Libraries share.
It is part of who we are. We are made for it.
We share what we have with our communities, but we are also governed by laws that regulate the way taxpayer dollars can be spent and how we can share. Taxing districts are always a bit confusing, but in cities where taxing unit boundaries don’t continue to match the boundaries of the city as it grows, it can be extremely frustrating to explain and even harder to understand. If you have walked with us over the last three years (and really, the story goes back much further back than that), you know how difficult this issue has been for everyone.
But I have found that if relationships have a high value in your life, a lot of problems can be solved. Over the last two and a half years, the libraries in Johnson County have enjoyed building a new and more solid relationship. On August 1st that relationship will bear some pretty amazing fruit as the first reciprocal agreement our county libraries have had in decades is inaugurated. Reciprocal agreements are allowed under Indiana library law, and they are all about sharing.
This agreement won’t be everything that everyone wants it to be, but it makes a clear statement that the incredible, local resources found in Johnson County libraries are available to everyone. We are very fortunate in our county to have six excellent libraries and this new agreement brings them together for the good of our community.
In addition, the first County-Wide Read “Hit the Road, READ!” will kick off with Author Lance Oliver speaking at the White River Branch on Saturday, August 16th at 3:30. This County-Wide Read program is truly a cooperative effort and will feature events at all of the county libraries. The grand finale, Ride for Reading, will take participants on a cross-county ride on their motorcycles (or cars, bicycles, scooters, etc.), stopping to visit five county libraries!
Libraries today are absolutely amazing places. What they share with the community makes it richer, fuller, and more vibrant. What the community shares with us through their support and patronage makes us a better. It is a relationship. The Trustees of the Greenwood Public Library and I are pleased to be a part of this new Johnson County Reciprocal Agreement. After all, it really is true that the more we share, the more we have.