Mason County District Library

Mason County District Library
Established 1994
Location Ludington, Michigan
Branches

2

Ludington Public Library
Scottville Public Library
Collection
Size 95,000 volumes
Access and use
Circulation 249,000
Population served

28,800

10,000 registered members
Other information
Director

Robert Dickson

Susan Carlson - Assistant
Staff 6 full time, 12 part time
Website www.masoncounty.lib.mi.us

The Mason County District Library is located in Mason County in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. It is the district umbrella administration board under which the Ludington Public Library (city) and the Scottville Public Library (county) function.[1][2] It consists of a seven-member board of trustees.[3]

The Ludington Public Library is in the city of Ludington in Mason County. The Scottville Public Library is in Scottville which is about 10 miles to the east of Ludington on the edge of the county. Mason County has a population of about 28,000 that the public library administration system serves.[4][5]

History

When the library district administration board was created in 1994 with the merger of the Ludington City Library and the County Library in Scottville - the promise was made to maintain as much as possible 2 fully functioning libraries - that neither would be considered a 'branch' of the other.[1][2] The Mason County District Library is the formal name of the administration for both libraries.[6] Under the Mason County District Library system umbrella these libraries are referred to as the Ludington 'branch' or the Scottville 'branch.'[6] The Mason County District Library administration system itself is not any independent building.[2][6] These libraries are each fully independent libraries maintaining the same open hours.[2][6] The Mason County District Library is the formal name of the administration for both libraries but each library continues to be known as either the Ludington Public Library or the Scottville Public Library.[6] The reason the board was established was to pool the resources of the city library (Ludington) with the county library (Scottville) and to eliminate duplication of services.[3][6] The process was to develop a board of combining the resources of the city and county under one district library administration called the "Mason County District Library".[1] It is designed to offer "enhanced service" over the separate city and county library operations.[1] There would be a .5 mill tax on property owners of Mason County and then no need for funding from the city or county.[1] It would save the residents of the city and county over $100,000 per year starting in 1996.[2]

Divisions

The Ludington Public Library is a branch or division of the Mason County District Library administrative board.[3] The collection of the Ludington Public Library contains 65,000 volumes.[4] This library circulates over 170,000 items per year.[4]

The Scottville Public Library is a branch or division of the Mason County District Library administrative board.[3] The collection of the Scottville Public Library contains 35,000 volumes.[5] This library circulates over 75,000 items per year.[5]

The Mason County District Library has over 95,000 volumes (Ludington library + Scottville library) and circulates nearly a quarter million items per year (Ludington library + Scottville library) to over 28,000 Mason County residents of which 10,000 are registered members.[7]

Current events

In July 2008, District Library Director Robert Dickson terminated the employment of Sally Stern-Hamilton for writing a pseudonymous book [8] that "portrays these people (library patrons) in a very unflattering manner" and whose cover includes a small picture of the Ludington Library.[9] The author was fired for using work email to promote her book.

See also

References

Primary sources

Dear Library User:
On August 2nd, the Ludington- Mason County District Library Board will place on the ballot a proposal requesting a millage to fund the area libraries. What is the Ludington - Mason County District Library and why is it requesting a millage? This information sheet will explain.
WHAT IS THE DISTRICT LIBRARY?
The city of Ludington and Mason County have agreed to merge their separate libraries and to create a single board to operate both public libraries in Ludington and Scottville.
WILL THIS CONSOLIDATION LEAD TO THE CLOSING OF EITHER OF THE LIBRARIES OR TO NEW BUILDINGS?
NO! The agreement insures the continuation of library service in both Ludington and in Scottville. There are no new building plans.
WHY FORM A DISTRICT LIBRARY
The libraries have been separately funded by the city and the county. But this funding has not kept pace with increasing demands for the library services that both libraries have faced. The District Library plan and millage, if approved, will provide equitable taxation, and stable funding for both library facilities, and no further funding from either the city or the county will be necessary.

Secondary sources

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Ludington Daily News, February 9, 1993
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Ludington Daily News, February 15, 1994
  3. 1 2 3 4 Ludington Daily News, February 11, 1993
  4. 1 2 3 "A directory of libraries throughout the world - Ludington Library". Retrieved 2008-08-05.
  5. 1 2 3 "A directory of libraries throughout the world - Scottville Library". Retrieved 2008-08-05.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Ludington Daily News, July 3, 1992
  7. ↑ "A directory of libraries throughout the world - Ludington Library". Retrieved 2008-08-05.
  8. ↑ Miketa, Ann (2008). The Library Diaries. PublishAmerica. ISBN 1-60563-568-5.
  9. ↑ Enos, Lisa (2008-08-09). "Ex-library employee awaits appeals decision". Ludington Daily News. pp. A1, A3.

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