On June 19th the Rochester Hills Public Library Board of Trustees held a special meeting to discuss the potential district library and decided to no longer pursue the change in status.
“We determined there were too many ambiguities and omissions in the current district library law for us to be comfortable making this change in structure for our three communities,” said Library Board President Madge Lawson. “We appreciate the time and effort the representatives from Oakland Township Library Board and City of Rochester expended on behalf of this project.”
Photo courtesy of Harley Colbert
For the past five months representatives from the Rochester Hills Public Library Board of Trustees, the Oakland Township Library Board and the City of Rochester have been discussing the possible formation of a district library for the three communities. The two library boards (Rochester Hills and Oakland Township) are elected to make all decisions regarding library service to their communities. The Rochester Hills Public Library serves residents of Rochester and Oakland Township through contracts, so representatives from Rochester were invited to discuss a possible change in structure. A district library would unify the three communities with a single governing library board.
“Although there were some benefits to becoming a district library for all three communities, the ambiguity within the law regarding funding and distribution of assets outweighed the benefits”, said library director Christine Lind Hage. “The structure the Library currently operates under works well for both the library and the over 100,000 people it serves.”
About Tom and Ann Gendich