Fife considers offering library services

By Meghan Erkkinen

The Fife City Council is looking at the most cost-effective way to provide its citizens with library services. At a recent study session, council members discussed two separate options – for the city to deliver the services, or for the city to annex into the Pierce County Library System.

Neel Parikh, director of the Pierce County Library System, spoke at the meeting about the possibility of annexing into the district.

According to Parikh, the district could offer Fife an open storefront facility that is about 3,000-4,000 square feet, with books, CDs and DVDs, and about six to eight public computers. The library branch could offer both adult and children’s programs.

In addition, the library system could offer services such as taking books and materials to homebound individuals or adult care facilities. It could also offer Korean or Spanish-speaking staff and a foreign-language collection.

There are other advantages to joining the Pierce County system. Residents would have access to a collection of 1.3 million materials, in addition to online newspapers, encyclopedias and other resources. Students could also have access to the district’s online homework help program.

But the city council also saw some drawbacks to this approach. The library district levies property taxes, which are set this year at 44.25 cents per $1,000 in assessed property value. Several council members were concerned that Fife might be paying more than its fair share for the proposed size of the library, as it has higher property values than many other areas in the library district.

Mayor Barry Johnson said he was not too enthralled with receiving only a storefront at that tax rate, and several council members agreed. However, most were in favor of bringing library services to the city.

“I’m definitely interested in the community aspect of a library in Fife,” said Councilmember Kim Roscoe.

Several others expressed the same sentiment, that a library would strengthen the community.

Johnson asked the Pierce County Library System to investigate a partnership with the Fife Community Center to put a library there.

The council directed the city staff and the Pierce County Library System to reevaluate what the system can do for the city, and to come back with more concrete figures as to what Fife residents would be paying for the service.

“I think overall the council is supportive of a library,” Johnson said. “It makes sense to combine and work with them (the Pierce County Library System)…but certainly when we get their figures back we’ll look at it again.”

If the city council wishes to annex into the Pierce County Library System, it must direct the decision to citizens in the form of a ballot measure. The next election will be in May, but several council members said they would prefer to wait until November, when more citizens would likely turn out to vote.

If the city were to establish its own library system, the estimated initial cost would be about $5 million, including the cost of the building, the collection and software development. The operating cost would be about $600,000 to $1 million annually. This money would be paid out of the city’s funds.

Presently, the only library service the city provides to citizens is a reimbursement for those who pay for library cards in the Tacoma or Puyallup systems. Less than 200 people take advantage of this program annually, and the city predicts that is because most do not know about the program. The cost to the city is about $8,000-$10,000 annually.

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