New Kapolei Library cannot just sit idle

It would be a serious mistake to take state Librarian Virginia Lowell's stand on the new Kapolei Library as simple bureaucratic stubbornness.

Lowell has declined offers of donated books for the new facility that sits empty and unused because there is no budget to buy books and hire the necessary staff.

The community has reacted by offering to collect and donate enough books to operate on at least a minimal level until the Legislature comes through with operating money. But Lowell has declined the offer.

In part, that's because she wants to make sure that the new library is professionally and appropriately stocked. Libraries have long outgrown their role as a haphazard collection of titles — a "reading room," if you will. Collections are built on a careful and rigorous process to make sure they are appropriate for the community they serve.

But another reason Lowell may be reluctant to accept this good-hearted assistance is that it will make it even tougher for her to convince lawmakers that the building is useless without a proper collection and adequate staff. Lowell has warned lawmakers that it makes little sense to build new facilities if they are not willing to put up the operating money to run them properly.

If the Kapolei Library opens with a donated collection, Lowell will have an even more difficult time making her case.

Still, it seems there might be room for compromise. If volunteer staff can be found to work the library and a donated collection can be put together, why not open temporarily as a "reading room" for the community? Not a professional library, but at least a place for community members to gather and grab something to read.

Rather than representing a reason why the purchase of a real collection can be put off, this should indicate to lawmakers that the Kapolei community is serious and deserves the promise that this empty building represents.