Glenwood Residents Urge City Council Not To Cut Library Funding

Supporters of the Glenwood Public Library showed up in force at last Tuesday’s meeting of the Glenwood City to voice their opposition to proposed cuts in library staffing presented in a draft for the city’s 2025-2026 fiscal year budget, which begins July 1.

Under a budget draft presented to the city council in March by City Administrator Mitch Kolf, two of the library’s five full-time positions would be cut along with a part-time secretarial position at the police department to help the city meet a shortfall in its general fund operating budget next year. An executive assistant and genealogist position at the library would be eliminated under the proposal. Glenwood Public Library Director Tara Painter said the cuts would result in a reduction in hours and services at the library.

More than a half-dozen citizens spoke at the council meeting in support of the library and asked the council not to cut funding for the facility. They spoke of the need within the Glenwood community for the services the library provides, including Internet access, computer services, audio books, summer reading activities and delivery of books to homebound residents.

Barbara Roenfeld said the library serves both youth and adult residents in Glenwood and is one of the only places in town children can go for free.

“I truly believe the library is the soul of our community,” she said.

Dee McIntyre shared similar thoughts, pointing out for years the library has been one of the community’s most treasured assets.

“It’s who we are,” McIntyre said. “It’s the DNA of Glenwood.”

McIntyre said the library is the only source of Internet access for some children in the Glenwood community.

Michelle Wright said some businesses in the Glenwood community count on the library for Internet access and other services,  while Barbara Taenzler said the library is the only place some Glenwood residents can go to get on a computer.

Painter presented council members with a set of statistics for libraries in comparable size communities in southwest Iowa, including Clarinda, Shenandoah, Harlan, Atlantic and Red Oak. She said if the city follows through with the proposed cuts, weekly hours at the library would be reduced from 48 to 41 or fewer hours and some services would be reduced or taken away. Forty-one hours, the minimum required for accreditation would be the goal, Painter said, but if an employee was sick or absent, unexpected closures would be inevitable.

“I can pretty much guarantee that at some point we will have to close the library unexpectedly due to the lack of staffing,” she said.

Painter said the library offered over 200 children’s programs last year but that number won’t be possible with fewer employees. She added that if cuts are made, patrons would have to travel to libraries in Council Bluffs or Red Oak for some of the services currently offered in Glenwood.

City council members did not respond to the comments presented at the meeting. The council will have two budget-related public hearings this month. A public hearing for the city’s property tax levy is scheduled for Tuesday, April 8, at City Hall beginning at 6 p.m. A public hearing for final adoption of the city’s fiscal year 2025-2026 budget is planned for April 29.