Library District Lowers Tax Levy by 4%

Thanks to technological advances and new work efficiences, the Board of Trustees lowered the 2011 tax levy by almost 4 percent.

This year's levy, which won't go into effect until late 2012, is about $1.975 million, around $82,000 lower than the 2010 levy, which topped out at about $2.058 million. . 

Board trustees unanimously passed the levy at last Thursday's meeting.

"It's not a huge amount, but it's still a step in the right direction," said library director Pierre Gregoire.

Library officials went into last year with an eye on managing the district's tax funds much more tightly, Gregoire said. Accounting and tech support were brought in house instead of being outsourced, and five open full-time positions were either filled with part-timers or not filled at all. 

"Last year, we did manage (the district's tax funds) very well and were able to operate on a lower rate than we taxed," Gregoire said. "This year, we said, 'Let's lower the tax. We don't need all of it.'

"The staff here has done a magnificent job with finding ways to operate more efficiently. ... I don't think our service is suffering as a result," he added. "You always want to do more, but I think we're still satisfying our residents well."

The biggest bottom-line effect for the district, however, came from the rise of e-books. . The library subscribes to a service that provides e-books for a flat fee with an option to add more titles, Gregoire said. Patrons can then use their e-readers to download books for a two-week time in the same way they would normally check out a physical book. (Amazon doesn't allow library books to be downloaded to its Kindle, but Gregoire said that could change by as soon as December.)

"As usages of (the e-book service) increase exponentially, the demand for multiple copies of bestsellers slacks off, saving us a whole bunch of money," Gregoire said. "The multiple copies really suck up a lot of money."

As a rule, the library buys a copy of a bestseller for every four requests it gets for the title, Gregoire said. If the library gets 24 requests, it buys six copies of the same book.

"Eight months from now, five of those won't be used," he added.

E-books also create an even greater long-term savings when it comes to the library building. Traditionally, libraries need to expand in order to keep up with an increasing book collection, Gregoire said. E-books eliminate that necesisty, and Gregoire said that, except for adding more meeting rooms, the library could hold at its current size for some time.

"I think we'll still be the place for hardcover books, but I think we can stay static in terms of our space," he said. "Which is a huge advantage because you don't need to ask for a new building just (a short time) after building the one you're in. That's just rude."