Suttons Bay-Bingham District Library

Change is constant. People, communities, and institutions must move forward or be consigned to the past. Libraries are no longer the passive institutions available for the “education of the working man” to quote an old-fashioned, but by no means, out-of-date mission. Libraries are more active in this quest, with meetings, story times, classes, and book clubs. In the last 10 years, libraries have added computer and media technologies such as wireless, cds, dvds, & mp3s. Even more has changed in your communities’ own living room since I came aboard two short years ago.

Thanks to a grant from the Rotary Charities of Traverse City and matching funds from the Friends (it’s good to have Friends!) your library has commissioned a study by Library Design Associates of Holland, Michigan to reconfigure and remodel—not expand—your library space to allow for better use of the current space, such as more seating, improved views, and greater access to the collections and computers. Additionally, the library needs to repaint the interior and replace aging and worn carpet not done since 1994.

“We like it the way it is” simply is no longer possible if your library is to integrate the emerging technology you demand with the materials you want and still have it be the district library you know and love.

This is YOUR LIBRARY! The staff and volunteers see approximately 26,000 patrons a year come through the door! Our willingness to embrace change, offer superior service and emerging technologies while being your friendly library is what we do. And that is not likely to ever change. —Virginia Roberts, Library Director

Message from the Board

Clearly, additional sources of revenue are urgently needed for the library—both operational and capital—now more than ever. One engaging possibility is an estate planning tool called a Charitable Remainder Trust (CRT). This program is available for the library.

A CRT is an irrevocable trust that provides benefits to you and a gift to your favorite charity organization that depends, at least in part, on public support—The Suttons Bay-Bingham District Library.

A CRT results in a deferred gift. As a donor you enjoy the benefits from the trust for your lifetime. At the end of the trust, the remaining assets are given to the designated beneficiary selected at the time the trust is established.

There are many ways to set up a CRT. In general, they all provide lifetime payments at attractive rates, income tax savings, tax free payments, capital gains tax reduction, and, perhaps most important, the personal satisfaction you receive from making a significant gift to the library. Additional information is available at the library. Your estate planner or a lawyer can help you decide whether a CRT is right for you.

The Board of Trustees annually reviews where the library is, and what it hopes to accomplish. Two failed millage proposals have forced plans for improvement to collections and services to be placed on hold. The Board is currently expending only those resources that may be counted upon. The Board, staff and volunteers will continue to work hard to earn your trust and support. The library’s future has been delayed, not diminished. The goal is to make the library not physically bigger, but significantly better. —John Krug, Board of Trustees, President

Community Living Room

HOW BUSY? This year proved to be the busiest ever with approximately 26,400 patrons entering your library. Library circulation and computer use appear slightly lower in 2006-2007. However, when reduced hours of approximately 23% average reduction fron 2005-2006 are accounted for, both increased significantly - curculation up 9.75% and computer use up 16.34%. This is right in line with previous year’s use increases, and accounts for how busy two librarians, 40 volunteers, 27,000 volumes, and nine public access computers can get.

Library Funding

Support for the Suttons Bay¦Bingham District Library is brought to the community, by your 3/10 ^ths of a mil property tax designated for your library as distributed by Suttons Bay and Bingham Townships, 1/4 of the Leelanau County Penal fines (not including court costs) and the State of Michigan(down 2/3 from last year). Your library spent a total of $115,531 due in part to grants and additional gifts from patrons. Books and other library material accounted for 25% of library expenditures despite a 20% increase of the cost of materials—well above the state average of 13%. This was possible due to reduction of library hours and lower than average staff and facilities cost.

Many Hands

The following organizations and individuals are recognized for their generosity—Friends of the Library, The Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, The Suttons Bay Bingham Fund, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, The Libri Foundation, Rotary Charities of Traverse City, Traverse City Film Festival, Traverse City State Bank, Taped Editions, Gosling Czubak, The Bay Theater, The Suttons Bay Art Committee, Leelanau Players, Memorial Funds of Carolyn Peterson, Louise Lawton, Nina Burton, and Andrew Forton, and the generous support and time all our volunteers. The library receives no federal funding.

Without generous grants and donations, your library would not be able to provide many of the materials and services available. This year, for example, grants provided for the summer reading program, additions to the non-fiction, children’s, DVD, audio-book, large-print, mystery, periodicals and Michigan collections, your library catalog is now available through the internet, and five new public computers were added.

The Friends of the Library is a nonprofit organization that raises money for library projects. The Friends currently have 209 members who have contributed $ 12,300. Its governing board meets the 4^th Thursday of most months and welcomes all member participation. The Friends’ annual book sale and quilt auction, held to coincide with the Suttons Bay Art Fair, raised $ 6,016 and contributed matching grants to all materials and services mentioned herein. Its great to have FRIENDS! Become a Friend of the library today!