A majority of residents responding during six public meetings on the future of the Denver Public Library system said they would support the creation of a new tax to pay for a self-funded independent library district, library managers announced Wednesday.
Library districts have become more common in Colorado as cities and counties have struggled to balance their budgets. Switching to a library district requires voter support and often involves a tax increase.
Representatives of libraries that have successfully formed independent districts swear by them. They say the added autonomy allows them to avoid closing or reducing hours because they’re not competing with other departments for funding.
And representatives from some libraries that failed to form districts seem envious. Jefferson County Public Library tried to switch to a library district in 2008 but couldn’t get approval from the county commission.
“Studies demonstrate that libraries that become districts overall tend to perform better than districts that are not,” said Rebecca Winning, a spokeswoman for the Jefferson County Public Library. “It’s a compelling notion that we look at again and again.”
Denver Public Library found at its meetings — held between May 23 and June 6 — that people who oppose the change do so because they don’t want to raise taxes or because they philosophically oppose separating from the city.
Many residents interviewed in Ross-University Hills branch and Central Library on Wednesday afternoon said they were either “neutral” or ambivalent about the idea of switching to a library district.
Mary Burcham, who uses the Ross-University Hills branch twice a week, said she’d be willing to pay higher taxes because the library is “where I get all my reading materials.”
Jen Morris, a spokeswoman for the Denver Public Library, said library representatives have been meeting with city officials and are hoping to get approval to take the idea before voters this November. They could also get a petition signed by 100 registered voters and bring the issue to the Denver City Council. If they fail to make the ballot this year, they may try for approval in 2012.
Liz Navratil: 303-954-1054 or lnavratil@denverpost.com
This article has been corrected in this online archive. Originally, due to an editing error, the story gave the incorrect title for Jefferson County Public Library spokeswoman
Rebecca Winning. Also, the process for bringing about
a vote to form a Denver library district was incorrectly described.
A signature drive could bring the issue to the Denver City Council,
or the library may work with city officials.
