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To Offset Cuts, Beach Library Charging $100 For Library Card

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By NATALIE SHEPHERD

News Channel 8

Published: October 3, 2008

Treasure Island Beach is a great place to read a book. But people in this Pinellas County community may think twice before they check a book out of the local library. As of Wednesday, Treasure Island residents have had to pay $100 for a library card.

Five beach communities - Madeira Beach, Redington Beach, North Redington Beach, Redington Shores and Treasure Island - used to pitch in to fund the Gulf Beaches Public Library in Madeira Beach.

But The Treasure Island City Commission recently decided it could not afford to pay its $107,000 share. That's more than 20 percent of the library's $500,000 annual budget.

The funding for the library didn't fit into the city's $16 million budget, mostly because of lower property tax revenue, said Reid Silverboard, Treasure Island city manager.

"We've cut bone, we've cut muscle, and there is very, very little that can be cut out of it," Silverboard said of the budget.

Jan Horah, the director of Gulf Beaches Public Library, says she worries residents won't be able to afford the $100 fee.

The library offers movies to borrow, as well as a computer to allow patrons to apply for jobs, she says.

"This is the time when people use this library. Any library, it's free. It was free to residents," she said.

So far, at least 15 customers have come in to pay for a library card. But the fee has outraged quite a few library users, she said.

"A lot of them have already said - and it's just started - said they're ashamed they live on Treasure Island."

The library funding issue is on the Treasure Island City Commission agenda for a meeting scheduled for Tuesday.

Reporter Natalie Shepherd can be reached at (813) 225-2703 or nshepherd@wfla.com.

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