Officials of the state’s second-largest library system have been looking to shed county oversight by creating an independent library district.
With use doubling in the past six years, the trustees and management of the Jefferson County Public Library say they want to better control costs by having more flexibility.
“We have to live within our means; that’s the bottom line,” said Ruth Anna, chair of the library trustee board. “A district is worth considering. Finances is the major consideration.”
Anna said Jan. 1, 2008, is a tentative date for changing over to a library district.
The library won’t appear different to the nearly 380,000 card holders, said trustee T.J. Carney.
“The services will be the same,” Carney said. However, the county would no longer be the prime source of services, such as information technology, legal services and human resources, to the library.
For more than a year, the trustees have discussed a possible district. In November, the trustees voted to present the idea to the county commissioners, which they did before Christmas.
“Conceptually, go ahead and study it, but we don’t want (the library system) to go off on a significant effort and there are showstoppers,” Commissioner Kevin McCasky said. On Jan. 2, the commissioners are expected to approve a resolution that establishes a steering committee to explore formation of a district.
The Jeffco library system, which was created in 1952 from a hodgepodge of smaller libraries, has grown to include 10 libraries and a bookmobile.
Under the proposed district, the library would move from operating under county regulations to operating under state library laws and its own rules.
The district concept is growing in Colorado, with almost half of the state’s 114 public libraries organized as library districts. To become a library district, state law requires voter or county commissioner approval, depending on funding structure. In Jefferson County, the library system has had a dedicated mill levy for the past two decades, which gives the county board the legal authority to change to a district if it chooses. No tax increase would be associated with the change.
Autonomy is the biggest advantage of a district, said Jefferson County Librarian Bill Knott. Costs can be cut by not using county-required services that are expensive or not needed, Knott said. Other advantages include being more directly accountable to taxpayers and having more independence to decide library-specific issues.
Downsides include working under state rules, including a tight budget and constitutional limitations, such as the Taxpayer Bill of Rights.
Staff writer Ann Schrader can be reached at 303-278-3217 or aschrader@denverpost.com.
