It’s obvious school districts need to consider consolidation and cutting expenses, but why not public libraries? We only use our library about once a year and our last visit got me wondering how much we pay for them.
As it turns out, an Ann Arbor District Library Card costs almost $350 per year.
Property taxes are on the rise, and local municipalities are constantly asking for more money via millages for schools, public safety, and libraries. Yet voters are increasingly rejecting them.
AADL reports 58,648 active card holders and a revenue from taxpayers of $20,413,409 which means each card is valued at $348.
Ann Arbor has about 123,000 residents, meaning only around half the community even uses the library. Why are we forced to pay for a service that clearly isn’t essential or utilized by half of the taxpayer base?
If that’s not enough reason for library reform, according to their 2024 tax filing, Ann Arbor District Library (AADL) lost $1.2 million dollars in 2024. Their total revenue was just $21.3 million but their expenses were $22.5 million. Although partially due to a renovation, it seems odd for a library to voluntarily lose money, most of which came from taxpayers.
Library taxes vary, making it hard to give an estimate on how much the cost per card is statewide. Library taxes are based on your home’s assessed value and vary depending on your local community’s millage rate, so you could be paying far more than $348 for your local library system.
Even if you’re paying less for your local library, do you use it? Do your neighbors?
The Michigan Library Association reports that at least 77% of library funding comes from local taxes. You should be able to determine your individual contribution to your local library system by looking at your tax statement or browsing through this Michigan library millage spreadsheet.
We spend far less than what we paid for our one yearly visit to AADL last year on books purchased through other means, including digital copies instantly available on Amazon, Audible, and Kindle.
If that’s not enough, Michigan schools have libraries in every building as well as nearly endless digital access paid for by school taxes. Why do we need additional library facilities at all?
Historical records could easily be consolidated into one local location to cut costs and lower Michigander’s property taxes. If you’re like me and you still prefer the touch and feel of a real book, you can purchase them online or at local thrift stores for less than $1.
Sadly, Generation Alpha is growing up almost entirely digital. My 6th grader who loves reading wanted just one thing for Christmas—a Kindle. At a Black Friday cost of $99, we could have purchased one for each of our children for less than the cost of a local library card.
It’s time to take an honest, logical look at the future of Michigan libraries and decide what purpose they have, if any at all, in the digital age. Let’s take steps to consolidate branches and lower our taxes, or at least let us opt out of an outdated information system.
I’d gladly put our required library dues towards building our home library and supporting quality authors and literature of my choosing directly. Until then, you can bet I’ll be voting “No” on every library millage.
Anna Hoffman is an Ann Arbor mom of three. You can follow her on X and Instagram @shoesonplease
