When I was a kid, I was never to talk about religion, politics, or a woman’s age.  Not polite.  How quaint.  In the age of “reality” TV shows, nothing is off-limits.  (And “quaint” doesn’t always seem so bad.)

But let me politely mention money and libraries, moving beyond dollar bills and taxes.

Think of funding in human terms.  At the end of the Family Summer Reading Club, 310 people attended The Big Party at the Riverfront Museum, courtesy of the library.  On a summer Saturday, 100 folks popped in to hear popular entertainer “Julie K.”  Chris McBrien entertained 170 patrons with his ventriloquism and crazy comedy on June 8.  Those fun-filled hours were made possible by careful spending of library money…money seen as offerings for people and services, not only as bills to be paid.

About 1,200 adults and kids signed on for Summer Reading.  Had we not owned over 99,000 items (books, magazines, e-books, books on CD) to offer participants, we could not have called ourselves a library, and our program would not have been a reading one.  Everything we offer the public to check out does not rain down from the sky.  We pay for what we give back to you, whether the money comes from tax dollars, gifts and memorials, or the Friends of the Library’s fundraisers.

Last year, 95% of our income arrived via revenue from individual property tax and corporate taxes.  That’s one reason I often finish articles with, “Thank you for supporting your public library!”  Because, one way or another, you do support us, along with thousands of people who walk through our doors or access our services via the computer or offsite at, say, the Mapleton Rec Center.

What folks may not know is that our revenue drops in December, after a modest payment from the county—but our so-called fiscal year doesn’t end until June 30.  We don’t receive a big check from anyone’s tax office for about five months.  We have to be very careful about how many books, DVDs, books on CD, etc., we buy for a long, long time.  Meanwhile, we know that our public wants the newest and latest of everything.  And who wouldn’t?

I’m not a financial advisor, but—if you didn’t realize it, the library is eligible to receive gifts which are tax-deductible.  To help us through those leaner months, people may give us cash; name us as a beneficiary in a life insurance policy; include us in a living trust or various other kinds of trusts and bequests—and more.  For further information, pick up a flyer at the library, or talk to an attorney or financial advisor.  Look for more of this kind of information in the comings month. And now I have run out of room, except to say: Thanks for supporting your public library.  

Book Babies

Wednesdays, 10:00 to 10:30 a.m., September 13, 20, 27 and October 4, 11, 18

Parents/caregivers with babies ages 12-24 months are invited to the library for activities.  Songs, creative time, and group play.

Toddlertime

Tuesdays, 10:00 to 10:30 a.m., September 12, 19, 26 and October 3, 10, 17

Storytime for 2-year-olds with an adult.  

Bookworms

Tuesdays, 10:30 to 11:00 a.m., September 12, 19, 26 and October 3, 10, 17

Wednesdays, 1:00 to 1:30 p.m., September 13, 20, 27 and October 4, 11, 18

Storytime for ages 3 to 6.  

Thursday Tales

Thursdays, 10:00 to 10:30 a.m., September 14, 21, 28 and October 5, 12, 19

Storytime for 2- and 3-year-olds with an adult.

Stories on the Steps

Thursday Evenings, 6:30 to 7:00 p.m., September 14, 21, 28 and October 5, 12, 19

Evening storytime for ages 3 to 8.