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North Liberty library may close Saturdays

County library system considering more budget cuts.

County library system considering more budget cuts.

January 23, 2009|By MARGARET FOSMOE Tribune Staff Writer

SOUTH BEND -- More service cuts may be ahead for the St. Joseph County Public Library. To further reduce expenses, the library board on Monday will be asked to approve closing the North Liberty Branch on Saturdays. If approval is granted, it means only the Main Library downtown, Centre Township Branch and Francis Branch in Clay Township will offer Saturday hours. The Main Library is the only location that is open Sundays. The board will meet at 4:15 p.m. Monday at the River Park Branch, 2022 Mishawaka Ave. The library system has gone through a series of budget cuts because of reduced funding related to Indiana's property tax reform. To cut expenses, the library last year eliminated Saturday service hours at five branches. The North Liberty Branch is open 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays. Closing that branch Saturdays will save about $18,000 a year, library director Donald Napoli said. And there may be further cuts ahead. Napoli said he will know the status of property tax receipts by midyear and, if funding is less than expected, more cuts in hours could be necessary. That might involve reducing hours at the Main Library to a maximum of eight hours a day, and further reducing the budget for purchase of new materials, he said. The county library will receive about $790,000 less in tax proceeds this year because of tax reform, Napoli estimated. Indiana's property tax reform law is affecting the state's public libraries. The Muncie (Ind.) Public Library plans to close two branches by June because of reduced tax funding, the Star Press reported. The Muncie library system expects to lose 44 percent of its tax revenue -- $600,000 -- in 2009 because of the impact of property tax reform. And the Vigo County (Terre Haute) Public Library is considering branch closures or other ways to cut $500,000 from this year's budget because of reduced tax revenue, according to news reports. At Monday's meeting, the St. Joseph County library board also will hear an update on construction of the German Township Branch, which is scheduled to open by early May. The board is scheduled to award a bid for landscaping at that branch. There also will be updates on work at the LaSalle and Tutt branches, which are closed for renovation/expansion projects. After the meeting, there will be a closed executive session for the board to conduct the annual performance evaluation of the library director. Staff writer Margaret Fosmoe: mfosmoe@sbtinfo.com (574) 235-6329

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