Community libraries feel growing pains

By WALT WILLIAMS, Chronicle Staff Writer

Not long ago, the Belgrade Community Library ran out of money to buy new books and was forced to rely instead on the donations of community members to put new titles on its shelves.

At that point, the library was $22,000 in debt, and it didn't have many options to raise new money.

“For a public library, it is very difficult to increase your revenue sources because your services are basically free,” Library Director Gale Bacon said.

The Belgrade City Council recently agreed in its annual budget to fill the $22,000 hole and increase the library's budget by $9,000. That, along with grants the library has received to fund various services, goes a long way toward making it whole.

“We've made significant strides,” Bacon said. “I continue to write grants and I will continue to get the library updated for current needs.”

There are five libraries in Gallatin County, located in Bozeman, Belgrade, Manhattan, Three Forks and West Yellowstone. More people in each of the communities means more readers, although not every library is feeling the squeeze from growth.

The answer to growth pressures in Bozeman was to build a $17 million library more than twice the size of the old one.

The Belgrade Community Library, which serves the county's fastest growing city, moved into its current location on North Broadway in 1989. Then, in 2002, a new 5,500-square-foot addition provided more room.

The library's roughly $210,000 annual budget comes from a mix of state, county and city funds. It has two full-time employees, including Bacon, and three part-time employees, but the director hopes to add an additional part-time employee and a full-time employee through grants.

Some of the more recent changes to help the Belgrade library meet public demand have been to add DVDs and books on CD to the selection of materials, Bacon said.

While it doesn't have the number of materials of its Bozeman counterpart, Belgrade patrons have access to both cities' books through the interlibrary loan. However, Belgrade actually sends more books to Bozeman than Bozeman sends to it, Bacon said.

The growth spurt that has hit the rest of the valley has been a little slow to reach Three Forks, although that will change in coming years with large subdivisions proposed in the town and in neighboring Broadwater County.

“There is a steady increase (in library attendance) and that's been true for several years,” Three Forks Library Director Jean Nielsen said.

So far, it hasn't had much of an affect on the library, which has managed on its $67,000 annual budget.

The West Yellowstone Public Library, by contrast, hasn't really dealt with growth because the community hasn't really grown that much, Director Mary Girard said.

“We haven't had the rapid growth that Belgrade has,” she said.

West Yellowstone's library, which has a $105,000 annual budget, is in a slightly different situation in that it must not only accommodate the residents, but all the tourists who pass through the community.

Many tourists use the library's Internet and wireless services during the summertime, Girard said.

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