Library says only taxes bring access: half the
residents use it, everyone would lose it without millage

By Erin McClary
C & G Staff Writer

BEVERLY HILLS — For some, a library not only adds to the value of their home, it’s also a place where they can find quiet time, research and entertainment materials, and Internet access.

To others, the library is something they pay for with their tax dollars, but never use — empty nesters, residents who have media collections and Internet service of their own, or homeowners who travel frequently or lack the time to visit the library.

Regardless of which category residents fall into, Beverly Hills administrators say the village has a serious problem on its hands. With the rapid decline of home values, the Village Council says it simply cannot afford to keep its contract with Baldwin Public Library — unless voters approve a 1.9-mill tax hike this November.

While some can’t bear the thought of life without a library, others would rather do without one if it means holding onto more of their own money.

But if Beverly Hills loses its library service, Village Council members argue that home values could plummet even further. More pressing to some, without Baldwin, villagers’ options for library service would become extremely limited, say local library directors.

Doug Koschik, director of Baldwin Public Library in Birmingham, said that as of last fall, nearly half of Beverly Hills residents, or 4,509 of approximately 10,400, hold a library card at Baldwin. He presented the stats when the Village Council first contacted him about the dilemma late last year.

Baldwin currently holds contracts to service the neighboring communities of Beverly Hills, Franklin and Bingham Farms. It’s also part of The Library Network, and honors a reciprocal borrowing program with several other libraries in southeastern Michigan. A cardholder who is within the network but not a resident of Birmingham, Beverly Hills, Franklin or Bingham Farms, however, has limited privileges, said Koschik. For example, he explained, they are only able to check out 10 items at a time.

“Any person can come into the library,” regardless of having a membership, he said. People without a library card “still would be able to enter the building and use materials in the building. However, they will not be able to check out books, and they will not be able to register for programs.”

Koschik said the library would not sell individual memberships.

“At the present time, the library board does not intend to sell cards in the future.” The policy was reaffirmed at a January board meeting, he said.

If Beverly Hills’ millage proposal is defeated this fall, the village may end its contract with Baldwin, administrators say.

The way public libraries see it, said Bloomfield Township Public Library Director Karen Kotulis-Carter, if residents are not paying taxes for a public library, most libraries will not give them a card — no matter how much they’re willing to pay.

The township library does not sell library cards, nor does it have plans to do so in the future. Millages, Kotulis-Carter said, are what allow libraries to operate.

“It’s never in the best interest of a community and a library, in our humble opinion, to sell non-resident cards,” she said, explaining that it’s far too difficult to budget for a questionable number of patrons. “If 3,000 more people come in that we didn’t plan for, it could jeopardize the services to our residents, and that’s not fair to the taxpayers.”

Some public libraries do offer the sale of membership cards, but that number is dwindling because of the economy, she said.

About 65 public libraries in Southeastern Michigan honor TLN reciprocal borrowing for people who have a library card. The network services roughly 2.5 million people.

“If your community’s paying a fair share to support a public library, and your library has resources to offer our residents, we honor a reciprocal program,” Kotulis-Carter said, explaining how TLN memberships work.

She said the township library also is feeling the ague of declining home values, and in the upcoming fiscal year, it will have to close on nine additional days. With the failure of a recent millage proposal in the city of Troy, Kotulis-Carter fears the township library could also lose its reciprocity with the Troy Public Library.

Beverly Hills Village Council member John Mooney said Beverly Hills currently has a good deal with Baldwin, and if the millage proposal fails, finding a nearby public library that would offer a better deal would be nearly impossible. At a March 2 council meeting, he said Beverly Hills residents — who are levied 0.9184 mills for library services — pay less to use Baldwin than Birmingham residents do.

Going to Southfield for library service, Mooney continued, would cost twice what villagers are paying now.

Kotulis-Carter said the township library is always open to discussing contract requests from nearby communities. But, she admitted, the library board would most likely counter with a higher amount than what Beverly Hills residents are currently paying to use Baldwin.

So what if paying taxes for a library isn’t an option? Both Koschik and Kotulis-Carter could not say.

“Don’t plan on that (buying a library card) as Plan B,” Kotulis-Carter said.

Village Council member Ron Berndt said the Troy Public Library was the closest in the area that he knew of that sold library cards. But with the city’s recent millage failure, the future of Troy’s library is murky at best.

“If we lose this library (Baldwin), this is it,” Berndt said March 2. “There is no alternative anymore.”

Beverly Hills’ contract with Baldwin Public Library would be terminated — for the 4,509 residents who use it and the approximately 5,891 who do not — on June 30, 2011, if the November millage proposal fails, officials said.

You can reach Staff Writer Erin McClary at emcclary@candgnews.com or at (586) 279-1118.