MAHONING COUNTY Expert: Consider merging libraries

The library system has considerable duplication of services, a consultant said.
By PETER H. MILLIKEN
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
AUSTINTOWN -- The Mahoning County library system needs to consider closing, merging or replacing some branches, a library consultant said.
The 19-branch system here has a large number of buildings for the population it serves, and these branches are unevenly used, said Bill Wilson, a partner in Himmel and Wilson library consultants of Milton, Wis.
"Operating 19 facilities costs a lot of money, and it also dilutes the quality of service that can be provided from any one place," Wilson said. "If you're spreading your resources over 19 facilities, there's less to go around at each of the facilities," he added. The debt-free system has an annual budget of about $12 million.
Public meetings
Wilson made his remarks at a sparsely attended public meeting Monday in the Austintown branch concerning the strategic plan being developed by the Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County. About 15 people attended, including several library employees. Similar public-comment meetings are at 6 tonight at the Canfield Library and 9 a.m. Wednesday at the Struthers Library.
Wilson and Carlton Sears, library director, said there's no simple formula for deciding on branch closings, mergers and replacements. Circulation, visitor volume, population concentrations and trends, access to cars and proximity to other libraries are all relevant to any such decision, Wilson said.
"The thrust of it is quality service operating effectively, basically doing the most good for the most people and being effective stewards of funds," Sears said of the strategic planning process.
While the county's population has dropped steadily from 289,487 in 1980 to 253,308 today, annual systemwide circulation of library materials has increased steadily from 1,138,048 to 2,013,806 during the same period, Wilson said.
The system has one building for every 13,327 people, and some branches are within 2 miles or less of one another, he noted. This compares with one library building for 37,349 people in Chicago; 25,145 in Toledo and 19,867 in Cincinnati, he said.
Wide ranges
Most of the Mahoning County system's buildings range in age from 34 to 75 years old. The number of people served by each branch ranges from 2,000 to more than 30,000; and the number of visitors per hour ranges from as few as four at some branches to as many as 65 at others, he reported.
Circulation also is unevenly distributed, he said, with the five busiest branches -- Boardman, Poland, Main, Austintown and Canfield -- accounting for a combined total of 72 percent of the entire system's circulation.
Vincent Wloch, a Boardman lawyer, called for more branches to be open Sundays. He also said, "I like this idea about consolidating facilities," to operate more efficiently. "To go 10 minutes in your car, which translates into seven or eight miles, is no big deal," for most people, he said.
But Dan Eiler of Cornersburg said, "The poorer patron may not have a car, may have to use the bus or may have to walk. Everybody's not driving."
Wilson said the Internet and Special Outgoing Services, which delivers library materials to homebound people, can extend library service to people who aren't easily mobile.
milliken@vindy.com