Cottage Grove, Wis. - September 15, 2008

Libraries are an investment in the future of a strong community and can be a real bargain for patrons of all ages. They can also have a positive economic impact. A recent study of Wisconsin libraries by NorthStar Economics shows a $4.06 return on investment for every tax dollar spent. 96.9% of local residents responding to an exit poll at the November 2004 election (47.9% of 1,749 voting) want a library in Cottage Grove. 83.4% of those responding to that survey indicated they would be willing to increase their taxes to have a library.

 

As Cottage Grove has grown community members recognized the need for a library. In 1998 local citizens started a Library Friends’ group. They raised over $10,000 before deciding a broader base of support from village government was needed. The Ad Hoc Library Committee was formed in 2004 and the library project was on its way. Over $500,000 has been donated/pledged to date. Now that a library site has been decided a formal capital campaign will begin.

 

Since 1969 the Dane County Bookmobile has been our community’s local source of library service. While the Bookmobile is great and kids love the green bus with all the colorful book characters, Cottage Grove needs a library that will accommodate more than 20 people at a time, is handicap accessible and is open to community residents all week long.

 

The Cottage Grove Community Library will offer so much to its patrons.   Cultural events, group gatherings, lectures and other community activities can be a part of our library. It will provide meeting space at no cost to community groups. Computers and a research librarian will help students with school projects and assist adults with job searches and resume writing. The library will be the place to check for what is happening in the community. It can be a place to celebrate Cottage Grove’s rich history and provide resources for genealogy research. Classes for all ages will be possible, from technology to recreation.  

 

Some people may want to sit and read the daily papers, others may want to curl up in a comfortable chair and read a novel.  Young children can enjoy programs like Story Hour and Book Babies, while school age children can get extra homework help and participate in summer programming. When new readers realize that entering the Cottage Grove Community Library is the same as discovering the world, there will be no holding them back. Whether it is choosing from tens of thousands of printed resources or accessing information through the Internet, knowledge from across the globe will be accessible.

 

We now have the opportunity to have our own library. The estimated tax impact of the November 4th library $3 million advisory referendum for construction, etc. would be $64 (or about $5.33 a month) on a $200,000 home based on equalized value. Where else can you get so much for a small investment?

 

After the Library is built the estimated operating budget is $460,708 or about $11.95 a month per $200,000 home based on equalized value. (The figures from the report titled: Tax Impact Analysis, dated August 27, 2008 by Kevin Mullen, Piper Jaffrey Co.) were used to determine these impacts.) Cottage Grove residents now pay through the taxes paid to Dane County into the Dane County Library System. A new Cottage Grove Community Library would return all these resources to our own hometown.  

 

 

A library card is FREE. Books are FREE at the library.