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Durango Library director makes case for more funding

Cardholders down but nontraditional usage up
Sandy Irwin displays the different eReaders available for checkout in the reference area of the library while she was assistant director of the Durango Public Library in 2013. Irwin, now director of the library, has seen an increase in the eBook use and in the number of people using wireless Internet in recent years.

The Durango Public Library is looking to Durango and La Plata County to spend more on programming and materials, such as books and DVDs, in 2016.

While the library’s proposed budget projects an incremental increase in spending, the funding is going to be targeted differently to meet community needs, Library Director Sandy Irwin told Durango city councilors and the La Plata County commissioners Tuesday.

The library plans to spend about $2.05 million in 2016, up from the $2.02 million budgeted in 2015, an increase of about 1.4 percent. A majority of the funding, about $1.9 million, will come from the joint city-county sales tax, according to La Plata County projections.

The library is hoping public funding will help cover an increase in programming up from $12,000 to $20,000, Irwin said.

While $20,000 is about what the library currently spends on programming, the additional funding is generally covered by donations raised by the Friends of the Library, Irwin said.

The library is also looking to slightly boost what is spent on books and other materials from about $215,700 to about $220,000.

While the digital age is no doubt upon us, the numbers paint a strong picture of library participation, she said. About 403,000 library materials are expected to be checked out this year.

There has been a slight decline in the percentage of Durango cardholders from about 80 percent of Durangoans in 2014 to about 78 percent in 2015.

But the number of people reading ebooks and using the wireless Internet is increasing.

“People are using the library beyond the traditional ways,” Irwin said.

Irwin also asked the county to boost funding for both the Sunnyside and Fort Lewis Mesa libraries. Fort Lewis Mesa would see an increase of about 10 percent from about $53,600 to about $59,000, and Sunnyside would see an increase of about 9 percent from $46,600 to about $51,000. Some of this additional money would help purchase early literacy materials because those areas serve some of the greatest numbers of children living in poverty, she said.

Irwin’s requests will be considered as part of the city and county budgets that will be approved in December.

mshinn@durangoherald.com



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