The Delray Beach Public Library Taps an Unusual Source of Revenue

Check out a book, rent a police officer at library.   (Miami Herald, 1/2/2012)

Excerpt: In Delray Beach, anyone who needs to hire an off-duty police officer to keep an eye on the door of a club or to direct traffic during a festival shouldn’t call the police department, but rather the library. 

The unlikely responsibility comes after the Delray Beach Public Library, which needs the additional revenue, won its bid to take over the job when the previous provider discontinued the service. 

“We were the only bidder,” said Alan Kornblau, library director. “We have been using [off-duty police] for over a year, and when we found out that the city was [requesting proposals], we felt we could provide the service.” 

Kornblau said the library, which is a nonprofit organization funded mostly by the city and the Community Redevelopment Agency, budgets for an off-duty police officer to guard the library. 

By booking all of the police department’s off-duty officers, the library hopes to save on its own security costs and generate revenue to pay for the position that would run the program, Kornblau said. 

The police department, which continues to streamline its operations to save money, hasn’t coordinated off-duty work since it was sued for racial discrimination in 1996. The suit included allegations that the off-duty officer program favored some officers over others. 

“It’s nothing but a headache,” Assistant Chief Joseph Milenkovic said of the process of scheduling off-duty officers, collecting payment from clients and paying the officers. “It’s a lot cleaner for us to outsource it.”

Milenkovic notes that the previous vendor made $40,000 "last year".  (2011?  2010?  He may have been interviewed for the article in late December.)

Perhaps Delray Beach PL is well-positioned to take advantage of this revenue source.  According to the Florida Public Library Statistics for 2009, it ranks among the top 5 libraries with revenue from "other" sources"  (A breakdown within this category is not provided, just the total dollar amount and percentage of "other" revenues to total revenues.)

The statewide average is 4.27%.

Sidebar:  Perhaps this is why the library needs protection?
Senior citizens picket library. (10/30/2010)