This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
One of the great things about Salt Lake City, in my opinion, is the Salt Lake City Library system. It serves millions of visitors a year.
The library is proposing a 32 percent property tax increase in its next budget. Some of the increased spending is overdue. Librarians are underpaid and often make close to what they did starting out 20 years ago. The best part of the plan is the salary increase and the increased health insurance benefits, which were some of the lowest in government service.
Librarians have to not just help readers and children gain the benefits of the knowledge available at the libraries, they are often called on to ensure that the library is a safe and protected area. The challenge is to ensure that everyone is welcome while also preventing the misuse and destruction of library facilities by individuals that may have nowhere else to go.
The downtown library restrooms are misused and ruined often. Unfortunately, Salt Lake City has not been able to solve the homeless problem (despite what the previous administration claimed). One of the new budget items is to have restroom security attendants to ensure that the restrooms are kept clean and secure and are not used for bathing and washing clothes. But there should be an alternative facility near the library that allows showering and washing clothes. Many homeless do not want to go anywhere near the Rio Grande area due to the constant drug activity.
Most librarians have had problems with the constant but rare individuals who are disruptive to the quiet libraries. The constant smoking around the downtown Main Library entrance is also a problem that requires more security. Although the Main Library will continue to work with VOA on the homeless issues, the librarians deserve a raise and security does need to be increased.
The biggest issue for many patrons is the lack of long-term free parking. When a family with several kids wants to go to a library, they don't want to be limited to 20 minutes (at the Main Library) or even two hours (at Sprague in Sugar House) which is the limit of free parking. At Sprague, if you want to stay for more than two hours, you have to go across the street and pay $10! Librarians at Sprague have to park a block away in an area that has been a safety concern (underground in an area with alcohol misuse). Community meetings that last longer than two hours create issues and if one wants to read or visit for more than a few hours, taking public transit is recommended (which I use regularly).
Unfortunately, instead of increasing the availability of long-term parking, there are plans to increase facilities use with redesigned facilities. Chapman, Day-Riverside and Sprague branch libraries have had space utilization studies. The resulting plans will take up a lot of the tax increase but we are not being told how the study will change the facilities. Chapman Branch is also planning on expanding into its parking lot, which is already overwhelmed.
One of the most important issues in the libraries (after the safety and parking issues) is the facilities' maintenance. The SLC Library is planning on a Facilities Condition Assessment (FCA) of all eight buildings to help determine immediate inadequacies and long-term maintenance issues. But a better management plan would be to find out what the maintenance costs are first before undertaking new building projects.
The SLC Main Library serves 1.8 million visitors a year while Sprague serves almost 800,000! The rest of the library use ranges from 202,145 at Anderson-Foothill to Chapman's 55,092. The library budget is now about $15 million and it is planned to go up to $20 million, a 32 percent increase, if the Salt Lake City Council approves it. The council will hold public hearings on the library budget on May 16, May 23 and June 6 at their 7 p.m. formal meeting. Hopefully, the public will realize the importance of our libraries and comment on the proposed budget.
George Chapman is a former candidate for mayor of Salt Lake City.