Sean C. Morgan
Linn Library League will host a community forum in Sweet Home on Oct. 13 to discuss a proposal to form a countywide library district.
The forum will be held from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Jim Riggs Community Center, 880 18th Ave.
“I firmly believe this would be a good thing for our libraries,” Sweet Home Library Director Leona McCann said.
It would provide stable funding, McCann said. Costs would be shared across Linn County, supporting all Linn libraries. Patrons would be able to access, at no cost, books in any library in Linn County through an electronic catalog and courier service. County residents would no longer be charged a fee for cards.
“There’s a lot of good that comes out of this,” McCann said. “Libraries would retain their autonomy, but be answerable to a board of directors.”
The library league will present slides mainly to get information about the proposal out to the public. It proposes going before voters in the November 2006 general election, which would not require the 50-percent voter turnout to pass.
Sweet Home Public Library’s current operating levy, expiring June 30, 2007, would come up at the same election if the city wanted to avoid a 50-percent requirement for voter approval. The levy was approved last month after library services were shut down for about four months.
Consultants Michael Gaston and Matrix Associates, after a yearlong process, propose a tax rate of 70 cents per $1,000 countywide. The current library levy is estimated at about 60 cents per $1,000. It is paid only by city residents. County residents pay $30 per year for library cards.
“Library services in Linn County are at a crossroads,” the proposal said. “Libraries have operated as departments of separate municipal public entities for decades, resulting in fragmented public library service. Some Linn County residents have access to a good collection, professional reference services, and quality children’s programs, while tens of thousands of their neighbors receive little or no service.
“The Linn Library League has another vision. It sees a bright future in which all Linn County libraries are linked together into a countywide library system supported by stable, adequate, dedicated library funding. Books, expertise and facilities will be available to every resident of the county. Resources will be shared to achieve efficiencies and enhance services. Services will be funded by a library district with permanent, dedicated funding. The Linn Library League’s vision will provide a long-term solution to the challenge of providing complete, up-to-date library services for all residents of Linn County.”
Library administration will be located in a rented or purchased office complex. Administration will support the district board, provide management functions and coordinate services throughout Linn County.
Albany Public Library will be enhanced to serve as the main branch of the system. It will house a deeper library collection, the library automation system, and provide reference support to the countywide library system.
Lebanon and Sweet Home libraries will be enhanced to serve as regional centers featuring strong collections, reference, and children’s services.
Brownsville, Harrisburg, Lyons, and Scio libraries will be community libraries with access to the shared resources of the countywide library system. The size of these smaller libraries will no longer be a factor which limits the depth of library services.
Among the features of the proposal, the new district would provide bookmobile service to communities from Halsey to Idanha.
County libraries would expand hours of operation. In Sweet Home hours would increase from 40 to 57 per week. Staffing would increase from 2.77 full-time equivalents to six.
Libraries currently budget $250,000 for books. Sweet Home budgets $27,000. The total overall book budget will increase to $500,000 under the proposal.
According to the consultant, the new district would be competitive for grants to help with start-up costs.
Per capita cost for library service would be $31.91 per year in Linn County. Around the state, per capita cost ranges from $30.33 in Hillsboro to $54.26 for Corvallis-Benton County Public Library. The majority of comparisons listed by the consultant were in the $30 to $40 range.