"Perhaps no place in any community is so totally democratic as the town library. The only entrance requirement is interest."
- Lady Bird Johnson

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Jill,

I think that's a fantastic idea!  Let's expand upon it and try to come up with some creative ways to pay for such an amenity during this economic downturn for Manor.

Best,

Dustin

CIO 

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Just wanted to give you an overview of City of Manor internal discussions on a library so we have a better starting point.  We initially looked into this about three or four years ago and what I say here may have changed but it still can outline some of the issues that have to be addressed. 

There are few organizations that have done more with less than the Manor library.  At the time the city looked into this, home construction was nearing its peak and there were some limited funds avaible that might could have been used to help the library.  That has since changed with the housing bust which resulted  in the loss of about 1/3 of the city's revenue sources,  but that does not mean we should give up on the idea. 

At the time I had a long conversation with a person at the State Library Commission on how to go about setting up a city controlled public library and conversations with local  library staff. The "Manor" library operates out of a building provided by Travis County at little or no cost to the library.  I think that at the time, the county paid the utilities and the internet connection and provided maintenance for the building.  Most if not all  of the actual operating funds came from fund raisers by the library staff.

The first issue we worked on was that the building and the library are not in the Manor city limits and at the time the city had no authority as a general law city to annex the property.  As a result, the city could not legally provide funding.  The city is not permitted to make a "donation" of taxpayer monies no matter how worthy the cause.  It can however, spend the money to support a city owned library.

There was discussion at the city level (not necessairly at the library level) of asking the county to allow annexation of the property.  Since that time the city has become a Home Rule City and now has the power to annex property, however I am unsure if the city can annex county property without the county's permission.  The city has no resouces to acquire land or a building to house a library (as you can see we are in critical need of city hall).  As the building boom disappeared, the city had no revenue to provide any funding to the library even if it had been legal to do so. 

The matter was finally dropped in hopes that more resources and options would become available as the city grew.  In all discussions  of building a new city hall, providing a space or future space for a library has alway been included, but there are no plans to construct a city hall in the near future.

The city discussed with its attorney the legal requirements for forming some type of library board, committee or organization to absorbe the present organization and staff.  The exisiting library organization would have to decide if it would be interested in turning over control to a city appointed board and becoming a part of city government or had rather continue to operate independently.  If such an organization was formed, all funds, policies, proceedures, volunteers etc. would then have to comply with local requirements and be subject to ultimate control of the council. All funds would have to be audited on an annual basis by the city auditors (the cost might be more than the funding and fund raiising and not be worth the headache). 

We also discussed creating an interlocal agreement with the county (in effect a contract) that would allow the city to take possession of the building in trade for operating the library.  The problem came down to funding.  To have a paid staff of two people, payroll taxes, liability and property insurance, building maintenance, electricity, trash, etc. it was guesstimated hat it might run $75,000 a year.  The amount might be right on or significantly off.  For example, the county self insures its buildings thus no cash outlay, the city purchases insurance, thus a new cost. 

A cost of $75,000 would mean that the city would have to raise taxes by 3.3 cents per $100 valuation to fund the library or else take a huge chunk out of several other programs.  With the highest tax rate in Travis County such an increase would push the rate to over 70 cents per $100.   (The city gets just over $22,600 per year for each one cent of taxes).

So, we welcome any suggestions from anyone on how we can make this happen.

Phil

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Library 2.0

One possibility is to re-imagine libraries in the 21st century.  

Netflix for Libraries:

What if Manor had a Netflix model for libraries?  The physical location becomes less important - you could have a reading room/community place where people come to pick up the books they've requested online.  The space could be designed for people to gather, use the computer, etc.  while you store the majority of the book collection elsewhere.

In California, we have a system called Link+ that allows inter-library lending throughout the state.  So, as a library card holder for the City of Palo Alto, I can search the online catalog and it will locate the book I'm interested in through other member libraries.  I get the book within 2-3 days.

Email Newsletters to Raise Literature Awareness

As far as access to literature, etc.  one of the things I really like here is the City of Palo Alto's newsletter, What's going on In the Library (see this link for an example).  It's a good way to market the books in the library and it has a link so you can request it from the online catalog.  Semi-instant gratification.  I check out 99% of my books through online request.

Wowbrary

Oh, one more thing.  One of my favorite free services is www.wowbrary.org  (see http://www.wowbrary.org/signup.aspx?zipshow=78703 to see which Austin libraries it serves)

Anyway, Wowbrary is a weekly email you get that tells you the newest additions to the library - books, CDs, DVDs.  I look forward to my Wowbrary email every saturday morning and that's where I decide what I want to check out.  The Wowbrary email has a link so you can request the item right there.  Awesome.

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Here's a sample of Wowbrary:

http://www.wowbrary.org/nu.aspx?p=178&sample

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We, East Rural Travis County Advisory Board (ERTCAB), recently received a $500 donation from a foundation in Corpus to be used for the Manor Library.  We are currently exploring the approved uses of the grant and are in communication with the library staff on how best to spend the money.  ERTCAB pays the Internet connection for the library.  Also, ERTCAB, as an IRS certified 501c(3) non profit, may take donations for the library.  We regularly receive donations for the senior programs, Christmas food baskets for the needy and the food pantry.

I'm surprised so often I say the clinic, senior center or social services offices are right next to the library and the response is "There's a library in Manor?"  Besides funding the library is in desperate need of exposure.  There is link to the library on the on the Manor Lions Club website.  Perhaps a link could be put onto the City of Manor website.  I realize the library is technically in Travis County and not in Manor city limits.  Home Owners Association newsletters are another inexpensive tool to let the community know what is available in Manor.  Since it is a public service maybe they would put in information about the library for free.

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Margarita.Quihuis - Dec 9, 2009

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Is there a Friends of the Manor Library organization?  http://www.folusa.org/ is the national organization for Friends of Libraries organizations.

 

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About FOLUSA

 

Friends of Libraries U.S.A. (FOLUSA) is a national nonprofit organization providing networking opportunities and educational support for local Friends of Libraries groups, Trustees, and library Foundations across the country. Over 2,000 Friends groups, Boards of Trustees, libraries and Foundations belong to FOLUSA representing hundreds of thousands of library supporters. Established in 1979 as a committee of the Library Administration and Management Association (LAMA) of the American Library Association, FOLUSA is now a national leader in library support and advocacy.

Through publications, online resources, training, and support, FOLUSA works with local and state library groups to enhance their efforts as advocates, volunteers, program and community outreach catalysts, and as fundraisers in support of their local and state libraries."

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Margarita.Quihuis - Dec 9, 2009

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More Outeach tools for raising awareness of library:

http://library.booksite.com/6764/nl/?list=CNL1

 

The city of Palo Alto Library uses http://www.bookletters.com/ to create email newsletters of what's going on at the library.  

 

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What We Do

BookLetters is a service designed to help  libraries use the internet to their best advantage. We  consolidate  rich content into a well organized database, and develop  intuitive web applications, that enable non-technical staff to promote collections and services.

BookLetters makes it easy for you to brand your library, fill your website with valuable customized content, and reduce the time and expense of delivering your messages.

BookLetters’ customers use our tools in countless ways, each unique to their own strategic plans, goals, and community’s needs.  Our web based training provides you with a wealth of ideas of how to best reach your goals."

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