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February 12, 2000
Winthrop, Gibbon libraries survive breakup of MVRLBy GUY PRIEL Journal Staff Writer SIBLEY COUNTY -- Despite the breakup of the Minnesota Valley Regional Library system last year, the small libraries in Sibley County were determined to weather the storm and have managed to succeed. "There are five towns in Sibley County with a library," Winthrop Librarian Mary Jane Ohland said. "We got together after the breakup and formed our own system." Under the new system, which is unofficially known as the Sibley County Library System, the county levies money for each branch and hires all the workers. The system is governed by a library board that is working out polices and developing budgets. "We knew the breakup was coming and planned ahead," Ohland said. "We hoped it wouldn't happen. We knew we wanted libraries. They are important to Sibley County." The library board meets constantly to set up the basic working structure of the county-wide system. All the cities in the county contribute funds into the county coffers that are re-distributed out to the member branches, she said. "There is too much bureaucracy involved in all of this, but we are working through things," she said. "We are on the county payroll for one year. We worked out our hours to determine what we could afford and went from there." After the breakup of the 25-year-old MVRL system, Traverse des Sioux stepped in to help keep things going and help them get the county system running smoothly, she said. "We didn't get a fair deal out of all this," Ohland said. "It was Sibley County against the other five. The breakup of a library system has never happened. We miss the system. We feel kinda lonely out here. We are a very small county and it is tough to support libraries. The good employees are all gone." The Minnesota State Colleges and Universities helped develop software that the county could use to get their system developed. It will cost $50,000 to get everything separated, she said. The library will be conducting an inventory and logging new bar codes into the system. There will also be a new library card developed for patrons. "I feel we lost a good system," Ohland said. "We never had enough money and never got what we were paying for. There has been a lot of work and time that has gone into this, but we will get a payout." One disadvantage experienced in Winthrop is the lack of reference materials, because all reference items remained in Mankato after the split, she said. "We had initially considered city libraries, but then we would have received less money for the things we need to provide," she said. "Libraries are at the bottom of the ladder." The results of the breakup will not be felt too much outside the walls of the facilities and Ohland wishes Sibley County would have been able to pair with another entity, but things never transpired. The Winthrop Library started 25 years ago when the MVRL system was first established and the goal is to expand in the future. "We are not in over our heads, but the water is pretty deep," Ohland said. "We will make it. I am glad we planned ahead and fought this thing." One thing that was difficult for the Gibbon library was having to send back their leased books and trying to find the funds to replace some books and videos, Gibbon Librarian Elaine Kent said. "We had to send our leased books back to Mankato and that was pretty hard to do," she said. "But we are managing to get more books through the program. Patrons don't want old books." The Gibbon library leases approximately 10 new titles per month through a program developed by Baker and Taylor. Under the MVRL they only received about five per month. These books are kept for about six months and then exchanged for others. They knew the books would go back, so they were prepared, Kent said. "We are having a hard time adjusting," Kent said. "There were many things we liked about the system. We had people with a lot of questions after the breakup." The Gibbon Library, on average, circulates about 60 books per day and works with the school on accelerated reading programs. Kent and librarian Diane Schwecke are constantly weeding out books to make space for computers and videos. The materials are purchased by the county. "Without the librarians the board could not have done anything," Library Board Member Linda Sabo said. "They have really helped us with what we need. We all work well together." The county has hired a coordinator to oversee the library activities county-wide which has helped relieve the stress level for all concerned and the county commissioners work hard for the system, she said. The Gibbon library has recently received a grant of $86,000 to move the library to the lower level of the original City Hall building. The city is seeking matching funds and additional grants to help the process along.
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