WILLMAR -- The Pioneerland Library System is asking the cities and counties served by the nine-county system to contribute additional dollars for administrative services that were formerly paid for by state and federal funding.
In addition to funding the operation, staffing and maintenance of their local library and paying for the library's new automation system, each entity is being asked for an additional six percent to fund the system administration, according to John Houlahan, director of Pioneerland.
Pioneerland is seeking additional local funding because it has spent its reserves to bridge the gap between declining state and federal funding and the actual funding needs for the system administration. Over the past several years, the library system as been slowly reducing the services available to the 32 libraries served by Pioneerland, including reducing the library loan system and courier service to two days per week and not replacing staff members who resign or retire.
Pioneerland is at a tipping point, Houlahan said. "In order to operate in 2007, we need to have these funds," he said. "Or, we are going to have to look at closing the doors at the central office, even if for the short-term."
In 2007, the Pioneerland administrative costs are estimated at $515,000. State and federal funding will be approximately $355,000. The six percent of additional funding from the cities and counties equals roughly $140,000.
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Houlahan and the PLS library board will not know how successful the fund drive was until after the cities and counties finalize their budgets and have their Truth in Taxation hearings.
The state library funding formula hasn't changed for 14 years and is based on population and adjusted net tax capacity, so west central Minnesota is losing state library funding because it is population poor, but land rich. Individual community leaders know that the cuts at the administrative level are hurting their local libraries.
"We cannot let this continue with Pioneerland or with any other library system in the state," said Darlene Kotelnicki, chairman of the Litchfield Library Board. "We need to get state funding increased to appropriate levels."
The local libraries rely on the administration offices for many services, including entering books into the computer system.
"The local library buys the book, but we process it," Houlahan explains. "We are adding value to the book that they are putting on the shelf."
The supplemental funding request is expected to increase about $100,000 over the next two years, simply because the library administration services need to be improved. Staff increases are needed to handle the increased flow of materials to be processed into the system and to bring human resources and personnel management up to appropriate levels. Houlahan estimates that each supervisor is currently managing up to 30 people.
"We need to carry out our responsibilities properly," he said. "We are sub-par on administrative tasks and on personnel tasks."
In this election year, Houlahan urges citizens to talk to their legislators about how their local library positively impacted their life or the life of someone they know. "Library patrons can talk to legislators about how important their library is, and how they have used its services," he said.
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PLS is also involved in a federally funded study to find ways for Pioneerland, the Plum Creek Library System and SAMMIE the (Southwest Area Multicounty Multitype Interlibrary Exchange) to collaborate and share services. The consultant doing the study will give preliminary findings to the Pioneerland board at the regular meeting at 7:30 p.m. Thursday. The board is expected to get a full report at the January board meeting.
