Elgin library wants to update youth services

Gail Borden Public Library is beginning to work on a plan to revamp its youth services department, starting with a $100,000 redesign of part of the computer center.

The redesign affects the area closest to the youth services department and will give more flexibility to the space, library spokeswoman Denise Raleigh said.

"My vision is to develop a three- to five-year plan of what a cutting-edge youth services department is," Executive Director Carole Medal said at a board meeting last week.

Architects and staff members will give input on the plan, she said. The library was built in 2003.

"We have a very nice youth services department, but it's 15 years old," Medal said. "We're a community of families with children, so we have to put our energies and our vision into that."

Planning will determine how much the project will cost and how long it will take, officials said. Medal said it might take a few years and "a couple of million dollars."

"We will certainly stay within our means," Raleigh said.

The board approved the computer center redesign, to be funded by special reserves.

The board also approved a $13.6 million operating budget for the current fiscal year, or about $500,000 more than last year's. The library came under budget by $595,000 last year, including unexpected personnel savings and some postponed expenses, Raleigh said.

Officials estimate an additional $600,000 in revenues this year, including from passport services, capital grant money, impact fees, rental fees from KCT Credit Union branches, and a "small" property tax increase capped by the consumer price index, Raleigh said.

Using a 2017 tax bill for a house with a market value of $144,176 that paid $198.86 to the library, officials estimated taxes would go up by $4.17.

The library had a staffing freeze last year and this year added three part-time positions, Raleigh said.

"We take pride in being very efficient," she said.