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http:// --> Ashland, Oregon HOME Valley & State Sports Nation & World Opinion/Editorial Classifieds Business Columnists Local Issues Obituaries Weather Archive Revels Etcetera Backpage Hot Topics Most Viewed Forum Photo Galleries Video Readers Polls O-Zone Online Games Movie Preview Special Sections Real Estate Guide Menu Guide Shakespeare Subscribe Contact Us Rate Card Place an Ad Hottest Galleries: October 23, 2007 Library set for 40 hours By Julie French Ashland Daily Tidings Ashland Public Library will open its doors to the public for the first time since April on Wednesday at 10 a.m. A few familiar faces will be missing and some still aren't pleased with the decision to use a private company to run the system, but most are just excited about the prospect of emptier shelves as books are again checked out for use. "The shelves are completely full, so there's a great selection of books," said Amy Blossom, who will serve as branch manager under Library Systems & Services, known as LSSI. Blossom said she was a little concerned that the intergovernmental agreement required to ensure Ashland's branch is open the full 40 hours would not be signed before opening day because of busy county and city schedules, but it was approved a full week in advance at the city council meeting last Tuesday. Library levy funds bumped the number of hours the library will be open from 24 to 40, as well as outreach services and additional staff. For the first time, the library will be open on Sunday, from noon to 4 p.m. "I'm very happy we're getting the library back open, and I'm very happy we came to an agreement with the county to get us up to 40 hours a week and the extra services we wanted," said City Councilor Russ Silbiger, who voted to approve the agreement last week. Even Councilor Eric Navickas, the lone dissenter on the vote, said he would be glad to see the libraries open. "I'd much rather see our library kept within the public sector, and I hope in the future we will go back to the fully public library system," he said. "I am excited. At least we'll have access to the materials in our library system." Under the contract signed between the city and the county, Ashland will pay a maximum of $216,664 for eight months of added services from November through June 2008, when the fiscal year ends. The payments jumps to $334,746 next July and will cover services through June 2009. These totals will cover not only additional open hours, but a higher level of service, such as an additional librarian with a master's degree and senior outreach services that Ashland required, said County Administrator Danny Jordan who signed the contract. Before the additional services were added, LSSI estimated that Ashland's branch would require $60,000 for every four-hour block to operate annually, or $360,000 total per year. Only Medford has a higher four-hour cost at $80,000. The four-hour costs vary between different branches depending on factors such as size of the community, circulation and square footage of the building, Jordan said. Overall, Jordan said he was happy with the progress LSSI has made so far. "They hired our former employees, so I'm very pleased that they did that," he said. "They hired them in different configurations and different jobs, so in terms of how they operate, we'll have to wait and see." Most of the former Ashland library staff will be returning, Blossom said, although the total number of employees is fewer than before. There will be a total of 13 employees, three of whom will work full-time, she said. Sgt. Malcus Williams, the Ashland Police officer who led children out of the library when it closed last April after reading them one last story, will also return to read another story on Wednesday if his schedule allows. Current Comments: I'll be there! I love our library! Nancy - Ashland, OR - October 23rd, 1:21 PM Kudos to LSSI for opening the library on Sundays so this property owning, tax paying, business owner can now actually get in there and use it! Brenda - Ashland, OR - October 23rd, 1:29 PM Give the overtaxed property owners some recognition and thanks too!!!!!!!!! After all I'm paying over $5,000 a year, that's over $5,000 a year for property taxes. And it keeps going up every year. Save some "kudos" for those that underwrite everything. Manuel - Ashland - October 23rd, 2:34 PM Congratulations to LSSI for opening the library on Sundays so that working folks will have a better opportunity of using the library. The public-employees union no doubt prohibited Sunday hours, so this suggests that LSSI might be an improvement in some respects and not the total bogeyman that so many Ashlanders fear. Working man - Ashland, OR - October 23rd, 5:56 PM Of course a private contractor will give better service! They've got to please "customers." Public employees only have to tolerate "clients". zoot - ashland, OR - October 23rd, 6:45 PM Get off it Manuel! What a crybaby. Living in a million dollar home and snivelling about your taxes. Dave - Ashland, OR - October 23rd, 11:10 PM Well Dave, considering the County already misappropriated funds dedicated to the library which homeowners are already paying, he's got a right and a duty to call "foul", no? Or should us "wealthy homeowners" just roll over and pay and keep our mouths shut? Mike - Talent - October 24th, 9:42 AM NOT A PUBLIC LIBRARY NO LONGER It is wrong to call it a "Public" Library, this is a "Private" Library. It is no more "public" than the Windmill Inn. Both are open to the public and both are private. Everything should be for sale... If you can afford it you win, if you are a lazy good-for-nuttin' scoundrel you loose. Survival of the fittest... Ronald Reagan is dancing in his grave and neo-cons are having multiple orgasims like there is no tomorrow... Their plan is working!!! Orwell - We are everywhere - October 24th, 11:00 AM You get over it Dave. Your address is probably your hippie van license plate number. Hey you assume I'm a rich jerk, so you're a stupid smelly punk. Sound fair? Let's presume the worse about everyone. $5,000 a year in property taxes is for a common middle class home way below the blvd in Ashland and I bought it for $89,000 before you had a nose to put a bone through, yes it's value has risen but I'm no milionaire and my wage is Oregon low. But you're a freeloader aren't you. Manuel - Ashland - October 24th, 12:59 PM By the way to everyone. My original comment merely was requesting that every library user remember and acknowledge who's paying to keep it open. THE PROPERTY TAX PAYERS. I was not whinning as "dave" thought. Also I voted for the library measure even though it cost me money. And by the way I never used that Ashland library ever. But I consider it useful for others to use. So just say thanks, and stop the negative comments. Don't judge me based on what you'd do in my shoes. I'm not U. Manuel - Ashland - October 24th, 4:35 PM It was very exciting to go the library today. WL - Ashland OR - October 24th, 5:09 PM Manual, something is seriously wrong with your tax bill. Your home would have had to have been valued at $250,000 in 1990 (which would have been really high) to have increased in appraised value at only 3% per year (measure 50) to reach a current property tax of $5,000. Or sometime in the last 5 years you added a 1000 sq. ft. My middle class home below the blvd is taxed at 1/2 that amount. . Tax check - Ashland - October 24th, 7:27 PM Yes Orwell, and you can say that public streets aren't public too because LTM paved them. How stupid can you be? Igor - Ashland Oregon - October 24th, 8:58 PM Wow, $5000 is a lot in property tax. I own a house below the boulevard that I paid WAY more than $89,000 for about 8 years ago, and my prop. tax is less than $2000. I thought mine was a middle class house, but I guess I'm wrong. Ha! Who knew? Middle class is such a plastic term. Anyway, glad the library's open and open longer hours. Yea! reader - ashland, or - October 25th, 12:12 AM I can hardly wait to see how much this is really going to cost. Richard Cranium - Ashland OR - October 25th, 5:31 PM Leave a Comment: Advertisement: Advertisement: Paid Advertising: Debt Help Inkjet Printers Payday Loans Free Ringtones Debt Consolidation Security Systems Debt Relief New Hampshire Primary Advertisement: Copyright © 2007 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers. All Rights Reserved. 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