The Board of Trustees of the Pine River Library will hold a general meeting at 5:30 p.m. on July 24 in the library's community room to discuss the expected $200,000 budget shortfall for the 2019 calendar year.
A short presentation will be followed by time for questions and answers and suggestions.
The Pine River Public Library District was formed in 1972 to use tax money to fund operations and services. As the Bayfield population increased, the need for a larger and more modern building became apparent.
A mill levy increase passed in November 1999, and funding for new facilities became available.
Construction started in 2001 and was completed at the beginning of 2004.
The library moved from its Mill Street location into the current facility in March 2004.
An addition to the 2004 building was added in 2012 to add a large community room and expanded space for the public. The newly-expanded 12,000-square-foot building is home to almost 40,000 items, including books, audiobooks, public access computers, tablets, e-readers and more.
The library includes more than 45 public computers, two smaller meeting rooms, a children's imagination room, comfortable chairs for reading, and a large selection of books, magazines, audio and video materials, online databases, and downloadable media including audio, video, music and e-books.
A 17,000-square-foot Community Garden serves the community by providing space for garden beds, teaching classes and serving the food needs of the community. There is a current staff of 16 employees who serve more than 9,000 who live in the district.
Board members are Mike Hawkins, Treasurer Laura Hokanson, Donald Mooney, Steve Miller, Ashleigh Tarkington, Vaughn Morris and President Abbie Wiler.
A copy of the 2015-18 budget can be found on the library's website at www.prlibrary.org/content/2018-library-budget.
For more information on the meeting, call Library Director Shelley Walchak at 884-2222, ext. 511.
