Staff Reports
A foundational piece in Bartlett took shape with the first public library set up in 1967.
It’s now in the third location, a 22,000 square-foot facility that opened in 2008 as part of the Bartlett Station Municipal Center. The facility is now owned by the City of Bartlett including all of the contents of the building.
The City of Bartlett has been partners with the Memphis Public Libraries system for nearly 20 years and that relationship was a topic Dec. 12 at the Board of Mayor and Alderman meeting.
The City pays MPL to manage and provide new items for the collection. Currently, the City pays MPL around $1.3 million per year including salaries, fees, etc, and $94,000 a year for new materials.
There are about 110,000 items within the collection housed in Bartlett, as well as access to more than 1.5 million items, 75,000 ebooks and audiobooks from other MPL locations.
On Dec. 12, the Board of Mayor and Aldermen discussed the future of the relationship between MPL and the City, plus to explore the option of being managed by a private company, Avenu Insights and Analytics.
The City CAO, Steve Sones, has been concerned about MPL not spending all the money Bartlett gives them for new items. Sones told the Board that MPL has about $36,000 unspent from this past fiscal year, which means the library users aren’t getting the full service the citizens are paying.
MPL Deputy Director Chris Marszalek told the Board that the shortfall was due to challenges in their Collection Development area because of staff turnovers and a large amount of ordering when they received more than $1 million in Federal funds to buy more items last year.
MPL Director Keenon McCloy reiterated this problem but said they were just a few months away from catching up. Director McCloy told Alderman Kevin Quinn that she would do whatever was necessary to repair the trust Bartlett has had with MPL for 20 years and to make the Bartlett Library a better user experience.
Bartlett Library Manager Nakia Armstrong, also Bartlett resident, told the Board that she believes any concerns the City has can be remedied. She also touted the many advantages that come with being part of a large system, including many digital sites that library card holders can use for free. Armstrong also presented statistics such as that the Bartlett Library had an 28 percent increase in visitors this year. She also talked about the many programs the Library provides to users and that there was a 56 percent increase in those this year alone.
Avenu is the current management company for the Germantown Community Library. Avenu has been doing library management for just over three years and operates 80 libraries around the United States.
Avenu proposes to run the Bartlett Library for about the same cost but will make sure the Library will get all the changes the City and patrons are asking for. Dana Braccia, Avenu Chief Librarian, presented a powerpoint to the Board, noting the areas the Bartlett Library could improve in under the management of Avenu. She used examples from Germantown that included 400 programs a year, as well as the latest books and that they have their own access to digital items for users as well. Braccia also told the Board that Avenu will allow all current Bartlett Library employees to apply to stay on if the City contract with MPL is terminated.
The Board of Mayor and Aldermen have had many emails and phone calls from citizens to discuss the Bartlett Library with MPL. The Board will take up the discussion again at the Jan. 9 meeting, starting at 6 p.m., at Bartlett City Hall located at 6400 Stage Road. The public is invited to attend and share their comments with the Board.
