News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
The Sisters Branch Library will expand its collections and its hours if voters appove a new Deschutes Public Library District in the May 19 election.
The county libraries are seeking a permanent county-wide tax base which would separate the libraries from the rest of county government. Funds for libraries have steadily eroded, and Deschutes County has committed what is left of the money that went to libraries to fund a new juvenile corrections facility.
The cost to property taxpayers of the district would be $.55 per every $1,000 of assessed value - $55 per year for the owner of a $100,000 home.
Library director Michael Gaston notes that the cost is roughly that of a couple of hardback books. According to Gaston, the district is a permanent funding solution; the district will not have to approach the voters again.
In Sisters, the funding would allow the library to expand its collections by 114 percent to 23,500 items within six years. Collections would be updated and kept current, Gaston said.
"When you go into the library looking for the latest book on Microsoft Windows, you'll get it," Gaston said.
The library would expand its hours, staying open seven days a week and offering evening and after-church hours. A professional children's librarian would develop children's collections and programs.
The Sisters Branch Library currently serves 1,200 card-holding households, and had a circulation of 45,000 items last year, according to librarian Peg Bermel.
The district budget includes a facilities reserve fund that will cover the cost of a building expansion that will double the size of the library.
Gaston warned that if the district proposal fails at the polls, the county libraries will shut down when county funding runs out September 1.
"We'd have no choice," Gaston said. "We'd have to close down until we solve the problem."
He emphasized that county funding is gone - allocated elsewhere - and won't be available to "rescue" the libraries.
"If we are not successful in May, it's not like we can reverse course," Gaston said. "There's no safety net."
But Gaston is counting on county residents to see the value of their libraries and vote accordingly May 19.
"If you can't afford to go down to the bookstore and buy every book you ever thought of or ever dreamed of reading, the library is a great deal," he said.
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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