Politics & Government

Bloomfield Township Library Upholds Non-Resident Borrowing Decision

Despite a threat from Baldwin Public Library, residents from Beverly Hills and Bingham Farms will no longer be able to borrow books from BTPL.

Despite a letter of protest from officials, the Board of Trustees decided Tuesday night to uphold the new nonresident borrowing policy adopted at the April 26 board meeting.

As of July 1, nonresidents who do not live in communities with libraries belonging to The Library Network (TLN), or those not covered by a reciprocal borrowing agreement, will not be permitted to borrow books, DVDs or other materials from the library. Nonresidents may still visit the library to peruse materials, use the guest computers for specified time periods, and attend public programs and events.

Those who live in communities which have TLN libraries, such as West Bloomfield and Birmingham, may continue to use the library's resources as they have in the past.

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The policy change came about because the rate of nonresident borrowers, at 20 percent, is higher than the rate experienced by neighboring libraries. Most of these nonresident users are from communities without reciprocal contracts, officials said.

asked The Bloomfield Township library board members to suspend or reverse the decision to rescind circulation privileges to residents in the communities of Bingham Farms and Beverly Hills, which have contracts with the Baldwin library.

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The letter went on to say that the new BTPL policy may mean the end of the “historic special relationship” that the Baldwin and Bloomfield Township libraries have shared for 40 years, as well as the elimination of Baldwin’s 20-year service to the homebound of Bloomfield Township.

"In the past, Bloomfield Township residents had special priveleges and were not treated like other residents from contract communities. That's going to change on July 1,"Koschik said. He noted checkout limits, fees and the homebound-resident service as the major changes.

Bloomfield Library Director Karen Kotulis-Carter said one of the primary goals established during the last strategic planning session was giving taxpayers priority access. The high number of nonresident borrowers means that fewer books and materials are available for those who live and pay taxes in Bloomfield Township.

“We fully support sharing services, but we have to consider what best serves our taxpayers,” said Kotulis-Carter. “What’s the solution that’s better for our residents? It’s pretty clear.”

The BTPL lost over $1 million, or 20 percent of its budget, in recent years, due to declining tax revenues caused by falling property values. Ninety-five percent of the library’s funding comes from residential and business property taxes. Last year, the number of items nonresidents could borrow was reduced from 12 to 10, but this still did not have any significant effect on usage.

“It costs about $1 million to serve nonresidents,” said Kotulis-Carter. “With the $1 million we’ve already lost, it puts a $2 million hole in our budget.”


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