I am writing this in response to Mary Campbell's letter to the editor titled "Library Fairness."
I am an active user of the Warsaw Community Public Library, and I am very impressed at what they have to offer this community. I was very fortunate to grow up in Fort Wayne, which had a wonderful, countywide public library system. Then I lived briefly in Wells County, which also had a countywide public library. Finally, I moved here and joined the Warsaw library and assumed that they were also part of a countywide library system. However, I was talking with a friend about how great the Warsaw library is for and she informed me that she would have to pay an annul fee to join the Warsaw Community Public Library because she lived in a township that did not pay the taxes for the library services.
So I started asking questions as to why there wasn't a countywide library system and the answer that I received was that some of the townships decided not to collect taxes and participate in the library program. The reason was that some of the townships are very rural and that the residents would not use this service. I even heard that some townships were willing to pay the family membership fee for those residents that requested the service because it was cheaper to pay on a case-by-case basis as opposed to paying for the whole township.
This reasoning might have made sense 20 years ago, but the demographics of the county have changed and the trustees need to revisit this issue to decide what is best for their current residents.
My suggestion to Ms. Campbell and other Kosciusko County residents that are under-served by a public library is to contact your township trustee and request a library service. At the very least, the trustees can take into consideration the number of residents requesting a library service and plan that into a future budget.
The following Web site has the names and addresses of the Kosciusko County township trustees: www.indianatownshipassoc.org/counties/Kosciusko.htm
Let them know what you think because it is their job to listen to you.
Also, I was informed that all of the students attending the Warsaw Community Schools are eligible for memberships at the Warsaw Community Public Library no matter where they live. Please remember that public libraries are free for anyone to visit, but a membership card is required to check out materials or to utilize some of the services. So if you want to see a top-notch county library system, stop into one of the Allen County Public Library branches next time you are in Fort Wayne.
Our county has wonderful programs to encourage the community to read, and many excellent town libraries. So why can't we have a countywide library system? What harm would there be if the current libraries in Kosciusko County combined their resources to give all of the county residents a wider variety of services and materials? I am interested to hear what the township trustees and the library boards have to say about this issue.
