Christine Robinson told Kalajian that a number of parents had complained to her about the scheduling. “It’s during the workday, and the only [parents] that can go are stay-at-home moms,” Robinson pointed out.

In an April 13 email to County Administrator Tom Harmer, Kalajian reported that a second library planning session had been set from 6 to 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 12, at Venice High School “for public and private school students, parents, teachers and school staff.”

The session will be in the school cafeteria.

Harmer passed that news along to the commissioners via email.

Sarasota County staff is encouraging any interested members of the community to participate in the planning for a new facility to replace the Venice Public Library, which the County Commission ordered closed at the end of January because of concerns about the potential negative effects of mold in the building on patrons, staff and volunteers.

Updates about the process to create a temporary library in the Hamilton Building in Venice — along with the planning initiatives for a new facility — are available on the county website.