The Washington state House of Representatives unanimously passed a bill on Friday, April 11, that makes some small libraries eligible for funding from a parks and recreation district.
The Senate approved changes made to the bill in the House later in the month before sending it to the governor's desk ahead of the end of the session Sunday, April 27.
Substitute Senate Bill 5365 is a clarification bill that adds language to current state law to include community centers that have 50% or less of their space dedicated to use as a library in the definition of recreational facilities. That small change opens new routes for potential funding.
Funding through a parks and recreation district currently is a grey area not addressed by state law. The need for the new language that will explicitly include certain libraries as recreational facilities was brought to Sen. Jeff Wilson, R-Longview, the bill's sponsor, by his constituents from the town of Castle Rock.
While the changes made by the bill are small and may not have widespread impact, they could be important for some small towns trying to keep their libraries afloat.
During public hearings on the legislation, Wilson pitched the bill as a way to give clarity to state law and added that the reason for the 50% limitation is that it makes it clear to members of the community that their local government is making efficient uses of space and funds.
“This keeps it into a reasonable amount of space where it doesn't create a conflict that one is overbearing or controlling another,” Wilson said. “It keeps the issues clear to the community that you’d like to be effective and efficient with an existing space. This is how you do it and can do it up to that percentage allowed of that space.”
During the hearings, some lawmakers asked why make this change when libraries can already be funded through library districts.
However, library districts in the state of Washington are used to provide funding for libraries in rural areas and generally cover a wide area beyond that of just a city or town. They might cover a chunk of a county or pieces of multiple adjoining counties and are created by county governments.
Not having access to that kind of funding for libraries can be a problem for smaller cities and towns that fund local libraries through the town general fund, says David Vorse, director of Castle Rock Public Works.
Since the town is responsible for providing vital services such as public safety, things like libraries and recreation are often on the chopping block when money gets tight.
Vorse says that Castle Rock has only been able to fund its library by passing an excise tax every year and that it has caused confusion among residents who are unsure if they are passing a new tax each year or reestablishing an old one.
Instead, being able to fund the library space through a parks and recreation district would allow the town to pass a more long-lasting tax that could be used not only to fund the library but also the swath of recreational activities that are hosted by many libraries in small towns.
“Libraries are changing; They’re evolving into community centers with crafts for kids, youth activities, even senior days and even date nights,” Vorse said during a public hearing for SB 5365 in the House Local Government Committee.
“Though there is not a definition within the RCW we see that libraries are becoming part of recreation both passive and educational and they are often now being considered in park plans and considerations.”
Now that the bill has passed, the journey has just begun, according to Vorse. The town of Castle Rock will still have to pass another levy to secure funding for their library. If they decide to go that route, the new levy won't need to be voted on year after year like the excise tax and only needs a simple majority support from voters to pass.
To qualify for the funding under the bill, the town would also have to reorganize its local library a bit making sure that library spaces occupy less than 50% of the local library and that the rest of the space can offer recreational activities or other useful resources to the community.
It remains to be seen if Castle Rock will move forward with funding its library in this way and to see if that route for funding can help other small libraries around the state amid statewide concerns for rural library funding.
At the state level, the new route for funding is viewed by many as a good idea and has received support from the Washington State Library under State Librarian Sara Jones. But officials are unsure how many towns and cities will actually be able to take advantage of the new technique. They add that this does little to calm concerns over lost federal funding for libraries that goes toward funding daily operations.
Library funding for rural areas has become a major issue in recent weeks after the Washington State Library announced it was notified that federal funding for rural area libraries along with tribal libraries and prison libraries had been cut.
“Number one is at the federal level that we're losing funding; it doesn't help with construction. It’s operation. The losses will be felt but not in the idea of whether libraries can be built or expanded,” Jones said.
