Boulder Public Library is a crown jewel of the city, but its stewards have not always afforded it sterling treatment in the municipal budget.
The library’s long-term underfunded status persists even as it responds to increasing demand for its services. And while, as a city of Boulder operation, it is funded by city revenues, more than a third of its cardholders live outside city limits.
For these and other reasons, the creation of a district to fund and operate the Boulder Public Library is the best way to ensure future success for the institution. Organizers are planning to seek voter approval in November for such a district, and a positive response at the polls would open an uplifting new chapter in the library’s story.
Boulder’s library system was established in 1907 with Carnegie Library on Pine Street, today called the Carnegie Library for Local History. The Main Branch on Canyon Boulevard was added in 1961, and the system also includes Meadows Branch, George Reynolds Branch and NoBo Corner Library. In 2002 during an economic downturn, the city made cuts to services, including the library. Since then, funding for municipal services has recovered — except for the library. In fact, library funding remains at 2002 levels, adjusted for inflation. Consider also that in the last decade the library has increased hours, expanded circulation materials, added services, and seen exploding cardholder ranks and program participation. During this time the library even managed to cut staff.
Boulder Library Commission members suggest that political considerations too often leave library needs neglected. “The library simply cannot compete against the priorities that drive Council elections,” Commission members wrote in the 2018 Boulder Public Library Master Plan. “Because of the way these bigger issues dominate Council agendas and city priorities, it is difficult for library needs to be ‘heard’ by city staff and Council.”
The library currently is funded mostly through the city general fund, the single largest source of revenue for which is sales and use taxes. The library budget this year is $9.7 million. Library advocates say the library needs at least $1.8 million more a year just to maintain services and make minimal improvements to meet community demand.
Even Boulder city council members acknowledge that the library is underfunded. The question is how best to get the library the money it needs to thrive. Some Boulder officials have suggested that the city could provide the funding by rethinking municipal priorities, but this means pulling money from other city needs. Another proposal would involve a new charge for non-Boulder library customers, but this would conflict with the library’s mission of providing free and equal access to all patrons.
In the Library Master Plan, Boulder Library Commission members outlined a better way forward — the formation of a district. With the formation of library district, operation of the library, along with funding responsibility, would be transferred from the city to a new board of directors. Funds would come from a new property tax dedicated solely to the library. Library funds then would not be jeopardized by competing municipal priorities, and district boundaries could encompass the many library patrons in unincorporated portions of Boulder County. No other library system of Boulder’s size in Colorado has as many patrons who live beyond its borders, say advocates of the proposed district with the issue committee Boulder Library Champions. The creation of a district would free the library from the constraints of shortfalls and allow it perform at a level worthy of the Boulder community. The library could fulfill long-held goals — it could open a North Boulder branch and a “corner” branch in Gunbarrel, catch up on a backlog of deferred maintenance, expand programs to meet demand, and staff facilities beyond minimal levels.
Benefits of a district would accrue to the city. The millions of dollars it currently spends on the library could be redirected to other municipal needs, which abound. Boulder’s retail sales tax revenue flattened in 2017, and the city last year faced a $4 million budget gap. The financial squeeze continues. The 2019 city budget included substantial reductions, including the loss of staff positions. If the city cedes control of the library it could retain ownership of marquee properties, such as the Main Branch building.
The primary drawback of a new district is that it would impose a new tax on property owners within it. Organizers estimate the tax would be 4 mills. This would equate to $29 a year for every $100,000 of assessed residential property value — so, on a $670,000 home it would cost $192 a year. Voters within the proposed taxing district will have the ultimate say on its creation, and they must decide if the presence of a thriving network of libraries is worth the cost.
Boulder library is about so much more than books. It offers a vast catalogue of material, programs and services. Almost a million patrons a year visit the library. They benefit from internet access, exhibitions, performances, meeting rooms, business development, The Digital Foundry audio-visual studio, and the BLDG 61 makerspace. Library resources enrich the community in innumerable ways, and the return on investment is indisputably high. They’re worth paying for.
Some city officials are understandably reluctant to relinquish a crown jewel. But the best interests of constituents should be their primary concern, and the creation of a library district would bring the brightest shine to this Boulder gem.
Quentin Young, for the editorial board, quentin@dailycamera.com, @qpyoungnews.
