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The McDonald County Library operates almost entirely on your property taxes. The library receives only a tiny fraction (currently 2.53%) of your total bill, almost all of the rest goes to schools. And the library has operated with the same tax levy since it was founded.
However, since then the library has opened two new branches, and with constant inflation the operating costs continue to rise; yet the library continues to get by on the same set amount every year.
Also, the McDonald County Library aggressively pursues state and federal grants, and other outside funding. But even with this occasional extra income it is difficult to balance the budget, and the availability of grants has dramatically decreased in recent years since the economic downturn.
Therefore, the library Board of Trustees is now considering asking voters for an increase in the library tax levy during an upcoming election. If passed, this will result in a SMALL increase in your property taxes. To see how very little an increase this will likely be for you, try this Tax Estimator…
Input your current TOTAL Property Tax in the box below,
then hit the Enter key to see the result:
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Look on YOUR McDonald County Property Tax Statement/Receipt, and compare it to this sample:
(These estimates are based on the latest figures we have available. They may vary slightly more or less. The official amount will be shown on the ballot during the election of course, and we will update this Tax Estimator to reflect any changes.)
Here is the 2011 McDonald County Property Tax breakdown…
 Click to enlarge image It’s hard to read, but the library’s small (2.53%) portion is that small sliver second from the right.
Because of the way taxes are apportioned, the percentage of every dollar changes slightly every year,
even though the actual levy amount hasn’t changed.
(Almost every year the library receives an even smaller percentage, because the schools keep getting more.)
The public library is available for the benefit of everyone!
“The library is the only place that you pay property taxes for, where you are allowed to walk into at any time, for any reason, and you are welcome there.”
Carrie Cline
McDonald County Library Director
“A library outranks any other one thing a community can do to benefit its people. It is a never failing spring in the desert.”
Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919)
Industrialist, Businessman, Entrepreneur and Philanthropist
To save money and cut costs, the library will have new hours on FRIDAYS, beginning on January 4th.
We will be open from 1 – 6 p.m.
Our Library is part of the Missouri consortium, and partnered with OverDrive to make thousands of eBooks and Audiobooks available for loan to cardholders of the McDonald County Library!
To find eBooks and Audiobooks available for download, search Missouri Libraries 2 Go.
If you’ve never downloaded from this site before, you may find it useful to take the Guided Tour and/or read the Quick Start Guide.
You will need to download some free software to read/listen to these downloads. It is highly recommended to either take the Guided Tour and/or read the Quick Start Guide FIRST, before you download titles. Help is available online if you need it… Give it a try!
Software downloads are available here for: OverDrive Media Console and Adobe Digital Editions
For product-specific information about your brand & model of eBook reader/tablet, try the OverDrive Device Resource Center.
Kindle users can watch this video to see step-by-step instructions on downloading Library eBooks.
Note: The Missouri Libraries 2 Go service is for our library patrons only. You will be prompted to enter your library card information when you begin your download.
There is a limit of five (5) eBooks/Audiobooks borrowed from the Missouri Libraries 2 Go site per patron.
However, ANYONE may download as many as they please of the thousands of additional free eBook titles from Project Gutenberg.
(The Project Gutenberg eBooks are for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy them, give them away or re-use them under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with these eBooks or online at www.gutenberg.org.)
When prompted for your library card number, enter your number EX-cluding all the leading zeroes.
For example: If the number on your library card (located underneath the barcode) is 00091234, then enter 91234 when prompted.
If your library card number is 00123456, then enter 123456 when prompted.
Also see this list of more FREE eBook sources!
Roll Call – The meeting was called to order at 4:30 p.m. Those members present were Rachel Abercrombie, Alice Snodgrass, Sheila Owens, Ann Crowder-Sanders, and Carrie Cline. Erlene Gideon did not attend.
Reading of Minutes – After reading and discussing the November minutes, Ann made a motion to accept them as written, Sheila seconded, and it passed unanimously.
Director’s Report
- Carrie presented the statistics for November.
- During the month of December, the library raised $419 for Crosslines.
- Concerning the upcoming Healthcare Mandate for 2014, Carrie included some helpful handouts from the Kaiser Foundation.
- There was a problem with one of our online 941 payments from earlier in the year, as the payment did not go through and we didn’t know. The library was charged a $75 fee for this, and as soon as the problem was discovered, the payment was resubmitted.
- Carrie met with the library computer staff on Friday to discuss upcoming projects for 2013. We also think problems have settled down in Noel and Southwest City, since we now turn the wireless off at closing.
- The Southwest City Library Foundation donated $3,000 for books and materials to the Southwest City Library for 2013.
- There are 2 upcoming grants that will be very helpful to us. There is a nonfiction grant with no local match required, and an ebook grant with no local match required.
Continue reading Board of Trustees Minutes for December 21, 2012
Roll Call – The meeting was called to order at 4:40 p.m. Those members present were Erlene Gideon, Ann Crowder-Sanders, Sheila Owens, Rachel Abercrombie, Alice Snodgrass, and Carrie Cline.
Reading of Minutes – The October minutes were read and discussed. Sheila made a motion to accept the minutes as written, Ann seconded, and the motion was passed unanimously.
Director’s Report
- Carrie presented the October statistics.
- The fall Book Sale made over $700, all of which will be used to purchase new books and materials.
- November is Clear Your Fines month at the library. For a donation to Crosslines, any fines over $1 will be cleared. This enables patrons with huge fines to clear them and start over, and the proceeds go toward a worthy cause, just in time for the holidays.
- On Thanksgiving morning, Southwest City will again hold the Turkey Trot. This year the proceeds will benefit the new Cultural Arts center, but Carrie will be the official timer on behalf of the library.
- The library will have a booth at the Noel Christmas parade and Christmas train event on December 8th.
- Carrie will be attending MPLD at the Lake from December 5th to the 7th.
- The librarians would like the trustees to know that all of the historical notebooks kept behind the counter have been experiencing a makeover. Precious items are being put into better and fewer notebooks.
- Shirley Morgan Alps has been letting the library display her beautiful quilts throughout the holidays.
Continue reading Board of Trustees Minutes for November 9, 2012
Roll Call – The meeting was called to order at 10:10 a.m. Those members present were Alice Snodgrass, Rachel Abercrombie, Sheila Owens, Erlene Gideon, Ann Crowder-Sanders, and Carrie Cline
Reading of Minutes – After reviewing the August minutes, Ann made a motion to accept them as written, Rachel seconded, and the motion was approved unanimously.
Director’s Report
- Carrie presented the statistics for August and September.
- The library recently received monetary gifts from different organizations. The Noel Women’s Club donated $100 to the Noel Library. The Noel Methodist Church VBS donated $125 to the Noel Library, and a poet named Kate Schapira chose our library to fund raise for, as we were in a drought-effected region. Over one night, she raised $235 on her web site for the McDonald County Library.
- Carrie attended the Missouri Library Associaton’s Fall Conference in Springfield and had a great learning experience.
- The Homeschool workshops this semester are featuring a lot of science and safe experiments.
- Eric’s Pest Control was called recently to spray for brown recluse spiders and other little bugs that are coming in on patrons’ items. Also, the back door is leaking because the trap seems to be clogged that takes away excess rain water. Plumbers are coming this next week.
- The Fall Book Sale will be held October 22nd through the 27th.
Continue reading Board of Trustees Minutes for October 13, 2012
Yes, we are now on Pinterest! Just getting started and would love some suggestions, hints, ideas, comments, and of course…
For YOU to follow us there too!
pinterest.com/mcdonaldlibrary
Tax Levy Hearing – After reviewing the worksheet from the State Auditor’s Office, Rachel made a motion to set the 2013 tax levy at our voted (and allowed) $.10. Ann seconded the motion, and it passed unanimously.
Roll Call – The meeting was called to order at 10:00. Those members present were Carrie Cline, Rachel Abercrombie, Ann Crowder-Sanders, and Erlene Gideon. Sheila Owens and Alice Snodgrass were unable to attend.
Reading of Minutes – After reviewing the July minutes, Rachel made a motion to accept the minutes as written, Ann seconded, and the motion passed unanimously.
Director’s Report
- Carrie presented the statistics for July.
- The Noel Library, Housing and the Senior Center were broken into over the weekend. The library experienced no damage, and only a little cash and an old laptop were taken. The police are working on it.
- The Neosho Library Board of Trustees voted last month to end the long-standing reciprocal agreement between McDonald and Newton counties. Therefore, on September 1st, any of our card holders from Newton County will have to pay our $10 yearly fee per family to continue to use our library. McDonald Countians will have to pay $25 to use Newton County.
- Shannon just returned from the Missouri State Library’s Summer Basic Institute, and really learned a lot and had a great time. The hotel, tuition, and food were all paid for by the State Library.
- Carrie and Wes will attend the Noel Back-to-School event on Saturday afternoon, August 11th. They will give away bookmarks and stickers, and certificates for candy IF the children come to the Noel Library to redeem their certificates.
- The Summer Reading Program is over, but Carrie doesn’t have complete reports from all of the branches yet. A final report will be presented next month.
Continue reading Board of Trustees Minutes for August 11, 2012
Congratulations to our
2012 Summer Reading Program
Grand Prize Winners!
Jernie Tyra – Children Program
Shelbie Henry – Teen Program
Alice McGuire – Adult Program
And thanks once again to everyone who participated,
we had a great summer!
Roll Call – The meeting was called to order at 10:15. Those members present were Carrie Cline, Alice Snodgrass, Sheila Owens, Rachel Abercrombie, and Ann Crowder-Sanders. Erlene Gideon was unable to attend.
Reading of Minutes – After reviewing the June minutes, Sheila made a motion to accept the minutes as written, Rachel seconded, and the motion passed unanimously.
Director’s Report
- Carrie presented the statistics for June, including OverDrive usage.
- The 2012 Tax Levy Hearing will be held before the next board meeting is called to order on August 11th.
- Carrie demonstrated the Web Page Calculator that Bruce has designed for our patrons to calculate how much their property taxes would rise if a 5 cent voted tax increase was passed. A survey will be created in August for our patrons at all three libraries to fill out, to get their feedback.
- The Summer Reading Program is drawing to a close, and it has been another great year. Carrie will have statistics at the August board meeting.
- There are several free meetings that different staff members will be taking advantage of. In August, Shannon will travel to Columbia for the Missouri State Library’s Basic Summer Institute, which is several days’ training for staff members without a degree. They provide the training, room, and board for free. Next Friday, Wes and Retha will travel to Springfield for another free workshop for Branch Managers, also provided by the Missouri State Library. Carrie not only appreciates the availability of the free workshops, but having staff who are willing to attend!
Continue reading Board of Trustees Minutes for July 21, 2012
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