RESIDENTS GET CHANCE TO VOTE ON MERGER

The Riverside Regional Library has been operating since 1958.

On Tuesday the residents of Jackson and a large portion of Cape County will decide whether it would be worthwhile to merge the Jackson and Riverside Regional Libraries.

Library officials say it is definitely worthwhile, not only to residents of Jackson, but to the county as well.

Most importantly would be the saving of tax dollars. And that wouldn't just be Jackson City tax dollars saved, either. Everyone who is in the Riverside Regional Library district would save money.

"There would be great savings in terms of duplications of services," said Geoff Roth, director of the Riverside Regional Library. "Both libraries subscribe to the same books, encyclopedias, magazines and periodicals.

"Right now it's a waste of resources and it's not going to get any better."

Riverside sits directly behind a levee flood plain which forces them to buy large amounts of insurance to protect the book collection.

"It has flooded in the past," said Roland Sander, president of the Riverside Regional Library. "We have waded through floodwater to salvage books. And at $20 a whack they have to be saved."

The problems go deeper than any floodwater though. Space for books and parking problems at both libraries have long plagued employees and patrons.

"It's only a matter of time before we run out of space," said Sander.

Not to mention the problems the patrons of the library have been experiencing for many years. "If you wanted to study here for any extended period of time, there's no quiet place to do it," Roth said.

And the Regional Library can't be added on to because of the flood problem.

The merger would solve these problems before they became critical, Sander said.

There is a proposed location for the new library, which the Park Board has offered -- a two-acre site near the band shell across from McCombs Funeral Home.

There would be 70 to 80 parking spaces there, plenty for staff and patrons, and 20,000 square feet for building.

Combined, both libraries, which were built in the mid-1950s, currently have 12,000 feet.

If this library is built, they say they will be "in good shape for the next 30 to 40 years."

If the voters agree to pay the higher tax, it will be raised from 8 cents to 18 cents. But it is important to note, Roth says, that Riverside has not had a tax increase in 40 years.

Roth says he would compare how little this would go up in comparison to everything else. In 1955 a first class stamp cost 4 cents. A gallon of gas cost 25 cents. A new car could be bought for less than $3,000.

"We are operating at 2 cents less than we were in 1955," Roth said. "And if you get rid of duplication, there's room for expansion. There'd be plenty of room to take us well into the 21st century."

The new library will provide patrons with increased programs, computer training and research, community meeting rooms, outdoor programs, increased staff, exhibit space and combined genealogical and historical collections.

The new library has been estimated to cost between $1.5 and $1.9 million.