No Library Service For Part Of Darien
DARIEN, IL – Indian Prairie Public Library is in Darien, but it does not serve the entire town. Indian Prairie Public Library's district covers all of Willowbrook, nearly all of Darien and one-third of Burr Ridge. It also includes unincorporated neighborhoods near Clarendon Hills and Westmont. In 1988, the Darien and Willowbrook library districts merged, forming Indian Prairie. The current library building in Darien was built in the early 1990s. In Darien, the Farmingdale neighborhood decided against joining the merged district, so it has no public library service. A few other isolated Darien streets have no library service, mainly those that were built after the consolidation. The district could annex other areas in an election referendum. Some years ago, Indian Prairie sent postcards to Farmingdale residents to see whether they wanted to join the district, the library's executive director, Laura Birmingham, said Tuesday. The result indicated that a referendum would not be worth it, she said. Birmingham said she was unaware of a similar survey in Burr Ridge."If the residents wanted it, it could happen," she said in an interview. Towns such as Indian Head Park, Willow Springs and Countryside have no public library services. "We're surrounded by unserved areas," Birmingham said. "One million people in Illinois don't have library service."Non-residents can pay fees to become library members. At Indian Prairie, the annual cost is $246 per household.For a $1.4 million house in Burr Ridge, last year's library tax amounted to about $800. Compared with the taxes, Birmingham said, the non-resident fee is a bargain.Recently, Burr Ridge resident Betsy Levy brought her concern about the lack of a library in her area to Mayor Gary Grasso. Grasso responded that the library district includes enough of Burr Ridge, including extending into Cook County, that the village would have to break away and Springfield would be required to approve a new library district. The state would unlikely give a green light because Indian Prairie and Hinsdale are so close, he said. "Even then, the cost of building and maintaining a library would far exceed in annual taxes to all in (Burr Ridge) by multiples the cost of a membership at (Indian Prairie) or Hinsdale," the mayor said. "It would be fiscally irresponsible."Asked about his message, Grasso said the matter could be researched, but "I suspect the state formed the library district well before Burr Ridge expanded."Burr Ridge, Willowbrook and Darien are newer towns, having been incorporated in the 1950s and 1960s. By contrast, Hinsdale, Western Springs and La Grange, all founded in the 1870s and 1880s, have long-established libraries. The article No Library Service For Part Of Darien appeared first on Darien, IL Patch.
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