Recommendation by State Archives and History Subcommittee on Former Gulfport Library Delayed by Keith Burton - GCN  10/9/08 The Permit Subcommittee of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History board of trustees met Thursday, Oct. 9 and discussed an application to designate the former Harrison County Library in Gulfport a  historical structure, but the subcommittee members made no decision at their meeting. The subcommittee reports their findings and recommendations to the full board of trustees. The members of the full Archives and History board are to make a decision on whether the 1960's-era building meets the requirements of a historical structure at their next meeting on Oct. 17. The subcommittee decided to wait on their recommendation pending receipt of additional information on historical structures determined by federal historical authorities. According to a spokes for the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, the subcommittee will meet again Wednesday, Oct. 15. A recommendation by the subcommittee whether to approve the historical status, or deny it, could be made at the Oct. 15 meeting for the full board to consider two days later. At issue is whether the old library building that faces the beachfront near Jones Park can be preserved. Both the City of Gulfport and Harrison County, which owns the building, have determined that it is not needed and have voted to demolish the structure. Some Gulfport residents feel the building is important to the community and want it restored. The county reported earlier this year that FEMA would not pay to rebuild the library at its flood-prone location. The county plans to build a new library with FEMA assistance in the Gulfport Orange Grove area far from any flood waters from future hurricanes. If the Mississippi Department of Archives and History determine that the building is a historical structure, supporters say that they would have a chance to preserve the former library building. Gulfport has never owned the building but did once own the land. FEMA's rules required that the county have full control of the property in order to provide the county with Katrina recovery money to build a new library. All the other cities in Harrison County, have built libraries with their own taxpayer money. The Harrison County library in Gulfport was funded through county tax dollars.