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The Portage Lake District Library (PLDL) will provide public library services to residents of Hancock starting November 1st.
This comes through an agreement that the PLDL Board of Trustees and the Hancock Public Schools board signed last week. The agreement will not cost the citizens of Hancock or the library district any additional taxes.
Under the agreement, the Hancock library will operate at its present location in Hancock High School. PLDL will staff the Hancock library and provide books and other materials, access to library databases, interlibrary loans that enable patrons to borrow books from other libraries, and programming.
“We are pleased to move forward together to grow library services for the community,” said Kipp Beaudoin, Hancock Public Schools Superintendent.
The agreement is for three years. It will be funded by the equivalent of 3/10ths of a mill already required by law to support a public library, paid to PLDL by the Hancock School District. Total funding, including state aid and penal fines, will be approximately $60,000 a year.
“I’d love to see a more consistent level of library access and services across the region, and this is a step in that direction,” said Dillon Geshel, PLDL director. “While this contract is short term, it’s my hope that the communities of Hancock’s school district see the value of adequate library services over time, and choose to make a more long term investment in their library.”
The agreement does not give Hancock residents access to the main library in Houghton. They will still have to purchase out-of-district memberships to make full use of that library.
Hours for the Hancock library have yet to be determined.
