Lost Item Fees
The fee charged
for lost items will be the list price of the item. Refunds may be issued
for returned lost and paid items on a limited basis. Branch Managers may
exercise discretion in approving refunds. Contributing factors include,
but are not limited to the following; type of material, availability, cost
of replacement, need, subject area, condition of the material, and whether
an item has already been replaced. Fines, Fees and other charges assessed
to the customer shall be calculated and deducted from the amount of the
refund.
Other Fees
Fees for other
products and services may include but are not limited to the following;
replacement library card fee, online searching fee, returned check fee of
$10, collection agency service fee of $10, nonresident fee of $80 per card,
pass through charges to the District for interlibrary loan services, and
other miscellaneous fees. A schedule of current miscellaneous fees shall
be available in each branch. The Board of Trustees will annually review
this policy and the schedule
of current miscellaneous fees.
The St. Charles City-County Library District is a separate taxing district that serves all of St. Charles County. The District is supported by a property tax established by the voters of St. Charles County. Approximately 90% of the Library District's revenue is generated by property tax. The maximum tax the District may collect is $0.26 per hundred dollars of assessed valuation. Therefore, the owner of a $100,000 home would pay approximately $49.00 per year to the Library District. The fiscal year for the Library District is July 1 through June 30.
The Library District operates under the jurisdiction of Missouri State Law. The Board of Trustees, consisting of nine members, oversees the operation of the Library District. Under State Law for City-County Libraries, the St. Charles County Executive appoints five trustees and four trustees are appointed by the Mayor of St. Charles.
The St. Charles City-County Library District was established on August 1, 1973 by a merger of the Kathryn Linnemann Library of St Charles and the St. Charles County Library District. It includes 3 regional branches which have larger collections and subject specialists, 4 general purpose branches, 1 Library Express, and 3 mini branches. The District also provides an Outreach Service to nursing homes, retirement centers, the homebound, and the jail. The District provides special collections and services in the areas of Local History and Genealogy, Business & Public Management Services, Geographic Information Services & Government Documents, and Nonprofit Services. The Library District does not have a "headquarters" or "main" library; instead it distributes resources throughout the County and utilizes the vast resources of the St. Louis Metropolitan area to provide specialized materials. The St. Charles City-County Library District does not serve specific municipalities within St. Charles County. It establishes branches in areas of greater population and mini branches in more remote areas. Along with facilities, the St. Charles City-County Library District makes an active investment in cooperative programs to develop a dynamic informational infrastructure for St. Charles County residents.
As one of the 3rd largest public
libraries in terms of use in the State of Missouri, the St. Charles City-County
Library District succeeds in providing efficient and economic library services,
offering a suitable collection in a variety of formats, and maintaining a high
level of customer service that makes the Library District…Your Answer Place!
It shall be the Mission of the St.
Charles City-County Library District to serve as the information utility that
provides excellent and economical public library services to the residents and
tax-payers of St. Charles
County. Within this Mission, the District will emphasize:
Community Referral Services
The District will cultivate
relationships with organizations in the community, and increase the
effectiveness of its community referral services. Relationships will center
on multi-purpose
organizations, such as the Community Council, which specialize in directories,
provider listings,
and specialty services. The Not for Profit Librarian will work with area non-profit
organizations to
increase social service networking.
Consumer Information
The District will provide
information and resources, including critical reviews, price guidelines, and
expert guidance to assist patrons in making informed consumer decisions. The
District will market
its consumer services through various means, including bookmarks, public presentations,
and
media releases.
Lifelong Learning
The Library District will
evaluate potential roles in lifelong learning with an emphasis on preparing
people for life changes. The District will maintain a strong non-fiction collection
to enhance
self-directed learning, and support information access.
Information Literacy
The Library will devise
and present programs to promote lasting patron skills in locating,
evaluating and using information. Public training will emphasize available print
and electronic
formats, and will be addressed to patrons of all age groups.
Business and Public Management
Services
The District will provide
expert personal assistance, electronic and print resources, and services
of interest to governmental and public agencies, to the business community,
to investors, to
entrepreneurs, or those who are dealing with a changing work environment. The
Information
Resource Center will expand the means by which library users can access information
without
visiting the library.
Government Documents and Geographic
Information Systems
The Library will provide
access to a wide selection of information about and from federal, state of
Missouri and local government departments, in a wide variety of formats. The
Information
Resource Center will further expand GIS services and analysis to various organizations
and
agencies within the District's service area.
Local History and generalized
Genealogical support
In order to serve an expanding
population base, and an increased interest in family and local
history, the District will expand its collection in all formats, to facilitate
historical and genealogical
research. The Information Resource center will augment use of resources in the
Bizelli-Fleming
collection, and increase access to those resources throughout the District,
and will form alliances
with historical and genealogical agencies to increase the scope and depth of
historical resources.
Current Topics and Titles
The District will provide
the public with access to current titles in appropriate formats and
quantities in a timely manner. Materials will be available in multiple formats
and will be accessible
through conveniently located and reliable equipment, software, and interpretive
resources. The
Library will provide suitable programs to meet the public's demand for current
informational,
educational and recreational information.
General Information
Previously known as reference
services, the General Information service response will address
public needs for accurate, well-documented information for work, school, and
personal use. It will
entail constant review and updating of resources, management of information
access, the usability
and efficacy of available formats, and enhancing training and the library staff's
ability to guide
patrons' informational search and analysis.
Children's Services
The Library district will
provide and promote quality materials, services and programs to children
as a way of enhancing a lifelong interest in reading and library use. All of
the services and
materials the District offers will be available to children to meet their personal
interests and
learning needs. Library staff will work closely with parents, agencies, schools,
daycares and
preschools to promote reading readiness, literacy, and use of the library.
In addition to these Service Responses,
the District will emphasize several management and
support functions to strengthen its operating structure and service delivery.
Facilities Planning
The District will provide
and, as needed, expand existing facilities, and acquire strategically
located property for future development to meet population growth and diversity
within St. Charles
County. We shall evaluate the status of all facilities and consider means of
improving customer
comfort, convenience and privacy and promoting the most efficient possible use
of physical
properties.
Training and Staffing
The District will emphasize
staff training that maintains quality and consistency in services and
procedures from branch to branch. A full schedule of on-going training classes
dealing with
service issues, technological competence, resource utilization, and enhanced
skill development
will be implemented and evaluated for effectiveness. Staff recognition, input,
and expertise will be
emphasized through a flattened organizational structure, delegation, and considerable
independence for action.
Community Partnerships and Linkages
The District will be actively
involved in the community it serves, and will form lasting linkages with
other organizations to augment the service levels of all parties. Alliances
could cover in-service
training, marketing, children's services and external outreach offerings. Governmental
entities,
taxing bodies, social service agencies, schools and day centers, colleges and
universities, and
organizations with similar purposes are likely targets for partnerships.
Funding and Finance
The District will continue
operating on conservative, well-reasoned budgets, spending wisely to
maximize return on investment, and justifying consumer support for the tax-based
revenue upon
which it depends. Because of the extent of public funding needed to fulfill
the Mission, the District
will be critical and cautious of attempts to erode the county's tax base, or
to divert tax revenue to
municipal economic development initiatives. At the same time, we will expand
avenues of
alternative funding, including donative and contributed income, support from
related
organizations such as the Library Foundation and Friends of the Library, and
through fiscal grants
from public and private sources.
Collection Management
The District will provide
a useful collection using appropriate materials and formats to meet the
needs of patrons of all ages for general and recreational information. The collection
management
team will endeavor to centralize some collection functions to increase efficiency
in ordering,
processing, and distributing materials. The District will endeavor to streamline
and improve the
catalog database to increase its usefulness and user-friendliness. On an ongoing
basis, the staff,
management, and collection specialists will examine, evaluate, and modify the
collection to attain
its maximum effectiveness.
Telecommunications and Technology
The St. Charles City-County
Library District strives to be the public informational utility for St.
Charles County Missouri. It will use telecommunications and computing to build
a seamless
connection between its physical facilities. It will seek partnerships that will
allow delivering of
virtual library services to points throughout the County. It will develop professional
expertise of
staff in its areas of subject concentration through an enhanced staff training
program. It will
continue to emphasize technological literacy in generalized and specialized
training for St.
Charles County residents in fully using the Internet and other new technologies.
Revised 10/09/2000
| ST.
CHARLES CITY-COUNTY LIBRARY DISTRICT FY 2008 Budget July 1, 2007 through June 30, 2008 |
|
| Revenue | |
| Tax Collections | $14,894,141.00 |
| State Aid | $178,459.00 |
| Interest | $667,950.00 |
| Other Revenue * | $896,593.00 |
| TOTAL REVENUE | $16,637,143.00 |
| * Fines, copy machines, printers, lost materials, donations, rent, receipts, nonresident fees, etc. | |
| Expenditures | |
| Salaries & Wages | $8,552,060.00 |
| Materials | $2,927,317.00 |
| Operations | $2,021,815.00 |
| Technology & Telecommunication | $421,595.00 |
| GENERAL OPERATING TOTAL | $13,922,787.00 |
| Reserves for current projects | $40,000.00 |
| Building & Capital Projects | $1,950,000.00 |
| SPECIAL PROJECTS TOTAL | $1,990,000.00 |
| TOTAL FY 2005 BUDGET EXPENDITURES | $15,912,787.00 |
| Revenue is primarily based on property tax. The library tax rate will be set at the August 13 meeting of the Library Board of Trustees. The library tax rate approved by voters is $0.26. Detailed copies of the FY2008 Budget are available at each library branch. | |
Last updated: 10/9/06 - jfb