Library bond a great bargain

To see how far the Kootenai-Shoshone Library District has come, you have to go back to March 1991 when it asked voters for money to construct three buildings in the outlying areas and triple the size of the Hayden branch.

At the time, the Spirit Lake Library shared space with the community’s senior center and Lions Club and featured a chest-high window that served as an “emergency exit” with a 10-foot drop to the pavement below. The Athol Library was stuffed in the basement of the community center/City Hall, where rumbling heating ducts stifled conversations. At Rathdrum, a space heater warmed the small reading area in a double-wide trailer that served as the library.

Now, all three small towns boast nice libraries with access to books and materials up and down the state. Not only have they and the Hayden branch become a source of community pride, but they have become so popular that district officials see the need to expand meeting rooms and space for children’s programs, increase technology, and buy a new bookmobile.

On Aug. 2, the district will ask patrons to replace the expiring bond with a 20-year, $3.425 million one. In view of the anti-property tax climate in North Idaho, the district was conservative in setting that figure. If there’s a problem with the bond proposal, it may be that the district is asking for too little. The additional service provided to county library patrons for less than the cost of a movie ticket per year is a bargain they should approve.

The Kootenai-Shoshone Library District doesn’t include Coeur d’Alene or Post Falls.

The numbers between 1991 and today make a compelling case for this bond: 79 percent population increase, 146 percent attendance increase, 247 percent increase in children’s programs, 101 percent increase in books, videos, CDs, DVDs and audios available at the branches, and 102 percent increase in material circulation. In the 2½-year planning phase for the prior bond, library officials didn’t foresee the growth boom or technology advances just ahead. Who could?

The best thing about this bond for most Kootenai County patrons is that it won’t increase taxes. Homeowners would pay the exact amount in the future as they have for the past 15 years: $5.08 per year for property valued at $150,000. In western Shoshone County, where the Pinehurst-Kingston areas consolidated with the Kootenai County Library District in 1996, taxpayers will pay the tiny amount for the first time. But they should do so enthusiastically because they stand to gain increased space for meetings and children’s programs for their library.