Saturday, March 31, 2012

How much does Jacksonville value its libraries?


How much do we value our libraries? (Florida Times-Union, 3/29/2012)

Excerpt:  Finally, the people of Jacksonville will have to answer these questions:
  • Do they want an outstanding library system or one that is deteriorating?
  • Do the people want declining numbers of materials, which mean longer waits for them, with insufficient staff to help them and with facilities that are falling apart? 
  • Does Jacksonville want the library to be able to plan for the future? 

The system can’t do that now, Gubbin said.

Frankly, with the major literacy issues in Jacksonville, the city can’t afford to let the library system slip.

Too many adults are functionally illiterate.

Too many students can’t read at grade level.

The libraries are equipped to deal with these issues.

To let the library system deteriorate is to let Jacksonville’s future slip, as well.

Dear Hartford Council Members, I've scratched the worst idea from your list


Hartford Council Considers Ways To Close $56M Projected Deficit, (Hartford Courant, 3/28/2012)

Excerpt:   Council members considered 15 ideas — which stemmed from discussions at previous budget workshops — for saving money or generating new revenue. Among them were 
  • raising the mill rate, 
  • reducing employee pension contributions, 
  • drawing from the city’s emergency, or “rainy day,” fund, 
  • layoffs, furloughs, wage cuts for city employees, 
  • selling more advertising through billboards and bus shelters, 
  • consolidating city departments or city and school operations, 
  • selling off city assets, such as a parcel of land adjacent to Batterson Park in Farmington, 
  • cutting contributions to the public library [bad idea] and 
  • implementing a voluntary payment in lieu of taxes program.
 What are the other 6?
 

"The Daily Show" to Broadcast @ Imaginon in September?



'Daily Show' deal may be close at ImaginOn. (Charlotte Observer, 3/31/2012)

Imaginon website.

Waiting for RFID @ Your Supermarket


Supermarket checkout systems are still stuck in the past. (Arizona Daily Sun, 3/14/2012)

Excerpt:   Ten years ago, shoppers envisioned a day when RFID tags would allow them to whisk shopping carts through a checkout without unloading them -- or bypass the checkout lane and ring up groceries as they walked through the store. 

But RFID never got cheap enough for razor-thin grocery margins. And we're still stacking groceries on conveyor belts, a 19th-century invention. 

Year after year, retail trade shows buzz with the prospects of new checkout technology. But the pedestrian task of paying for groceries mostly still depends on clerks and shoppers being efficient. 

There have been some innovations in checkout lanes, and shoppers will see a few more over the next couple of years. Smartphone scanners and technology that keeps up with the flow of shoppers may speed up shopping trips, but many chains say they're finding that their employees are the best weapon against long lines. More stores are reconfiguring their express checkouts with one line leading to multiple cashiers, which has been proved to be speedier. 

Trader Joe's, for example, uses a single line for express checkout. [Metcalfe's, both Madison locations, does this for its self-check lines.]  Some Whole Foods stores have self-checkout registers, but for quick trips, the single line leading to several cashiers is considered faster, Whole Foods Market Southwest region President Mark Dixon said.

From 2004.

From 2010.

Es Klingelt in Arizona


Arizona law would criminalize being lewd or annoying on the Internet. (The Raw Story, 3/30/2012)  

Excerpt: The bill is currently awaiting Governor Jan Brewer’s signature, and the Media Coalition, which defends first amendment rights in the media, has sent her a letter outlining some of the problems with the legislation. 

“H.B. 2549 would make it a crime to use any electronic or digital device to communicate using obscene, lewd or profane language or to suggest a lewd or lascivious act if done with intent to ‘annoy,’ ‘offend,’ ‘harass’ or ‘terrify,’” the letter notes. … ‘Lewd’ and ‘profane’ are not defined in the statute or by reference. ‘Lewd’ is generally understood to mean lusty or sexual in nature and ‘profane’ is generally defined as disrespectful or irreverent about religion or religious practices.”


Friday, March 30, 2012

Dom DeLillo's "Underworld" as Pie Graph


'Underworld': Of America as a Splendid Junk Heap.. (The New York Times, 9/6/1997)
What Is the Best Work of American Fiction of the Last 25 Years? One of the runners-up.

Pew Research Report: Free Library of Philadelphia Has Challenges - and Opportunities



Among the findings of the report are:
  • Philadelphians use their libraries less than their counterparts in most of the 14 other urban communities studied. 
  • One factor contributing to Philadelphians’ relatively low use of their libraries has been the extraordinary number of times that branches have experienced temporary, unscheduled closings in the past few years. 
  • The Free Library has been slower than some other big-city libraries to adapt to the changing needs of its population. 
  • In Philadelphia, efforts to adjust to changing customer demands in a tough fiscal environment are complicated by a complex and often cumbersome governing structure. 
  • Overall library spending in Philadelphia, at $43 per resident in 2011, is slightly below the average for the communities studied.

2 Cadillacs (and the October Goodbye)



A man walks into a bar.....




GAB Validates 96.8% of Walker Recall Signatures


900,938

30,115

Milwaukee Journal Headline from 60 Years Ago Today: "Most Public Libraries in State Show Serious Lack of Support"

757,000 persons = 22% of the population.

Map 1:  Direct library service by county

Counties where all residents have legal access to public libraries (1950)
Columbia
Dunn
Fond du Lac
Green Lake
La Crosse
Langlade
Lincoln
Milwaukee
Oconto
Outagamie
Pepin
Rusk
Taylor
Vernon
Winnebago
Wood

Counties where bookmobile service is provided to rural areas (1950)
Brown
Door
Kewaunee
Marathon
Marinette
Racine
Shawano

Otherwise, you needed to live in a community that supported -- and I guess this verb should be used loosely here -- a public library.

Map 2

>$1.50 per capita support by county:
Milwaukee
Racine 
Winnebago

$1.00-$1.50 per capita support:
Columbia
Dane
Door
Douglas
Eau Claire
Jefferson
Kenosha
Kewaunee
La Crosse
Manitowoc
Sheboygan

$.76-.$99 per capita support:
Brown
Dodge
Fond du Lac
Langlade
Lincoln
Marathon
Marinette
Outagamie
Rock
Walworth
Wood

$.51-$.75 per capita support:
Chippewa
Forest
Iron
Oneida
Portage
Sauk
Waupaca

$.31-$.50 per capita support:
Ashland
Barron
Clark
Dunn
Grant
Green Lake
Juneau
Monroe
Oconto
Rusk
St. Croix
Shawano
Trempealeau
Vernon
Washington
Waukesha

$.16-$.30 per capita support:
Adams
Bayfield
Buffalo
Crawford
Iowa
Jackson
Lafayette
Ozaukee
Pepin
Pierce
Price
Richland
Sawyer
Taylor
Washburn

< $.16 per capita support:
Burnett
Calumet
Florence
Forest
Marquette
Polk
Vilas
Waushara


Map 3

Most populous counties (1950) and population growth

Counties that have lost population since 1950
*Pepin County's population was 7,213 in 2000.

Other counties with significant gains in population since 1950.

Copy of Milwaukee Journal article and maps found in this publication.

Considering that there were about 170,000 farms in Wisconsin in 1952, I think the reporter used a pretty effective hook to open his story. 

Your Wisconsin librarian is likely to be a farmer's daughter, but you won't find the farm organizations supporting her work, a statewide survey showed Saturday. 

In that case, we'll have to let the Premiers (no e, actually) show her some love.

 

 Not too sure what was on my mind 60 years ago.

Thursday, March 29, 2012

And I Quote from "Bringing Up an E-Reader"

Bringing Up an E-Reader.  (The New York Times, 3/29/2012)



From the article:  In “Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes,” an e-book for children ages 3 to 7, they can 
  • change the color of Pete’s shoes by touching them, 
  • sing along to music with the lyrics that roll along the page, 
  • listen to a narrator or 
  • record their voices as they read aloud.



I suspect Julia has her fans.



From the article:   In an attempt to figure out whether parents should embrace e-books with great enthusiasm or ration e-reader screen time as they do TV time, Julianna’s class is participating in a research project for the Center for Literacy at the University of Akron

The project is meant to find the best way to integrate e-books into classrooms. It is part of a broader study of kindergartners through second graders using a range of devices and computers.


From the article:   Lisa Guernsey, director of the early education initiative at the New America Foundation, says conversations about how events of a story relate to the child’s own life, or asking open-ended questions about what happened, are examples of spontaneous dialogue. But this kind of interaction is often different with e-books, she said, and in some cases, disappears. 



Related posts:
The Philadelphia Inquirer editorial board weighs in on ebooks and libraries. (3/19/2012)
Carl Zimmer responds to Franzen.  (1/31/2012)
It's only Monday but this is still the best ebook headline of the week.  (1/20/2012)
Jonathan Franzen has something to say about ebooks.  (1/30/2012)
As they have been doing all along, libraries adapt to technology.  (1/29/2012)
Floating an Idea: The Harvard Library Innovation Laboratory's Library License.  (1/17/2012) 
Getting in line @ your library for ebooks.  (1/15/2012)
The Post-Christmas ebook sales surge. (1/10/2012)
Honey, we've been 'trying' it.  For years.  (12/25/2011)
Chris Bohjalian on our totemic connection to books.  (12/20/2011)
Hold that bricks-and-mortar bookstore obituary.  (12/13/2011)
Your local public library: The greenest option of all in the ebooks vs. print books debate.  (12/11/2011)
Go directly to Amazon, do not pass library.  (11/3/2011)
Ebooks in U.S. public libraries.  (10/22/2011)
How ebook buyers discover books.  (9/27/2011)
Cookbooks make the transition to digital publishing.  (9/27/2011)
Redefining what an ebook is and who gets to publish it. (9/19/2011)
The L.A.Times on ebooks: An Amazon tablet, push into interactivity. (9/16/2011)
The Economist:  "Great digital expectations".  (9/16/2011)
Lev Grossman presents a short history of the reading device..  (9/6/2011)
Speaking of gadgets, here's the latest iteration of ebooks.  (8/25/2011)
Sounds like another digital divide in the making.  (7/30/2011)
Libraries and ebooks:  Any book, not any time soon.  (6/1/2011)
On the distinction between the book reader and the book owner.  (5/10/2011)
Demand for ebooks grows exponentially in Wisconsin.  (5/2/2011)
Struggling to find an ebook common agenda between libraries and publishers.  (4/5/2011)
Ebooks and libraries:  "The challenges just keep piling up".  (3/28/2011)
Publishers Weekly tracks ebook sales.  (3/18/2011)
Word is getting out:  Ebooks @ your library.  (3/18/2011)
Ebooks continue to gain market share.  (3/17/2011)
Publishers look to bottom line in formulating ebook policies for libraries. (3/15/2011)
News stories on HarperCollins ebook decision go mainstream.  (3/5/2011)
9 years of book sales:  trade and ebook.  (2/17/2011)
Will ebook readers be wooed by Barbara Cartland?  (2/12/2011)
The impact of ebooks on libraries.  (2/11/2011)
OverDrive news release: Library eBook circs up 200% in '10. (1/10/2011)
Mashable: 5 ebook trends that will change the future of publishing. (12/29/2010)
Christmas 2010 the tipping point for ebooks?  (12/24/2010)
Ereader as brown paper bag.  (12/9/2010)
The ebook reader compatibility surprise.  (12/3/2010)
Ereader ownership:  Survey says....  (11/30/2010)
David Carnoy asks, "Does the Kindle pay for itself?" (11/29/2010)
Need to repair that ebook reader?  (11/19/2010)
Who uses an ereader:  Survey says....  (9/22/2010)
Book industry wrestles with print vs. pixels.  (9/2/2010)
Coming soon to a screen near you:  Ads in ebooks.  (8/20/2010)
Ebooks now comprise 8.5% of book sales. (8/12/2010)
Genre paperback publishers drops print.  (8/6/2010)
Ebooks and libraries.  (5/4/2010)
Ebooks eliminate a free form of adversiting:  the book jacket.  (3/31/2010)
Ebooks: another round of false promises?  (3/19/2010)
The skinny on ebooks.  (3/8/2010)
Hardcover vs. ebook:  Breaking down the costs.  (3/1/2010)

"The Smokers, the Drinkers, and the Enraged" @ Bloomington's Downtown Library


Bloomington library battles rising crime rate.   (Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette, 3/25/2012)

Excerpt: Arrests at the Monroe County Public Library in downtown Bloomington have tripled in the past six years, as have the number of reported assaults, The Herald-Times [subscription required] reported. The number of people considered "trespassers" rose from one in 2006 to 14 in the last year, according to Bloomington Police Department data. 

Library director Sara Laughlin said the library tries to be a safe and welcoming place for everyone who ends up there — including the smokers, the drinkers and the enraged. 

But increased reports of drunkenness and other issues have forced some changes in the library's environment and policies. 

New white tile and additional lighting have been installed in the men's restroom to reduce vandalism. A tobacco-free policy that was enforced March 1 has helped improve the atmosphere near the Kirkwood and parking lot entrances. 

More changes are coming. Landscaping crews will work to reduce large seating areas where groups gather and to add interactive and educational pieces. Staff also plan to review the library's Internet policy and consider filtering computers to reduce inappropriate websites, mainly in response to the handful of complaints each year about Internet pornography.

[snip]

When an intoxicated person is banned, staff members give them a card letting them know when they can return to the library. That way, when they're sober again, they'll remember they've been banned.

That might be an overly optimistic supposition.

IMCPL Board Votes to Restore Most Branch Hours (with link to ICMPL 2011 annual report)


Library trustees vote to restore hours.  (Indianapolis Star, 3/27/2012)

Excerpt:    The Indianapolis Public Library Board of Trustees on Monday unanimously approved a plan to restore most of the operating hours slashed across the system's 23 branches in 2010.

Under new hours taking effect May 13, nearly all branches will open at 10 a.m. on weekdays and Saturdays. Some will open at noon on Sundays. All except the Flanner House branch will be open at least six days a week.

The Central Library and seven other branches will be open seven days a week.
The board approved the new hours by a 7-0 vote, said Jon Barnes, the library's spokesman.

Related articles:
Some hours to be restored at IMCPL branches. (3/1/2012)
"Not all good news". (2/25/2012)
2012 budget should allow library to restore reduced hours at branches.  (10/17/2011)
An informed, engaged Indianapolis will find the resources for its public library.  (7/4/2011)
Bramble's retirement leads to search for 21st-century visionary to lead IMCPL.  (6/3/2011)
Library funding a front-burner issue.  (6/3/2011)
Empty cup at the finish line?  (4/30/2011)
Indiana House passes library funding bill before Democrats take a much needed road trip.  (2/22/2011)
Indiana Senate moves more quickly than House on library bill.  (2/10/2011)
No rest for IMCPL 'loyalists'.  (2/9/2011)
'Library loyalists' provide a remedial lesson in funding priorities.  (2/8/2011)
Legislative effort to provide more funding for IMCPL continues.  (2/4/2011)
Show of support by IMCPL advocates.  (1/25/2011)
Library angel.  (1/17/2011)
Indianapolis Star editorial: "Give library a fair share of tax"  (1/13/2011)
Sustainability in the form of a share of county income taxes.  (1/12/2011)
Township deals comes undone.  (1/8/2011)
Vote to restore library hours and rehire staff: Thanking God again in Wayne Township, Indiana.  (12/16/2010)
Wayne Township's $200,000 for IMCPL:  "Thank God it's a nice purpose".  (12/8/2010)
Temporary fix (not yet approved ) to keep 4 IMCPL branches open.  (11/19/2010)
ICMPL to lay off 37 employees.  (11/12/2010)
Cuts in library hours, materials budget.  (9/15/2010)
Library announces 26% cut in hours.  (9/14/2010)
Indianapolis resident recommends book to local officials.  (9/6/2010)
Library board votes to include 'shortfall appeal' option.  (9/1/2010)
Library board to consider 'shortfall appeal'.  (8/30/2010)
In close vote, library board cuts hours, staff.  (8/20/2010)
Library grapples with its sustainable future.  (8/16/2010)
Library projects a $7.3 million deficit by 2014.  (7/29/2010)
Library board sez no branch closings in 2011.  (7/15/2010)
Library supporters question Pacers deal. (7/15/2010)
High performance government team report.  (7/11/2010)
Library board delays decision on libraries.  (6/5/2010)
Another big turnout for libraries.  (5/13/2010)
Mayor vows to keep library branches open.  (5/12/2010)
Residents speak up for their libraries.  (5/11/2010)
The neighborhood library as refuge.  (5/2/2010)
Indianapolis Star editorial board keeps library funding issue front and center.  (4/25/2010)
Efficiency experts look for ways to keep branch libraries open.  (4/23/2010)
More than 1400 sign petition to keep Glendale branch open.  (4/20/2010)
Editorial:  Find resources for library.  (4/19/2010)
What's in store for Indianapolis-area libraries?  (4/17/2010)
Indiana Pacers bailout talks continue.  (4/16/2010)
Postscript.  (4/15/2010)
Look what's at the top of Indianapolis's to-do list.  (4/14/2010)
A Challenge to Indianapolis-Marion County:  Stand Up for Libraries.  (4/13/2010)

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Long Ago in a Galaxy Far Away, or, Suburban Madison Public Libraries as Late Bloomers

Prepared by the Library Study Committee of the
League of Women Voters of Middleton (1965)

I first discovered a copy of this 11-page report when reorganizing the library's administrative file drawers, probably around the time of Middleton's 2003-2004 remodeling and expansion project.   I casually paged through it but otherwise didn't give it much thought.  It seemed like such ancient history.

But then while looking for documents to supplement the "Chapter 43" series,  I stumbled across a copy at the UW-Madison SLIS library. This time I decided to give it a more careful reading.

From the title page.  A late great sociologist, Edward L. Thorndike, has suggested that we can measure the ambitions, the cultural and intellectual interests, and the social goals of any community by the quality of its library.  He noted that a well-supported public library is a universal characteristic of an intelligent, progressive community.

I made a halfhearted effort to locate the actual quote, without success.  Anyone else up for the challenge?

The reports recommendations.  It is readily apparent that the Middleton library falls short of Wisconsin statutory requirements and ALA minimum standards in many respects.  The low circulation figures, the poor quality and number of books, and the low budget are all indications that the library does not presently reflect the "ambitions, interests, and goals of the community".  It is equally apparent that community resources -- both human and financial -- are entirely adequate to the task of developing a library that will meet the needs of all of its citizens.

Reformatting the information found on page 2 of the report.














I exclude Stoughton from the suburban Madison category, using this observation from Wikipedia as my reason.  For much of the history of the area, Stoughton has been the second-largest and economically important city in Dane County after Madison.


But more importantly.....

14 Jobs Axed @ the Grand Rapids Public Library


Grand Rapids job cuts to push library back in time, critic says. (Mlive, 3/27/2012)

Excerpt: While Grand Rapids Public Library leaders preferred staff cuts to closing branches or reducing hours of operation, a unanimous vote tonight to ax 14 jobs including the Web branch manager will shut the city system’s “virtual front door,” said a college librarian who criticized the $494,000 budget cut. 

Library Director Marcia Warner plans to turn responsibility of grpl.org over to her communications staff, but that “is not going to work,” said Lisa M. Rabey, systems and Web librarian at Grand Rapids Community College

“You’re going to see a stale Web site,” Rabey said.  “You’ve essentially just put yourself back in the 20th century.”

Faced with a revenue gap caused largely by declining property tax receipts, Warner proposed a $9.2 million budget that met a board goal of maintaining hours of operation at the library's eight branches. More than half of the job cuts will come from the library’s planned implementation of a radio frequency identification, or RFID, system. Warner said the other job cuts are part of an ongoing effort to make library operations more lean.

"Hey, Honey, can you drive the kids to school today?"

From the Ozaukee/Washington news page of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.


Construction Kickoff Ceremony @ the Madison Public Library


Mayor kicks off $29.5 million Central Library reconstruction. (Wisconsin State Journal, 3/27/2012)

Excerpt: On Tuesday, Mayor Paul Soglin and others kicked off a $29.5 million reconstruction of the worn shell that will bring a glassy, modern facade, a third-floor, new technology, more natural light and public space to create a state-of-the-art facility at the corner of North Fairchild and West Mifflin streets. 

The library will reopen in the summer of 2013. 

"I'm very pleased with what we ended up with," Library Board President Tripp Widder said. "I think the community is going to be very pleased with it 18 months from now." The ceremony featured the removal of the library's 1965 cornerstone, which will be reused in the reconstruction. 

The cornerstone protected a time capsule holding books, newspapers, and library materials that were displayed during the event. City officials and library advocates have long sought to modernize the building, which is structurally sound but lacked space and technology and suffered from millions of dollars in deferred maintenance.

Related posts: 
Findorff awarded Madison Public Library construction contract.  (3/1/2012)
City of Madison to Rebid Central Library Project. (12/22/2011)
Madison Community Foundation awards $500,000 grant for new Madison Central Library.   (12/16/2011)
Retiring Guy takes a last look at the 1960s-era Madison Central Library.  (11/13/2011)
Madison Central Library prepares for move to temporary facility. (11/9/2011)
Madison Public Library misses cut on $4.5 million tax credit.  (9/14/2011)
Board to consider Plan B financing.  (9/1/2011)
Central library to relocate in November.  (7/27/2011)
Central library reconstruction project to proceed.  (4/29/2011)
Negotiations continue.  (4/27/2011)
Central library not a major issue with candidate or mayor Soglin. (4/19/2011)
Soglin wants to make sure ducks are in a row for Central Library Project.  (4/16/2011)
Latest design review.  (4/8/2011)
Midway Design presentation for Madison Central Library.  (2/25/2011)
Final design for renovated central library unveiled.  (12/8/2010)
Interview with principal architect of Central Library project.  (11/5/2010)
And the beat goes on.  (4/14/2010)

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Rockford Public Library Board Prez Stands By His Man


Rockford Public Library director defended after no-confidence vote. (Rockford Register-Star, 3/26/2012)

Excerpt:   Last week’s 31-1 no-confidence vote in the Rockford Public Library’s director by its union didn’t go unchallenged at Monday’s Library Board meeting. 

After several staff members and supporters spoke about their concerns over Executive Director Frank Novak and the future of the library, the board’s president and past president addressed the crowd of about 80 people, saying they stand by Novak and think he’s doing a good job.

Related articles:
31-1.  (3/24/2012)
Catching up on the news.  (2/8/2012)
Save Our Rockford Library members pack board meeting. (1/28/2012)
Save Our Rockford Library (SOL) calls for more public input in library's strategic planning. (1/14/2012) 
Rockford Public Library will boost spending on digital and audio books in 2012. (10/13/2011)
Supportive editorial for Rockford Public Library needs a fact checker. (9/1/2011)
Rockford Public Library circulates 0.05 ebooks per capita in 1st half of 2011. (7/13/2011)

Living in a Smart City: Chattanooga, Tennesse

Getting to Know Chapter 43 of the Wisconsin State Statutes: Part 24, County Tax

You and me and as it is currently being lived and breathed by residents of the Hudson Area Library service area.


Library funding falls short. (Hudson Star-Observer, 3/21/2012)

Excerpt: St. Croix County levies a yearly library tax on property owners in municipalities that don’t have a library. The revenue is used to compensate libraries for users who come from outside of the municipalities that operate the library. 


The Hudson City Council held a special meeting in a packed council chamber Monday night to discuss how to bring the library into compliance with the state requirement. Mayor Alan Burchill said the city and partner municipalities won’t have to reimburse the library for the past shortages, but will need to abide by the state statutes beginning in 2013.

4 options to reach compliance as presented by City Finance Director Neil Soltis presented four options for reaching the level of library funding required by the county and state law.
  • Continuing as a joint library with an increase in city tax support for the library,
  • Continuing as a joint library without an increase in city tax support for the library
  • Reverting to operating as a municipal library with an increase in city funding.
  • Reverting to operating as a municipal library without an increase in city funding.


43.64  County tax.

(1)The county board of a county expending money for public library service to its inhabitants may levy a tax to provide funds for such service and shall include any amount of tax under this subsection in the amount of taxes determined to be levied under s. 70.62 (1). 

(2)  (a) In this subsection, "library fund" means the funds raised by the city, village, town or school district by tax levy or appropriation under s. 43.52 (1). 

(2)   (b) Procedure and formula for exemption from the county library tax.  Except as provided in sub. (2m), any city, town, village or school district in a county levying a tax for public library service under sub. (1) shall, upon written application to the county board of the county, be exempted from the tax levy, if the city, town, village or school district making the application levies a tax for public library service and appropriates and expends for a library fund during the year for which the county tax levy is made a sum at least equal to an amount calculated as follows
  • 1. Divide the amount of tax levied by the county for public library service under sub. (1) in the prior year, less the amount levied for public library capital expenditures, by the equalized valuation of property in that area of the county that was subject to the county property tax levy for public library services in the prior year. 
  • 2. Multiply the amount determined under subd. 1. by the equalized valuation of property in the city, village, town or school district for the current year. 


(2m)No exemption allowed if public library does not comply with standards.  No city, village, town or school district is exempt from the tax levy under sub. (2) for any year if, by September 1 of the year preceding the year for which the tax is levied, the county board determines that the public library of the city, village, town or school district that is a member of the public library system has not complied with standards approved under s. 43.11 (3) (d) and (e).  

(3) Each city, town, village or school district participating in a joint library under s. 43.53 shall be treated individually in determining its eligibility for tax exemption under sub. (2).

Revised Dane County Library Service Standards 2008.  (From June 2008 Director's report to Middleton Public Library Board of Trustees.)

From the 8/4/2011 minutes of the Dane County Library Service Board of Trustees.

Revised Dane County Library Service member library standards found here.

History:
1971 Senate Bill 47.   43 25 (1 , (2), (3) and (4) are renumbered 43.52 (1) and 2) and 43.64 (1) and (2), respectively, and amended.
1977 Assembly Bill 1220. 43.64 (2) is amended.  (Addition of "school district".)
1981 Assembly Bill 66.  43.64 (2) is amended.  (Definition of "library fund".)
1983 Wisconsin Act 27.  43.64 (2) is amended
1985 Wisconsin Act 177.
  • 43.64 (2) is amended.
  • 43.64 (3) is created.
1997 Wisconsin Act 150.
  • 43.64 (2) is renumbered 43.64 (2) (b) (intro.) and amended. 
  • 43.64 (2) (a) and (b) 1. and 2. are created. 
  • 43.64 (2m) of is created.
2005 Wisconsin Act 226. 43.64 (2) (b) 1. is amended.
2005 Wisconsin Act 420. 43.64 (2m) is amended.

Attorney General opinions.

60 Atty. Gen. 389.  A municipality having a traveling library service within its municipal limits could raise a library fund for that service and be exempted from the county tax by meeting the requirement of sub. (4).

65 Atty. Gen 182.  A town, city, or village that does not maintain a public library, but makes contributions to a nearby public library, cannot be exempted from the county library tax levy under sub. (2).

72 Atty. Gen. 190.  A municipality, otherwise qualified, is entitled to an exemption under sub. (2) when the county has not acted to levy a tax specifically designated as a county library tax but does finance money expended for public library services to its inhabitants by a general tax levy.

Related posts:
Part 1:  Legislative findings and declaration of policy.
Part 2:  Definitions.
Part 3:  General duties of the State Superintendent.
Part 4:  General duties of the Division.
Part 5:  Council on Library and Network Development.
Part 6:  Certificates and standards..
Part 7: County library planning committees.
Part 8:  County payment for library service.
Part 9:  Division review
Part 10.  Standards for public library systems.
Part 11.  Resource libraries.
Part 12:  Public library systems; general provisions.
Part 13.  Withdrawal, abolition, and expulsion.
Part 14.  Federated public library systems.
Part 15.  Consolidated public library systems.
Part 16.  State aid.
Part 17.  Public library records.
Part 18.  Municipal libraries.
Part 19.  Joint libraries.
Part 20.  Municipal library board composition.
Part 21.  Consolidated county libraries and county library services.