Utah State University - » North Logan library favors county-wide system

North Logan library favors county-wide system

September 17th, 2010 Posted in Opinion

By Chelsee Niebergall

NORTH LOGAN–The question of whether or not there should be a county-wide library system will be appearing on the ballot in November. The public can vote whether or not to make the seven libraries in surrounding towns a part of a county library system. It is an opinion poll and non-binding ballot.

After the vote, the County Council will decide what to do with the issue. However, they do not have to go with the popular vote since the ballot is non-binding.

“This issue has been going on for many years,” said North Logan Library director Marcia Cheyney.”The different cities in the county have voted whether or not they wanted their own library, but I think the county system will benefit everyone in the end.”

North Logan’s library, one of the biggest libraries in the county, feels that a county-wide system would be beneficial.

“The library board voted a few months ago and they were all in agreement that the county-wide system would be a good thing,” said Cheyney.

If the council decides to make the switch there will be some pros as well as some cons.

“Each library has its own cataloguing system and if the ballot passes it would make all the libraries use the same system, so it would be easier for us to collaborate and find other collections we may not have,” said Cheyney.

Other benefits include that the libraries could buy materials together, giving them a discount therefore saving money in the long run. It would also give people access to more collections and materials, especially for smaller towns. Also the public won’t be limited to one library; they can go to any library in the county.

However, since most of the libraries in the county are paid for by a general budget, some communities would have to start paying an additional tax for the new system. A percentage has not been decided on.

“It does initially cost more money to start a county-wide system but in the long run it would actually keep the cost down and be beneficial for us all,” said Cheyney.

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Tags: county-wide system, library, North Logan