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Tuesday, Aug. 10, 1999
LibraryoptionsdiscussedInformationalmeeting heldin NicolletBy GUY PRIEL Journal Staff Writer NICOLLET -- With the recent collapse of the Minnesota Valley Regional Library system, officials with Nicollet County are left wondering how they can best provide library services to county residents. Under state guidelines, county governments are charged with the duty of providing library services to residents, with a certain portion of county taxes being used for those services, County Commissioner Judy Hanson said during an informational meeting held Monday night in Nicollet. "Libraries, by definition, are a source of information and should be available to everyone," she said. "Libraries serve as equalizer." Libraries become extremely important in an information age, because they are important links between people who need information, she said. "People with no access to information are powerless," she said. Under state statutes, any governing body may establish and maintain library services for people, and there sections relating to the establishment and discontinuance of those services, meaning that an option is available should the need arise, Hanson said. "In Nicollet County, we only levy taxes for library services on rural residents," she said. As a member of MVRL, Nicollet County has been providing residents with library services through a joint powers agreement that will end Jan. 1, 2000, because the entities voted to withdraw. The county has been taxing rural residents approximately $13.34 per capita for services, with the exception of St. Peter and North Mankato, which were separate entities under the Joint Powers Agreement, Hanson said. St. Peter has paid $130,768, North Mankato has paid $156,046 and the remaining sections of Nicollet County have paid $113,520 for services provided by MVRL. "There are several options available to us," she said. "We can enter into a joint powers agreement with other providers, similar to what we have now." Other options include a county library service that is governed by the county board and funded through county taxes; local city libraries that provide libraries in each city in the county with funding provided by city taxes; contract for services that would allow Nicollet County to buy services from other entities; or sharing libraries with a school. "Under the statute we must provide services, but there is no definition of how those services are to be provided," she said. In putting together a list of options, Hanson and other members of the Library Board have looked at other systems in the Traverse des Sioux, of which MVRL is a part. Brown and Faribault counties use the city library system, Martin and Watonwan counties use the county-wide system and Waseca and LeSueur are under a joint powers agreement, she said. "A library can take several forms," Hanson said. The county could build a building somewhere, rent store fronts, develop a mini-collection in a well-traveled area, such as a co-op or other business, use a book mobile, or share facilities, she said. "There are a lot of unknowns with this process," she said. "There is one known, however and that is the maintenance of effort." Under state statutes, the Maintenance of Effort states that there will be a base level of funding to insure that library services will be properly funded at the local level, similar to that used for schools, she said. "The Minimum Maintenance of Effort only covers operational expenses," she said. "It does not cover holdings." Monday's meeting was the last of three held by Hanson to gather public input from county residents, so information could be presented to the county board meeting. Some residents of Lafayette feared that the book mobile was a waste of county money, while some residents of Courtland stated that the book mobile was the only way they could provide services to students at the parochial school, she said. With Sibley County remaining as the sole shareholder in the MVRL, the issue is far from over and there may be possible arbitration needed to bring closure to the situation and determine how funds will eventually be distributed, she said.
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