Brian Eason

brian.eason@indystar.com

The City-County Council on Monday approved an ambitious $58.5 million modernization effort that will allow the Indianapolis Public Library to upgrade more than a third of its branches.

The proposal, which passed 25-2 with broad bipartisan support, will allow the library to move forward on a plan approved this spring to relocate five neighborhood branches in an effort to better meet the needs of a shifting population. It also would fund upgrades to five existing locations and create a new branch in Lawrence Township.

Jackie Nytes, the library's chief executive officer, said that decades of growth in outer townships such as Wayne, Perry and Lawrence have left many neighborhoods underserved, in part because the system has been slow to adjust.

"We've got some catching up to do," she said.

The council agreed. After sailing through committee with ease after just one meeting, the bonds were approved without controversy Monday, with council members praising Nytes for a proposal they said had broad public support.

"There appears to be some strategic thinking behind this, and we haven't always seen that," said Councilman Jack Sandlin.

Nytes said the library will absorb the new debt without a tax increase, thanks in part to a series of refinancings over the past three years that saved the system money on interest.

Over the next six years, the library would borrow $40.7 million to build five replacement facilities for the Brightwood, Eagle, Flanner House, Fountain Square and Glendale branches. The library also seeks $9.7 million to fund a new branch in Lawrence Township and $8 million to upgrade its existing branches.

Despite declining interest in physical books, Nytes said, the library system is seeing visitations hold steady. Many of today's library users, she said, simply want a place to spend time, whether it's with their children or studying on their own free from distraction. As a consequence, libraries of the future will opt for more seating areas and fewer bookshelves.

The library drew 4.3 million visitors in 2013, up 1.6 percent from 2012. About 516,000 residents have library cards, according to library records.

While the information age has reduced the need for books, it has increased a need for Internet access among those who can't afford it, Nytes said. Filling this need will require the library to offer different services than it traditionally has.

"There's a lot of people who can't access it from home — and those people live all across the county," Nytes said. "Access to good quality Internet is really becoming almost a sort of social justice issue. If you don't have good access to information, how do you stay in the game?"

The financing will be taken incrementally across eight bond issues over the next six years, funded by a mix of an existing debt service tax and the library's cash reserves.

Nytes acknowledged it will require an extension of an existing debt service tax, which was set to expire in 2022. But, according to the library's projections, the levy would drop from $10 million a year to about $8 million in 2023 when the existing bonds come off the books.

The new bonds are expected to be repaid by 2032.

The lone hiccup that had some council members concerned: The library approved the new debt without a public referendum, even though state law requires one for projects greater than $12 million. Nytes said this proposal didn't meet the threshold, because individually, no one project was $12 million or more.

"Two different sets of lawyers have looked at this. I can assure you this is appropriate," Nytes said.

Call Star reporter Brian Eason at (317) 444-6129. Follow him on Twitter: @brianeason.