Contrast the outdated library referenced in Moorhouse’s letter with our vibrant, community library today. While the former was tidy, it had a very small number of books and no other services. When we voted for a public library district in 1982, we signed on to run the library according to State law requirements for professional staff for tax-funded libraries.
The library is no longer a warehouse for books. It is a place of education and community, and as our society has changed, so has the library. Programs that meet people where they are, provide something new in response to changing community needs, and are open to all are key pieces of the modern library we are lucky to have. Turn these “superfluous programs” over to a volunteer organization and watch for the lack of consistency and capacity.
Without the levy adjustment, our library’s budget will be short roughly $350,000 when 2012 levy reserves run out. With inflation up 34% since the last time we voted to support it in 2011, the San Juan Island Library needs to adjust the levy from 25 cents per $1000 of assessed valuation to 41 cents to keep and expand open hours, and pay for staff, book collections, other resources for the community, including streaming media, Libby ebooks, and reliable free databases like Consumer Reports and the New York Times.
Beth Helstien,
