Both the Marion County Board of Supervisors and the Pella Public Library Board of Trustees met Tuesday to further discuss a decision to freeze online service use for rural residents.

A letter was sent to rural Marion County residents with Pella library cards by the Board of Trustees, which indicates an April 9th decision to end access to Hoopla, Bridges, Kanopy, and the Adventure Pass program for those individuals. Service would continue as usual for City of Pella residents. This does not impact any other service to those living outside of the city.

At Tuesday’s meeting, the Board of Supervisors discussed the impact budget reductions had on the decision to ultimately suspend the services, a conversation led largely by Board Member Kisha Jahner. She had questions about how the overall funding structure at the library worked and how exactly money from the county was spent. The Pella Public Library has been using the supplement from the Marion County Board of Supervisors — on top of the required statutory levy, to largely pay for the all of the resources available to those patrons, not just online. Ultimately, the board has asked the libraries of the county to provide more specific usage data at an upcoming meeting to determine what, if any, action they should take to help restore the services.

AUDIO FROM THE MARION COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS MEETING:

Pella Library Director Mara Strickler says the reason behind the reduction of service was that the cost for Hoopla in particular had nearly doubled, and that since it was a pay-per-use fee structure, the Board of Trustees had to find a way to save money, especially as the Friends of the Pella Public Library ultimately decided earlier this year against subsidizing the increase. The Pella Public Library has formed a committee with the other library trustee boards of the county to develop a potential agreement to distribute funds in the future. Also at the meeting, a question was asked as to why some services couldn’t remain active, as Hoopla was the main cause for the cost increase, and Strickler says because their current operation structure allows more of an “all-or-nothing” approach for card users as it relates to all online services being packaged together.

Full meeting audio from Pella’s Board of Trustees:

There will be no action to restore those services until more details emerge about possible action from the Marion County Board of Supervisors.

Hear from the Pella Public Library Board of Trustees on today’s Let’s Talk Pella.