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LibraryServices <br />CurrentSituation <br />ThereappearstobetwoprimarycommunityissueswithrespecttolibraryservicesinRiverRoadand <br />SantaClara.First,therearenopubliclibraryfacilitiesineithercommunity,irrespectiveofthepotential <br />operatingjurisdiction(city,countyorspecialdistrict)orstatusofacommunitymemberasanin-Cityor <br />non-Cityresident.ThereareactuallyonlythreeCitylibrarybranchesinallofEugene,thuswhilethelack <br />ofabranchwithineitherSantaClaraorRiverRoadmaybeanissuewithlocalresidents,therearemany <br />otherneighborhoodsinEugeneinsimilarcircumstances.ThenearestCitylibraryiswithinanapproximate <br />15minutedriveofthetwocommunitiesÐtheCityÕsBethelbranchlibrarywestofHighway99. <br />Second,non-CityresidentsdonothavetheoptionofusingtheirÒownÓ(e.g.:LaneCounty)libraryservice <br />atall,simplybecauseLaneCountydoesnotprovidelibraryservices.Thenon-profitLaneLibraryLeague <br />haspromotedtheideaoflibrarydistrict(s)intheCounty,andin2005votersapprovedtheformationofa <br />librarydistrictintheCreswellcommunitycoincidentwiththelocalschooldistrictboundary.Thislocalized <br />servicedoesnot,however,benefitRiverRoadandSantaClararesidents(althoughitmayprovidethe <br />ÒseedÓforlongertermregionaloptionstolibraryservices).Thus,allRiverRoadandSantaClara <br />residentsmustleavetheirneighborhoodstoaccesslibraryservices,andnon-Cityresidentsmustincur <br />theexpenseofpurchasingnon-residentlibrarycardsfromtheCity(althoughthisistrueforallnon- <br />residentswishingtouseEugeneÕslibraryfacilities). <br />AnewÐandsmall-volunteerlibraryopenedinmid-2005intheRiverRoadWaterDistrictbuildingjustoff <br />ofRiverRoad.ThisvolunteerefforthasbeensupportedbytheLaneLibraryLeagueandfriendsofthe <br />EugeneLibraryandhasreceivedin-kindprofessionaladvicefromCityLibrarystaffandotherin-kind <br />support.Thevolunteerlibraryhasalsobenefitedfromsupportfromthetwoneighborhoodsintheformof <br />cashdonations,in-kindassistance,andbookdonations.Thevolunteerlibraryiscurrentlyopenforlimited <br />hours,fourdaysaweek. <br />Themostbasiclibraryserviceneedandquestionisandwillprobablyalwaysremain,Òwhereismylocal <br />communitybranch?ÓCurrentCitylibraryexpansionplansdonotidentifyeitherRiverRoadorSantaClara <br />communitiesasatoppriorityforanewbranchlibrary(anewbranchinsouthwestEugeneisÒtop-ratedÓ), <br />nordolong-rangeplanscontemplateanythinglikealibrarybranchineveryEugeneneighborhood.Inthe <br />absenceofacommunitylibrarybranch,programssuchasaccessprovisionsforspecialpopulations,or <br />in-kindorothersupportforthenewvolunteerlibrary,couldhavepositiveimpactswithrespecttoactual <br />andperceivedlibraryservicelevelsinRiverRoadandSantaClara. <br />TransitionandHeritageOptions <br />TransitionOptions <br />GiventhelackofÒdirectÓ(exclusivelyinthesenseoftherebeingnoSantaClaraorRiverRoadbranch <br />library)libraryservicesineithercommunity,transitionoptionsarelimited. <br />Afee-for-cardapproachmitigatestaxinequityissuesfor <br />OptionNo.1:FeeReductionsorWaiversÐ <br />non-CityresidentsusingCityfacilities,althoughitdoesnotmitigateanyÒabilitytopayÓissues,something <br />theoreticallyaccommodatedbyataxsupportedpublicservice.ÒImprovingÓaccesstolibraryservicesfor <br />specialpopulations(seniors,youth)throughfeereductionsorwaiverscouldbeconsidered.Special <br />accessprovisionsforyouthcardshavebeenpreviouslyconsideredbutrejectedbytheEugeneCity <br />Council. <br />ProvidestangibleevidenceofCitysupportforlocalcommunityneeds;coststo <br />Advantages: <br />theCitycouldberelativelylow;recognizesthattherearespecialneeds <br />populationsmeritingspecialconsideration <br />RiverRoad/SantaClaraCommunityTransitionProject14 <br />TransitionandHeritageWhitePaperMay2006 <br /> <br />