Information about Brown County's Library Levy 1mill, 5-years
Library Restores Hours and Services
New Hours at Your Local Library
The Brown County Public Library is pleased to announce new hours at its branches. Beginning Monday,
April 5, patrons of the Georgetown, Mt. Orab, Fayetteville-Perry, and Sardinia libraries will be able
to enjoy additional evening hours.
Each library branch will be open until 8:00pm two nights per week. The libraries will also stay open later on other weekday evenings - until 6:00pm. They will continue to be open until 4:00pm on Fridays and Saturdays.
The restoration of hours is possible because in November 2009, local voters passed an operating levy to support county libraries. The property tax that was just collected provided the first of the levy funds for the libraries.
“We knew that the levy funds would not be available immediately, so we used that time to get input from the public about the changes that they wanted,” said Lynn Harden, Executive Director of the Brown County Public Library. “Discussion at Open Houses, notes dropped in suggestion boxes, and conversations with patrons made it clear that additional evening hours and increased computer availability are the biggest priorities.”
Levy proceeds are currently being used to pay for routine maintenance on the library’s computers. While these repairs are taking place, plans are also being made to purchase new computers with funds from a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. “The timing couldn’t have been better,” says Harden. “The Gates grant is essentially providing all of the new equipment, and the operating levy is helping to pay for the labor and maintenance to install and keep the computers running.” The library anticipates that approximately 20 new computers will be available to the public by the end of April.
Other library services will also be restored at varying levels. The library has already increased the number of days per week that its branches are receiving interlibrary delivery service, so patrons have a shorter wait for materials that are borrowed from other libraries. The amount of new books, movies, and other materials that the library purchases is also being increased, so that patrons have a wider variety of materials immediately available to them.
Even with these improvements, the BCPL Board of Trustees and Administration are taking a conservative approach to managing the Library’s finances. “More than 60% of our funding still comes from the State of Ohio, and that funding continues to fluctuate,” says Harden. “The initiatives that we are taking in 2010 are designed to provide stable and sustainable public library services for at least the next several years, barring any drastic changes to the economic climate.” For more information about the Brown County Public Library, visit our website at www.browncountypubliclibrary.org or call your local library.
Click here to view our new hours!
Each library branch will be open until 8:00pm two nights per week. The libraries will also stay open later on other weekday evenings - until 6:00pm. They will continue to be open until 4:00pm on Fridays and Saturdays.
The restoration of hours is possible because in November 2009, local voters passed an operating levy to support county libraries. The property tax that was just collected provided the first of the levy funds for the libraries.
“We knew that the levy funds would not be available immediately, so we used that time to get input from the public about the changes that they wanted,” said Lynn Harden, Executive Director of the Brown County Public Library. “Discussion at Open Houses, notes dropped in suggestion boxes, and conversations with patrons made it clear that additional evening hours and increased computer availability are the biggest priorities.”
Levy proceeds are currently being used to pay for routine maintenance on the library’s computers. While these repairs are taking place, plans are also being made to purchase new computers with funds from a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. “The timing couldn’t have been better,” says Harden. “The Gates grant is essentially providing all of the new equipment, and the operating levy is helping to pay for the labor and maintenance to install and keep the computers running.” The library anticipates that approximately 20 new computers will be available to the public by the end of April.
Other library services will also be restored at varying levels. The library has already increased the number of days per week that its branches are receiving interlibrary delivery service, so patrons have a shorter wait for materials that are borrowed from other libraries. The amount of new books, movies, and other materials that the library purchases is also being increased, so that patrons have a wider variety of materials immediately available to them.
Even with these improvements, the BCPL Board of Trustees and Administration are taking a conservative approach to managing the Library’s finances. “More than 60% of our funding still comes from the State of Ohio, and that funding continues to fluctuate,” says Harden. “The initiatives that we are taking in 2010 are designed to provide stable and sustainable public library services for at least the next several years, barring any drastic changes to the economic climate.” For more information about the Brown County Public Library, visit our website at www.browncountypubliclibrary.org or call your local library.
Click here to view our new hours!
Changes Made due to State Budget and Economy-Related Funding Cuts
- All branches of the Brown County Public Library will be closed every Friday during the months of August, September, October, November, and December
- All branches of the Brown County Public Library will be closed the Saturday of Labor Day weekend, September 5th.
- Additional closures will be necessary and will be announced at a later date.
- Reduction in postage costs due to discontinuation of mailed thank you notes to Donors. Receipts will be given to the Donor at the time of the donation.
Library Seeks Supplemental Funding Sources
- All branches of the Brown County Public Library are seeking donations of supplies to help reduce operational costs. Please visit your local branch for a complete list of needed supplies.
- Seeking monetary donations from individuals, businesses, and organizations in our communities to use as matching funds for a computer grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Please check back for more information concerning this funding item.
- Koch Family Foundation: Click here for more information concerning this generous grant...
- Received a grant of $1,718 from the Ohio Public Library Information Network/State Library of Ohio. These funds are to help with the cost of filtering Internet access in order to comply with ferderal regulations.
- Received a $1000 grant from Wal*Mart of Amelia. This grant will assist with the annual Seasons' Readins prgram, provide partial matching funds for the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation grant, and help spruce up the children's area in the Georgetown Library with some fresh paint.