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Saint Paul Library Budget2005 Proposed Budget AddressDelivered by Mayor Randy Kelly - August 13, 2004 One year ago, I stood before you to present the first-ever St. Paul Library Agency budget. On that day, we embarked on a new path for delivery of library services with the creation of a Library Agency, separate and distinct from the rest of the City's general fund. I challenged us then to continue the spirit of partnership and dialogue which was forged during the process of creating this agency, as we moved forward into implementing and running it. A year later, I believe that challenge has been met successfully. We should be proud of our efforts and positive about the future of St. Paul's library system. Hard work and willingness to compromise in creating this agency has paid off for the people of St. Paul. I believe we have avoided some of the weaknesses of the Minneapolis Library Board system, in which taxpayers are at the mercy of a board without the ability to hold anyone accountable for fiscal or management decisions. As elected officials, we have a bond of trust with our taxpayers. That bond remains intact with St. Paul's Library Agency, maintaining clear accountability and fiscal responsibility. I am proud of the way our new Agency has operated and performed over the last year - continuing its long tradition of serving the people of St. Paul with new ideas, new partnerships and new programs. Cicero wrote, "A room without books is like a body without a soul." And so it is with our libraries - those great and vast rooms of books, materials and resources, providing soul for our neighborhoods, our citizens and our community. Just consider this facility. The Dayton's Bluff Library, opened earlier this year, stands as a shining example of partnership, persistence and perseverance. Metro State was a university in need of a college-caliber library, located in Dayton's Bluff, an area in need of its own neighborhood library facility. Through a tremendous partnership, which included Metro State, Dayton's Bluff residents, the city and the state Legislature, all parties had their needs met. The university now has a state-of-the-art facility serving as the heart of this campus and providing students and staff access to information and knowledge - the lifeblood of any higher education institution. Additionally, Metro State students and their families can enjoy use of the Dayton's Bluff neighborhood library, helping them feel connected to this community. The Dayton's Bluff neighborhood has gained a resource, a gathering place, a "friend-of-the-family" with over 70 percent of its library collection devoted to children and families. Providing access to the University's materials, to internet-ready computers and a Homework Center opening in January, this facility is ready and able to serve the needs of this neighborhood. Quality-of-life services are at the core of what makes our city so appealing to residents and businesses. For 12 years we have managed wisely and not asked taxpayers for additional funding. And while this is a remarkable feat, it's not about setting a record, but instead about setting a standard for how local government can be run. It's telling the people of St. Paul that their government is willing to make the same tough financial choices that families must make every day. I am proud that the 2005 Library Agency Budget again matches our history of no increase in the city's property tax levy. The 2005 Library budget reflects my strong commitment to our libraries while remaining true to fiscal responsibility. This proposal responds to another financially challenging year, while continuing to make strategic investments which will ensure the strength and stability of the city's library system for the future. I am proposing a total Library Agency budget of $17,076,805 million, a 2.5 percent increase over last year. Smart management of our larger city budget allows us to devote more resources to the Library Agency, while keeping the combined city and Port Authority levy flat. This budget proposes an increase in funding for library materials which will bring our system back to its 2003 funding level. This proposal adds four FTEs to the library system, annualizing positions at the new Dayton's Bluff Library and adding staff for the new Rondo facility. This budget does not close or reduce the hours of operation at any city library. But proposing a budget which restrains spending at the cost of new and prudent investment would be shortsighted. Tightened finances will not impede progress or diminish library service to the community. In 2005, we will open the $9 million Rondo Community Outreach Library at University and Dale. This new facility will nearly double the space of the current Lexington Outreach Library, providing more seating, books, public computers, community meeting space and an expansion of the library's small business resource center. This unique project is illustrative of the essential role a library can play in maintaining a strong neighborhood by marrying the new library with a mixed-use residential development. In addition to the library, 91 units of new housing will be built, helping to renew and revitalize this diverse neighborhood. This $25 million project will be a showcase of new, affordable housing anchored by a library which will continue serving as a front-line resource for the Hmong, Somali and other neighborhood populations. It took partnership, collaboration and teamwork to create this agency last year and those themes have continued to set a standard of cooperation for our library system. In 2004, the St. Paul Public Libraries collaborated with Ramsey County Libraries on staff exchange and began a pilot project for joint recruitment of library clerks. They worked in cooperation with the United Way and Lifetrack Resources to provide reading readiness support for at-risk children. Sixteen library staff members volunteered to read to second-graders monthly at the Museum Magnet School. And, as I noted earlier, in cooperation with Metro State and the Dayton's Bluff neighborhood, the long-awaited dream of a community library for this area has become a reality. In 2005, cooperation and partnership will continue to be a pervasive theme. We are collaborating with the College of St. Catherine to establish the federally funded Urban Library Project. Funded by a half-million-dollar, three-year grant, the project's goal is to attract and educate racially and ethnically diverse populations to work in an urban library setting. This program is based on the "teaching hospital" model and will combine theory with hands-on practice, allowing St. Catherine's students to work at St. Paul Public libraries. We have reached out to the community and now have over 400 adult and 210 youth volunteers, who give of their time and their talents to support library staff in providing service at all branches throughout the city. This past year, volunteers gave 16,750 hours to our city libraries - an increase of 34 percent from just two years ago. From tutoring to Internet expertise, from gardening to clerical and maintenance tasks, volunteers make our libraries exceptional. Talk of partnerships would not be complete without recognizing The Friends of the Library, a group which continues to be a crucial partner in maintaining one of the nation's finest library systems. The Friends are enthusiastic supporters of the library's Homework Centers, which in the past year have provided free, on-site tutoring and study assistance for 7,200 students of all ages. They are helping to provide private funds for both the Dayton's Bluff and new Rondo facilities, as well as supporting library programming, purchase of new books and other materials, staff training and more throughout the city. This budget asks the Friends of the Library to continue their vital involvement through a request to finance $42,000 for new materials. The Friends/St. Paul Libraries partnership is a national model for citizen participation and community support of a public facility. Our gratitude and thanks go to those who stand up for this important city service. This unique relationship is testament to the power created when the private and public sectors join forces toward a common vision. This budget maintains the careful balance between fiscal restraint and improved service. It allows the St. Paul library system to grow and improve, while challenging the director and staff to continue discovering ways to collaborate, cooperate and innovate. It provides necessary investment in new materials, facilities and technologies without jeopardizing other essential city services. In short, this budget allows St. Paul's libraries to continue their mission of service as a valuable resource to our community, while remaining responsible to taxpayers and vigilant with City resources. As I was preparing these remarks, I spent a bit of time reflecting on just what a library is and what role they can play for our community. A library is a sanctuary, a refuge. A place of quiet, of solitude, of knowledge, of curiosity and of exploration. A place where worlds and times - both past and yet to come - await our discovery. It is a place of equality - your income, your address, your level of education are irrelevant in a library. The only requirements for admission are a thirst for information, a passion for learning or a desire to escape with the characters who exist only between the covers of a book. A library provides its patrons access to resources and the resources to access any fact, data or idea. In fact, at its core, the very concept of a library is quite amazing - a place where your local government encourages you to take as many of their materials as you want . . . without any up-front cost . . . . because they trust you to return it. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, over 1,600 American libraries were donated by industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie and are often called "Carnegie Libraries." Yet it is a misconception to assume that Mr. Carnegie insisted these buildings be named after him. He did not. His only design stipulation was that somewhere in each building there be an image of a sun-burst and above it the words, "Let there be light." For St. Paul's libraries, we are the light. The budget decisions we make will impact the future, the direction and the caliber of our libraries for years to come. Let us be wise stewards and careful deliberators, keeping the light of knowledge and our treasured libraries shining brightly. Thank you. Copyright 2002-2008, Saint Paul Public Library - 90 W. 4th Saint Paul, MN 55102 Melanie Huggins, Library Director | Library Board Webmaster: SPPLWeb@ci.stpaul.mn.us |
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