City-county library merger looks likely

The Minneapolis Public Library system appears headed for a takeover by Hennepin County, a move discussed for decades but now accelerated by the city system's dire fiscal problems.

Two separate library panels are moving toward making the recommendation and, unlike past attempts, city and county officials said the political obstacles that prevented a merger previously seem to have evaporated.

Even the head of the city's library board has not attempted to block the proposal, even though the county would control the merged system, with non-Minneapolis residents the likely majority on a new library board.

The merger is just one more example of how Hennepin County, which has taken the financial lead on light-rail transit and a new Minnesota Twins stadium, is increasingly eclipsing Minneapolis when it comes to large city endeavors because of its dominant tax base.

Although many details would need to be resolved, the library merger would combine a city system founded in 1885, but recently forced to close branches and reduce hours, with a more vibrant county library system that just announced an all-time high in usage last year.

In a telling anecdote, Minneapolis library director Kit Hadley recently told one of the panels that when a new Harry Potter book was published the county library system ordered 1,200 copies while the city system, in part because of budget restrictions, bought 80 copies.

"That was pathetic," she said.

Under one scenario, the county would include Minneapolis residents in a countywide library levy -- it now only taxes county residents living outside Minneapolis -- and the city would transfer $6.8 million a year initially to the county. The merged system, assuming no new initial spending, would have a $75.6 million budget in its first year, with suburban taxpayers paying 62 percent.

"As far as the county's concerned, the level of taxation that's called for is either pretty close to what it is today ... [or] pretty manageable," said Pat Born, the city's finance director, who has teamed with county officials to study the merger.

'The need is acute'

The merger plan has been increasingly favored by both panels over other options that include having the county take control of only the city's new downtown library, or a plan to make the city's semi-independent library system a more conventional city department. But any plan short of a merger, both city and county officials have said, probably wouldn't solve the city library system's continuing financial woes and would not help extend library hours.

"Now the need is acute," City Council member Betsy Hodges, who sits on one of the panels, said in explaining why the merger talks have gained political traction.

Over the past four years, dating back to a critical reduction in state aid, the 15-library city system has endured a series of sometimes embarrassing setbacks. Five months after opening the celebrated new downtown central library last May, library officials announced that it would be closed on Mondays because of budget constraints. In December, capping a year of sobering financial news, the system closed three neighborhood libraries with only vague predictions of when they would reopen.

In contrast, the 26-library Hennepin County system has been busy with major library renovations and more -- instead of remodeling its library in suburban Plymouth, the county simply decided to build a new one. Last year, more than 13 million books, CDs, DVDs and magazines were checked out of the 26 libraries operated by the state's most populous county. The figure translated to 17 items per county resident, or roughly 2.5 times the average for libraries nationally.

While the Minneapolis system is known for its one-of-a-kind historical collections --52.5 percent of the city library system's inventory are considered unique titles -- the county system seems to have more popular selections.

Though merger talks had taken place sporadically since the 1960s, the key difference now may be the acknowledgment by city officials that they may have to give up political control of the library system.

"In the '60s and '70s, a lot of the issue was about who was in control," said Colin Hamilton, executive director of the 4,800-member Friends of the Minneapolis Public Library. "It seems like that isn't really the fundamental issue [now]." Most people, he said, seem more concerned "about how do you get better service."There hasn't been a lot of dissension," Hamilton said of the two special panels, one of which includes both city and county officials.

But plenty of concerns remain. Even Hennepin County Commissioner Peter McLaughlin, who initiated the county's merger interest, acknowledged that some fear the county is only interested in the city's new downtown library and will neglect Minneapolis' 14 neighborhood libraries.

Approval expected

With one of the panels expected to make a recommendation as early as next week, some leaders predict the county board, city council and the elected city library board will approve a merger. County Commissioner Mark Stenglein said he feels that a clear majority of the county board would do so, and Hodges said the City Council might follow but warned that "the devil's in the details."

Should the merger move ahead, city and council officials said they may approach the Legislature this spring for state approval and, possibly, state money.

Stenglein, who also sits on one of the library panels, said, however, that any proposal would have to call for a complete merger. "I'm not really interested in doing it unless we take over the whole thing," he said. "Several [City Council] members have come up to me and kind of rooted us on, [saying] 'Yeah, make it happen.' "

Mike Kaszuba • 612-673-4388 • mkaszuba@startribune.com