By Alexandra Brown
The latest library debate is becoming farcical. The Chapel Hill Public Library wants Orange County to contribute more to the town’s budget. The county says no. Chapel Hill says if there is no county increase, they’ll begin to charge library patrons who live outside the Chapel Hill town limits. Both sides refuse to budge. I am reminded of the Dr. Seuss story, The Zax, and, as the story goes, they will never compromise and will remain firm in their positions as the world goes on around them. Let’s find a way around this.
In all the recent articles and letters, I am struck by the fact that many of the “pro†CHPL folks (in quotes because none of us is anti-CHPL) don’t seem to realize a few things:
Orange County taxpayers living outside of Chapel Hill do pay for libraries, including CHPL. Not enough, for sure (particularly for funding of the county libraries), but these folks need to stop acting like those of us who live outside Chapel Hill are contributing nothing to their budget.
Clearly, the current library services of Carrboro and southwest Orange County are inadequate, hence the burden on CHPL. It therefore makes (common) sense that if the citizens of this area were better served by the county libraries, the burden on CHPL would be greatly reduced.
Charge county taxpayers outside Chapel Hill more for county libraries if you like.Â
According to state law, if CHPL charges a fee for patrons who reside in Orange County, it will lose the $250,000 it currently receive from the county. CHPL says it has roughly 12,000 patrons from Orange County who don’t live in Chapel Hill. Many of these users are probably lapsed.
Some are infrequent users who wouldn’t bother to use CHPL if it would cost them. Some, no doubt, simply can’t afford to pay any fee. Let’s say 7,500 (a generous number, I think) were willing to pay for the privilege of using the library. CHPL would have to charge about the same as Chapel Hill residents pay in taxes for CHPL ($34) just to break even if/when it loses the $250,000 the county contributes. To reach the $1 million Chapel Hill thinks the county should pay, a charge of $134 per non-town resident would have to be levied. Naturally, the more CHPL were to charge, the smaller the pool of those willing and able to pay. It’s a hollow threat. If the Chapel Hill Public Library tries to charge non-Chapel Hill residents anything less than an exorbitant yearly fee, the library will end up with less than it wants, and possibly even less than it has.
Let’s work on building around the Zax. Let’s find a solution that provides adequate library services for everyone in Orange County, not just those fortunate enough to live in Chapel Hill. Let’s properly fund the current branches in the county system instead of constantly threatening them with cutbacks or closure. Let’s hold the county commissioners to their 2009 promise to designate funds for a full-service Southwest Regional Library and to their commitment to increase per capita spending on library services (Orange County ranks in the bottom third in the state). Let’s exact a promise from them that if Chapel Hill carries through with its threat, or maybe even if it doesn’t, that $250,000 will go directly to funding the branch libraries, current and proposed, in Orange County. Let’s keep the Town of Carrboro involved in a constructive way, like providing a site for the Southwest Orange Regional Library. Let’s remind all our local officials to re-read the 2007 Library Tax Force Report collecting dust on their shelves. Let’s keep our libraries in mind when we vote.
Residents of Carrboro and southwest Orange County make up 35 percent of CHPL’s patrons. I’ll say it again; If these citizens had adequate library services, the burden would be off CHPL. They wouldn’t need to expand. Everybody wins.
This doesn’t have to be complicated or contentious. The answer is simple. Fund the Southwest Orange Regional Library.
Sometimes you need to look around instead of straight ahead.
Alexandra Brown is a resident of White Cross and a former employee of the Carrboro Branch Library at McDougle schools. She is treasurer of Friends of the Library.
Budget for a full catalog, CDs, DVDs, PCs, & online access should be spread over all the taxpayers within driving distance. My family lives outside Chapel Hil but finds CHPL both convenient and an excellent resource. We’d rather pay more to CHPL than for unattainable county equivalents.