Received Jul 17 2007 Jerry Sanders Mayor Received Jul 17 2007 July 13, 2007 San Diego County Grand Jury Honorable Janis*

Following several studies and community inputs a library site was selected at 11th and Park Boulevard. Agree.

CCDC provided $80 million; the library received a grant of $20 million from the State of California and $3 million from private donors. The 2005 estimate to build a state of the art library was $150 million. Agree.

Op-Ed articles and letters to the San Diego Union Tribune refer to the new library design as ugly. According to these, the dome and other trivial design aspects detract from building utility and add to the costs of construction and on-going maintenance. Disagree. Sorting through a comprehensive collection of the San Diego Union Tribune clippings kept by Rob Quigley Architects from 1997 through 2006, we find that the newspaper ran 22 Op-Ed pieces (including staff editorials, guest editorials, and architectural commentaries) which were in support of the New Main Library - its architecture, its site, and the need for such a facility. Only two editorials opposed the library - one written by a former City Council member, the other the San Diego Taxpayers Association. Both of these guest editorials argued that the library was too expensive and not needed. Neither mentioned the building's design. It is true that between 1997 and 2007, many people wrote letters to the Union Tribune claiming the New Main Library was unattractive, not useful, wouldn't provide enough parking, or was not needed. From the Quigley clipping collection, we count a total of 30 anti-library letters, four of which were written by the same person. However, in this same time period, 26 people wrote to the editor in support of the New Main Library. These positive voices should also be recorded in the Grand Jury Report. Furthermore, the design was chosen by a Citizens Design Review Committee from 27 applicants from Europe, Asia and North America before narrowing the field to nine to interview and four to make public presentations. There were also numerous opportunities for library consultants and the general pubic to give their feedback prior to the selection of the architectural team of Rob Wellington Quigley/Tucker Sadler Architects as well as the multi-year design process that followed. The early design process was unusual in that the public was directly involved with the architects. A series of interactive workshops involving hundreds of citizens helped determine three concept designs. These were presented back to the public in the form of a 2,000-square-foot exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art in downtown San Diego. The exhibit broke records for attendance and remains to this day one of the museum's best-attended shows. Citizens commented on all three schemes and selected the dome scheme for the architects to develop. Judge Sammartino July 13, 2007 Every aspect of the design features have a purpose and are an integral part of the overall design concept and philosophy. The dome is not only an identifiable design element for the building; it is also a shading device to reduce heat loads inside the building. It is a very low maintenance structure. The same is true for the "louvers" on the east and south exterior façades of the buildings. These serve as shading devices, and provide for the opportunity to incorporate photovoltaics in the future. Photovoltaics will reduce the electrical expenses 10% to 15%. Materials selected for the building are long lasting and durable requiring little maintenance. Many of the wall surfaces are exposed concrete surfaces, with few exceptions. Those exceptions have other durable materials such as a ceramic tile.