'Blindsided,' 'devastated': Swannanoa groups, residents react to library closure plan

Swannanoa community members and organizations are calling Buncombe County’s Feb. 13 announcement that it would close the Swannanoa Library June 29 a “blindside.”

George Scott, the chair of the Friends of the Swannanoa Library and the treasurer of the Swannanoa Community Council, said the organizations were informed of the closure via email Feb. 13 shortly before the public announcement.

The parcel of land the Swannanoa Library sits on is one of three in the area that is owned by the Swannanoa Community Council, a nonprofit all-volunteer organization. In addition to the library and playground parcel, the council also owns the parcels of land where the outdoor classroom and Grovemont Park sit. According to Scott, all three of these parcels are leased to Buncombe County for $8,000 a year. The county provides lawn maintenance for the outdoor areas.

Scott said the work between the Swannanoa Community Council and the county has been a “longtime collaboration,” and the council was “completely blindsided” by the announcement.

He said the library, which sits in the middle of the Grovemont neighborhood, serves not only that neighborhood, but all of Swannanoa.

“Swannanoa needs a library for the people of Swannanoa in Swannanoa,” Scott said. “I think that’s an important statement to get out there.”

Scott said he and the council question the process in which the decision to close the library was made. He said he and the council do not believe the decision was made transparently, and “the process appears to have been flawed.”

In the Feb. 13 news release announcing the closure, the county said a condition analysis was finalized in 2021 that evaluated 38 different county locations. Of those location, the Swannanoa Library ranked last with a score of 1.69 on a scale of 1 to 5.

Lillian Govus, a Buncombe County spokesperson, previously told Black Mountain News this rating was based on the library building’s need for new walls, waterlines, an ADA compliant stairwell, furnace, HVAC, ductwork, windows, water heater and roof.

According to the news release, the cost of these repairs would be $635,000.

Scott said some of these areas of concern have already been addressed. According to Scott, the roof was replaced in 2015, the furnace and HVAC systems were replaced in 2021, and the water heater was replaced in 2023. He also said the estimates for the repairs appear to be “over inflated, potentially.”

Library user Katie Hadden said regardless of the condition of the library, it is “unacceptable” to close it.

“If there’s problems with something, you work on it, you don’t close it,” Hadden said. “Closing should be the last resort, not the first decision. … It’s a small library, and I understand the building has some problems, but it’s a very vibrant community and the library is a big part of us here.”

Therie Smith, who said she brings her children to the Swannanoa Library at least twice a week, said the news of the closure was “devastating.”

She said she homeschools her children and she relies on all of the Buncombe County libraries, including the Swannanoa Library, to teach. She said they often go to the Swannanoa Library for its programming.

“I feel like this is a detrimental loss to the community for them to be closing any library,” Smith said. “Especially this one in the area that it is. I feel like it’s just a detrimental loss to the community.”

For Lydia Huntley, a Swannanoa resident, the biggest concern with the library closing is losing the resources it provides, especially to children.

“When I was young I utilized that library a lot,” Huntley said. “It was a big deal when you had a library card and it just meant something.”

Huntley said it is “imperative” to have a library in the community.

Hadden, Smith and Huntley said they have emailed Buncombe County commissioners asking either for more explanation on the decision, time to try to fix the library, or a complete reversal altogether.

Hadden said she wants commissioners to know that Swannanoa is a “resourceful” community, given the chance.

For the Swannanoa Community Council’s part, Scott said it is also hoping for a reversal of the decision, and the council is open to conversations with the county.

“We’re paying taxes, we deserve a library,” Hadden said. “You don’t just take something away from a community because it needs work.”