What’s in a name?

Apparently, much confusion about where Orange County wants to put a new library.

Before voting last week on the final criteria for siting a Southwestern Branch Library, county officials announced a name change.

The library will be called the Southern Branch Library instead, Library Director Lucinda Munger said.

“We wanted to reflect the area that this library will serve, making sure it is an inclusive place that serves the needs of the entire community,” she said.

County planner Michael Harvey said calling it the Southwestern Branch Library could lead residents to believe it would be built to serve only that area.

So county planners divided the county into four quadrants. Then they plotted a diagonal line through the middle. The result was a location near Orange Grove and Dairyland roads in the Bingham Township.

Meanwhile, library planning is slowly moving ahead. Carrboro officials have been looking at seven or eight possible sites with space for a one-story library with parking, at least 20,000 square feet and future expansion space, and accessibility by foot, bicycle and bus.

The county has budgeted roughly $6 million to $7 million for land and construction.