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q EDITORIALSp1)01mgmgmCitrigtlumo'lt;eitdo;wilth{Incprlt;Oililittofo:putowi;—---. forAmong thr* things thi? communityneeds, ar.d a majority of the people do-sire, is a p»od public Horary. La Porte ^ City !• one of trie few communities of its , ]w size m Iowa which have A Practical no such facilities. StateLibrarv Plan law permits levying ar-mall city tax to support such an institution, out as things now j jl(1j stand a tax large i-no'ud. to provide a | ^ satisfactory initial out);,,', and annual ' maintenance coN appears prohibitive here.A pOible alternative for an independent cdy-.-upportcd library would be joint support of a library by the city administration and the school board. Such a library could be operated in the school building and could utilize as its nucleus the fine .-upply of books now used almost exclusively by students and teachers. An arrangement could probably be reached whereby the city would levy a small tax to pay for adding new books from time ^ to time and for a share of the actual cost of operating the library.It would probably be necessary to restrict use of the library by the general public to a couple of evenings a week, so as to avoid interference with school work; and teachers might find it desirable to place some books un “reserve lists” from time to time to make sure they would be there when students needed them for reference work. These would, however, not be objectionable arrangements,The librarian would probably best be one of the teachers, compensated for the over-time work by a small fee from the city treasury.Under such a plan, no large initial outlay of cash would be necessary, as the library room is already in use and is fitted out with equipment and a good assortment of books. About the only additional expense to the school board would be in heating and lighting the room a couple of evenings a week, and this would be offset partly by the fact that students would probably be among the heaviest users of the place even after supper and partly by the advantage of having more books available through the city’s contribution.From the city administration's point of view, the project would mean a slight addition to the local tax rate—a small fraction of one mill, in all probability. On the other hand, it would make possible a satisfactory public library here at a fraction of what, it would cost to set up an independent unit, and ■without the duplication of books and expense that separate school and public libraries usually involve.The whole plan, we admit frankly, lias drawbacks. An independent public library —IF WE COULD AFFORD IT—would be a nice thing; but if we wait until we can afford a regular library here most of us will probably not live to see it. In the meantime, this suggestion of a combined school and public library might prove to be the best way to get a library we CAN AFFORD right no\i.
Newspaper Details
La Porte City Progress Review
La Porte City, Iowa, US
Thu, Feb 29, 1940
Page 6
Full Page
Clipped by
Waterloo P.
IA, USA 08 Aug 2024
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