County Library Needs Your Input

The Spokane County Library District has a plan for the next three years, and they want your input.

The district’s board on June 13 approved a draft strategic plan for 2001-2003, and will take comments from the public until August. The plan, which sets the district’s direction, was developed in the past six months.

“Funding constraints limit our ability to begin any new services or programs,” said board chair Vick Myers-Canfield. “Because of this, the focus of the plan is providing adequate support for what’s already in place, especially in the area of technology.”

The exception, Myers-Canfield said, is expanding some facilities to meet growth.

Written comments will be accepted through July 28 by mail, fax or e-mail.

So what is the district planning to do?

Nothing dramatically different, according to assistant director Lyn Dedas.

“We will continue to have the same focus on services and our collection that we do now,” she said. Changes will be in the nature of refining or improving district resources.

The district plans to hire a Web page designer, for instance, who will update the district’s site regularly, Dedas said. Currently, that duty is handled by various staff members.

Similarly, the district plans to hire a community relations and public information manager, who will be responsible for increasing the public’s awareness of library programs, Dedas said.

“You’d be surprised at how many of our regular customers are not that familiar with our programs. For example, did you know that the district libraries have a reference service?” she asked.

County residents can call the district and ask staff to look up information. Depending on the question, someone on staff can usually get back to the patron with an answer in 24 hours, Dedas said.

In response to an apparent increase in the popularity of DVD movie players, the district plans to purchase about $7,500 worth of DVD movies.

“We know we are going to have a demand for them,” Dedas said.

Offering DVDs is in accord with the district’s mission to provide popular reading, viewing and listening materials, Dedas explained.

The district currently avoids stocking scholarly, professional or historical items, unless they are in popular demand, she said. There just isn’t enough space.

In terms of construction, the district is evaluating whether to expand its largest facility, the Valley branch.

District officials believe that library, which has a 21,000-item collection, is just too small for the 90,000 people it serves. Exacerbating the problem is the fact that the Valley is growing.

Another growing area is Moran Prairie.

The district recently opened a 10,000-item branch in leased storefront space there while officials decide whether to build a full-sized library. The new branch is enormously popular with area residents, Dedas said, issuing 1,000 library cards during the first month.

At issue, however, is whether Moran Prairie, which skirts the city of Spokane’s southern-most border, will get annexed by the city. If it is annexed, then the district will likely turn over the building and its collection to the city library system, Dedas said. Otherwise, the district will invest the $500,000 required to build a full-sized library.

In Liberty Lake, the question is whether residents will even continue to receive services.

The area may incorporate in the near future to form a town, in which case residents face several choices. Liberty Lake residents could vote to pay for library services through the new city’s general fund. Or, the library district could continue to levy money from residents’ property tax.

Residents could also vote to discontinue services, in which case Liberty Lake would not be entitled to use the county libraries any more.

Currently, every city in Spokane County, except the city of Spokane and Spangle, is annexed to the County Library District.

The district also plans to partner with community organizations, such as the Spokane Chamber of Commerce, to increase the effectiveness of mutually-compatible programs.

Copies of a draft summary are available in all Spokane County Library branches and on the district’s Web site at www.scld.org. The full version, which provides detailed information, is also available upon request.

All comments will be forwarded to the board and will be used by staff to prepare a final strategic plan recommendation for consideration by the board at its Aug. 15 regular meeting. That meeting will be held at 4 p.m. in the Argonne branch meeting room, 4322 N. Argonne Road.

There will be a final opportunity for public testimony at that time.