The Great Falls Public Library is continuing its levy implementation plan and moving toward the master plan remodel.
During the Sept. 26 library board meeting, Director Susie McIntyre said that a lawsuit was filed against the city regarding the levy election that a judge has not yet considered.
At this point, the levy will be included on the November tax bills, but since the shift from city general fund dollars to the levy funds changes the timeline of when the library receives its funding.
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Previously, the library received general fund support monthly from the city. Now, with the levy, the bulk of their funding will come in December and June.
Because of that change in timing, the library might have a gap in operational funding.
McIntyre said a local antonymous donor has committed $300,000 through the Great Falls Public Library Foundation that the library can use for operations until the levy funds are received and once those funds come in, the library will replace those funds in a reserve account for the capital campaign.
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The library is planning a levy implementation plan open house on Nov. 9.
Earlier this month, the library foundation approved several projects.
Those projects include:
- $20,500 for collection materials. The library increased its operational budget for materials this year so needed less foundation support.
- $3,000 for the Chilton Auto Repair database. The library provides access to the database for patrons and the foundation has funded the subscription for several years.
- $11,000 for MontanaLibrary2Go Advantage program. The library will be funding its MontanaLibrary2Go consortium membership from the operational budget. The MontanaLibrary2Go consortium has changed the by-laws to allow individual member libraries to establish Overdrive Advantage accounts and purchase extra copies of popular items for their patrons only. In January of 2023, the foundation provided $5,000 of funding to purchase extra copies for patrons. The library has set up an Advantage account and have set up a holds plan to purchase $1,000 of additional items each month. The foundation funding will allow the library to purchase $1,500 of additional items monthly through June 2024.
- $15,500 for Linked-in Learning. As part of the library’s effort to expand digital services for the community, it will provide access to the leading online platform for learning for libraries. Library staff hopes to partner with Great Falls College-MSU, Great Falls Public Schools, Great Falls Development Authority, homeschool groups and Great Falls Job Service to promote the service to the community and allow patrons to earn credit and/or certifications.
- $6,000 for Mango Languages. The library is adding the language learning resource.
- $1,750 for tablets and software for digital newspaper access. As many Montana newspapers, including the Great Falls Tribune, aren’t publishing a daily print edition, the library is planning to purchase two large tablets to provide digital access to its computer subscriptions within the library.
The foundation also approved the reallocation of $92,000 from the RFID material handler project to the master plan.
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Library staff is planning to use those funds to issue a request for qualifications to start the design phase of the planned master plan remodel project.
The foundation approved funding to purchase and install an automatic materials handler in 2021.
In September 2022, the library board approved the library master plan, which calls for a major remodel of the entire library, so staff decided to delay purchasing and installing the materials handler and do that in conjunction with the remodel when the plans are completed.
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The library has conceptual drawings of a possible remodel and ballpark costs, but to start a capital campaign, they need architectural designs and better cost estimates, McIntyre told the board.
Library staff and the board are planning a large scale capital fundraising plan for the remodel that is separate for the levy that was approved in June.
McIntyre also told the board that staff is seeing an uptick of people sleeping overnight in front of the library and leaving items in the front area.
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She said staff met with the Great Falls Police Department and they want clear guidelines posted at the front of the library so they can take action when necessary.
McIntyre said staff is developing some proposals to bring to the board in October to have clear and enforceable rules.
A subcommittee of the board is also working on plans to address issues in Library Park, which is behind the library, to address people sleeping there, drug use and other unwanted behaviors.
McIntyre told the board that the library isn’t the only downtown entity having similar issues.
She said the library has received some criticism for providing services to the unhoused or that the library is becoming a homeless shelter, but she said the library can’t provide its core services to all patrons if they’re dealing with patron behavior problems.
