By Heather Lusk
It’s officially been a part of Zionsville for a year and a half, but it wasn’t until March 2 that Perry Township residents could purchase a reduced rate library card for use at the Hussey-Mayfield Memorial Public Library.
The card will cost residents $56.11 annually and expires one year from the date of issuance. Perry Township residents contribute to the library through income tax but do not contribute to library funding through property taxes. The reduced rate for the library card is calculated by a formula to fill the gap between these tax amounts.
Perry Township residents were among six other townships in Boone County that did not have access to a publicly funded library until 2010. That year Boone County commissioners voted to allow the trustees of these townships to sign contracts with a specific public library to allow access at a reduced rate. At that time Perry Township signed a contract with the Lebanon Library.
The program was temporarily suspended in 2016 by the Indiana State Library, which decided that the card rate should be recalculated annually and a contract re-signed by township trustees, or by the mayor in Zionsville’s case.
In 2015, nearly 30 Perry Township residents were issued library cards out of approximately 1,100 residents.
Virginia Hilbert, marketing director for HMMPL, said the library has received “sporadic inquiries” from a few Perry Township residents through the years.
“The most important thing is that they receive all of the services that we offer,” Hilbert said.
Reduced rate cardholders receive the same benefits as other HMMPL cardholders, with access to online resources and books in all Evergreen Indiana libraries, which includes all libraries in Boone County.
