LIBRARY MERGER IN JACKSON LOOKS LIKE A GOOD IDEA

The Jackson Board of Aldermen on Monday approved an agreement to merge the Jackson Public Library and the Riverside Regional Library. The board also appointed an architect for the project.

The two library boards want to combine their resources into one library, to be housed in a new $1.5 million building on two acres at the northwest end of Jackson City Park. That the two libraries have shared patrons in a town of about 10,000 for the past four decades seems superfluous. That the library boards, the city's park board and the Board of Aldermen have agreed to the merger plan and the building site shows that the proposal has a lot of merit.

Whether voters think so remains to be seen. Voters will be asked in November to approve an 18-cent tax levy to finance the project. The new levy would replace the existing levies of 13 cents for Jackson residents and 8 cents for Riverside patrons in the county.

It won't only be Jackson residents determining the two libraries' fate. Riverside Regional serves much of the county, including parts of Cape Girardeau and Jackson annexed after 1965. It was in October that year that the General Assembly passed a law restricting city library districts to boundaries established by whatever the city limits were in 1965.

The law affected the Jackson Public Library as well. Because the library district is unable to expand along with city limits, the tax base has dwindled proportionately, leaving the public library underfunded for some time.

To merge the libraries would clear some of the confusion. All Cape Girardeau residents who live within the 1965 city boundaries would continue to fund the Cape Girardeau Public Library, and all other county residents, including Jackson city residents, would support the merged Riverside Regional Library at a single tax rate.

The owner of a $75,000 house in Jackson -- assessed value, $14,250 -- would see his library tax increase to $25.65 from $7.12 a year. If he lives in the county, or outside the 1965 city boundaries, his tax would go up $14.25. That is about the price of a good medium pizza.

The tax increase would be Riverside Regional's first in its 40-year history. The only change in the tax was a decrease to 8 cents from 10 cents that coincided with a rollback in assessments a few years ago.

If the levy issue doesn't pass, it will be business as usual for both libraries, which are only a few blocks from each other. Combining the two would save resources over the long run and would provide better service to library patrons in a single, convenient site at a reasonable cost. It is an idea that is long overdue.