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Editorials
Library's bid for grants on the mark : Editorials : Oswego Ledger-Sentinel : Hometown Newspaper for Oswego and Montgomery, IllinoisLibrary's bid for grants on the mark
| 10/29/2009
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The Oswego Public Library District should be commended for its continuing efforts to secure state per capita grants to pay for the purchase of new books and other materials for the agency's libraries in Montgomery and Oswego.
As we reported earlier this month, the library district is hopeful of receiving $55,000 to $60,000 in grant funds through the Illinois Public Library Per Capita and Equalization Aid Grant program administered through the Secretary of State's office.
Though books have become increasingly expensive, $55,000 to $60,000 can still purchase a lot of volumes for both young and adult readers.
The agency's continued pursuit of grant funds has become all the more important in recent years as the demand for books and other materials has risen sharply along with the population the library district now serves. Incredible as it may seem for some long-time residents to realize, the library district now serves a population of more than 60,000 in two villages (Oswego and Montgomery) and numerous unincorporated subdivisions, including sprawling Boulder Hill.
The per capita grants are funded through an annual appropriation by the Illinois General Assembly. Last year alone the state awarded more than $14 million in grants to 626 public libraries that serve more than 11 million residents across the state.
Over the past XX years, the library district has received $XXX,XXX in per capita grants to purchase books and other materials, according to Sarah Skilton, library director. Without the grants, the library district would have had to seek those funds from other sources. We suspect that local taxpayers would not have wanted the agency to raise its property tax levy to buy books.
Though some may criticize the state for appropriating any money for grants to local public libraries amidst the current recession, Skilton and her staff are absolutely right in pursuing the funds. If the library district did not seek and obtain the grants, those funds would certainly be sent to other libraries elsewhere in the state and there would be significantly fewer books on the shelves of the Montgomery Campus Library and the downtown Oswego Public Library when it re-opens after an extensive renovation next spring.
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