Jacksonville’s first public library opened in 1905 and was funded by industrialist and financier Andrew Carnegie. Attorney Lanny Russell began his keynote remarks Monday to the Rotary Club of Jacksonville with a quote from Carnegie:
“A library outranks any one thing a community can do to benefit its people. It’s a never-failing spring in the desert.”
Russell said Carnegie was one of the most astute business minds of the early 20th century and that Jacksonville’s first library benefactor would appreciate the economic impact of the public library of the 21st century.
In 2010, for every $1 spent of the Jacksonville Public Library, the return on value was $4.04, said Russell.
The Carnegie Library (now offices of the Bedell Firm) was replaced with the Haydon Burns Public Library, which was replaced by the Main Library along Laura Street at Hemming Plaza.
Russell said the Main Library and the expansion and improvement of the neighborhood branch libraries was a $150 million capital project funded by the Better Jacksonville Plan.
Duval County voters in 2000 approved a half-cent local option sales tax, to fund road and infrastructure improvements and other capital projects.
For the past three consecutive years, funding for the public library has been reduced due to City budget challenges, Russell said. That has led to reduction of hours at the Main Library and the branch libraries, as well as an overall reduction in services.
He said it’s time to look at a new way to fund the local public libraries – through a special tax district that would guarantee a stable source of revenue for the public library.
Already, four Florida communities have adopted a special tax district to fund public libraries ––Gainesville, Orlando, Palm Beach and Tampa, he said.
Save Our Public Libraries Inc. has begun a petition drive to place a nonbinding referendum on the fall 2014 ballot to gauge public support of a special tax district in Duval County to fund public libraries.
Russell said he supports the proposal because it’s the best way to sustain the $150 million capital investment made in public libraries and because libraries provide wide-ranging benefits to the community.
“The Jacksonville Public Library helps people get jobs and the library helps children succeed,” he said.
The public library also provides a service for many people in the community by making computers available free of charge.
“The Jacksonville Public Library bridges the technology divide for those who don’t have computers. People use computers to find jobs,” Russell said.
He said it’s the community’s right to decide the future of the public library.
“As a matter of democracy, I think it’s important to get the funding of libraries on the ballot and let the people decide,” Russell said.
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