Ocala - New Libraries Stimulating Interest

OUR OPINION
New libraries stimulating new interest
Ocala.com
Published: Monday, August 4, 2008 at 6:30 a.m.

We have found plenty to gripe about as Amendment 1 property tax reforms take their toll on local government budgets and services.

On one level, all of these voter-mandated cuts have affected the quality of life for Floridians statewide. But one area we have taken special note of lately is the plight of public libraries.

In many parts of Florida libraries, and the communities they serve, are suffering.
For instance, Broward County faces an unenviable dilemma regarding a new, $19 million library branch. The facility cannot be opened because the county, due to Amendment 1, cannot afford to hire new employees. In fact, the county has axed 139 library-related positions to satisfy budget needs.

Polk County has proposed closing its Historical and Genealogical Library, considered one of the finest in the Southeast, as part of eliminating cultural programs to save almost $600,000.

Brevard County is considering slashing its fund to purchase library materials by two-thirds and gutting 17 positions. Duval County proposes cutting its acquisition fund by $1 million.

Marion County has not been immune. Library Director Julie Sieg recently said the amount she has to spend on buying materials will drop from $903,000 this year to $856,000 next year.

The curious thing, though, is that the library remains a popular destination. As the Star-Banner reported last week, attendance and circulation at the two newest library branches in Dunnellon and Belleview have skyrocketed since those facilities opened about two months ago.

Comparing June's numbers with those from June 2007, materials circulated in Belleview at a rate 57 percent above last year's figures, while the number of registered borrowers rose 227 percent; in Dunnellon, circulation was up 61 percent, registered borrowers up 237 percent.

The heightened traffic at these new facilities reflects what happened at the main library branch when it moved from its cramped quarters downtown to its spacious new location further east on Silver Springs Boulevard: Provide the public a roomy, modernized, aesthetically pleasing library, and the public will swarm to it.

There is a question of whether the economy has made public libraries more popular by draining families of disposable income they might spend on books and other goods. It's a fair point. After all, Miami-Dade County's public libraries have witnessed an attendance surge of some 200,000 over this time last year - an increase of 4 percent - that was attributed to the economic slump.

Yet we cannot see how that phenomenon accounts for all the increased activity in Dunnellon and Belleview. We tend to think those communities are still reveling in the thrill of a nice, new facility.

Whatever the cause, though, we're pleased to learn of all the traffic at the county library system's new branches. Libraries are special places, and while we do not begrudge fed-up taxpayers for demanding that government cut its costs, we can only wonder, when you consider the impact Amendment 1 is having on this valuable service, if the anticipated $240-per-tax-bill average savings is worth it.