Libraries are usually such relaxing places.

But the anxiety level at Lake Elmo’s city-owned library is increasing over a proposal to return it to the Washington County library system.

The plan would guarantee that the library remain open for four years. But because it could be closed after that, some Lake Elmo officials and volunteers are pushing back.

Julene Swenson, a volunteer since 2012, said that under county control the library’s programs may not be continued. “I have seen nothing that guarantees they will go forward,” she said .

But Judy Gibson, a member of the the Lake Elmo Public Library Board of Trustees, supports the move, which would end a five-year experiment in city ownership.

“I would love to stay and have our own little library. But I don’t think it’s sustainable in the long run,” she said.

The library board will meet May 3 to discuss the proposal. Related Articles Ruth (Randall) Benson, first woman to serve as Minnesota’s education commissioner, dies at 91

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Library lovers are worried because the county closed the library before — in 2012.

At the time, patrons of the county-owned Rosalie Wahl Library checked out fewer materials than patrons of the unmanned library kiosk in Hugo. Lake Elmo residents didn’t support their own library — 80 percent of the material they checked out was from libraries in other cities.

To cut costs, the county closed libraries in Newport, Marine on St. Croix and Lake Elmo.

The Lake Elmo City Council rebelled. They bailed out of the county system and set up their own library — in a $240,000 building staffed by volunteers with mostly donated books.

The $260,000 in annual library taxes was diverted from the county to the city. The budget for the library is now $300,000 a year, said Gibson.

Lake Elmo’s independent venture has since grown to a library with 20,000 materials, three paid staffers and more than 20 regular volunteers. In March, the library’s calendar was crammed with 29 community events involving Brownies, Cub Scouts, movies, churches, knitting, tai chi, adult coloring and cooking.

But critics say the library is clunky for users.

With their taxes supporting only their city library, Lake Elmo residents can’t automatically use county libraries — which are closer for many residents. For those who request it, Lake Elmo has agreed to buy a county library card for $60 per year per household.

Library supporters say the Lake Elmo library buys new books on request, keeping its collection current. But it doesn’t have complete access to the books, videos, e-books and CDs in the metro-wide library system — the way that county libraries do.

Board member Gibson said county cards are given to households, not individual users. “And it’s an incomplete card at that,” said Gibson, because it does not give access to all materials and services.

This year, city administrator Kristina Handt was told by the city council to negotiate a merger deal with the county. She is proposing that the county take over the library on Jan. 1 and:

Keep the library open for 40 hours a week for four years, down from 48 hours now. The county could cut the hours further if the hours at nearby libraries were reduced “due to an economic downturn or loss of state aid.”

Retain the present library staff of one full-time director and two part-timers.

Receive $200,000 from Lake Elmo for use in maintaining the library.

“Every card would work everywhere,” Gibson said. “You could do all the online things wherever you lived and wherever you went.”

Gibson said she will vote in favor of the proposal. Other board members aren’t so sure.

Steve DeLapp, a former city council member who is secretary on the library board, said that as a taxpayer, he wants the library to stay open permanently. As a board member, he wants his vote to reflect public will, and he isn’t exactly sure what that is.

In emails, board members Julie Fliflet and Thomas DeGree didn’t say if they supported the proposal, only that they favored re-merging with the county system and insuring that the library remain open.

DeLapp said the switch would result in an immediate 47 percent increase in a property owner’s library taxes.

Administrator Handt denied that. “That is absolutely not true. There are a lot of scare tactics going around.”

Handt said she doesn’t know the tax rates for next year, but taxes this year for the owner of a $245,000 house would have been $15 more if the city library had been in the county library system.

“You pay $15 more, and you get more,” Handt said. Related Articles Search continues for third occupant of plane that crashed on Sunday

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Elsewhere in the county, other small cities are adapting to change and still paying county library taxes.

In Newport, the county operates an unmanned kiosk to request and receive materials, and the city operates a separate city-owned library. There is also a kiosk at Marine on St. Croix, along with a room in city hall for a small collection of books, supplemented with donated materials.

But Lake Elmo’s volunteers are squeamish about the switch.

“We are a little nervous about what will happen when the county takes over,” said Claude Forshier, who volunteers every week.

“The worry is that we may lose it in the downtown location. Or once they take over they’d reduce the volume of books and then lose patronage.”

The library offers small-town charm at its best, he said. He likes to see groups of early risers gathering in the reading area to sip coffee and read newspapers.

“Change might be inevitable,” said Forshier, “but we just hope we can retain some control.”