What Does It Cost?

How much does adequate library service cost?

 Statewide, the average homeowner currently pays 59 cents per thousand in property tax support for library service. This amounts to $88.50 a year for a $150,000 home. Because voters in cities like Corvallis, Portland, and Eugene want better library service, they have a higher tax rate -- roughly twice as high. The reason that 80,000 people in rural Lane County do not have library service is that they are currently not paying any taxes at all for libraries. This is why schoolchildren from the unincorporated River Road / Santa Clara area, for example, are asked to pay $80 for a library card when they want to check out a book from the Eugene library.

Are people in Lane County willing to pay for tax-supported library service? We sponsored an independent, scientific survey of Lane County voters in December 2003. The survey found that 69% of likely voters support the concept of a county-wide system of library districts. Even after respondents were told that the measure would cost an average of $60 per homeowner, support was still over 50% in every part of the county.

 To make sure rural residents know what they've been missing all these years, the Lane Library League is using donations and grants to fund library demonstration projects. In 2005 we gave away more than 1700 free library cards to show rural residents what library service is like. Since 2003 we've funded summer reading programs for kids in Dorena, Alvadore, and more than half a dozen other rural communities, giving away free books at weekly sessions.

At the same time, we're supporting volunteer libraries.  We're hosting a free Volunteer Library Symposium in Creswell on Saturday, May 13 to train, connect, and inspire people in rural communities who are interested in building or expanding a volunteer library (to sign up, contact Colin Rea at crea@uoregon.edu).  In 2004-2005 we funneled more than $10,000 in grants to help the River Road/Santa Clara Volunteer Library get on its feet. In 2004 we provided technical and legal advice to help volunteers in Creswell place the successful Lane Library District proposal on the ballot. 

We at the Lane Library League have been hearing for years that people in Lane County are ready for a better, cooperative library system. For our children, for literacy, for our entrance to the Information Age, it's time to provide adequate library service for everyone in Lane County.