Trending
HANCOCK -- Contract negotiations between the Hancock Schools Public Library and the Portage Lake District Library continue and include a third amendment, Hancock Schools Superintendent Chris Salani said.
The amendment regards details pertaining to membership, Salani said. Initially, the contract addressed single membership fees of $25-membership outside the boundaries of the School District, but had overlooked family or others sharing the same mailing address.
"We're calling it a Household Membership," said PLDL Director Katrina Linde-Moriarty, who explained that the goal of the amendment is to extend library membership to anyone sharing the same residential address to those outside of the geographic boundaries of the Hancock School District boundaries, at a fee of $40 suggested by PLDL. This would include college rental housing units and apartment units.
The geographic boundaries of the Hancock School District include city of Hancock and the townships of Hancock, Quincy and Franklin.
There is no fee for residents or property owners within the geographical boundaries of the district, said Linde-Moriarty.
"Anyone who resides or has property within those boundaries would be within the school district," she said, including School of Choice students.
Students who reside in Hancock but are enrolled in Houghton-Portage Township District Schools have free access to the Hancock library. They also qualify for membership in the PLDL.
"We have a LEAP (Library Education and Access Program) Card Program at PLDL that allows and extends those PLDL cards to those school of choice students who choose Houghton," she said.
Similarly, Linde-Moriarty said, PLDL wants to honor the library in Hancock as a resource to all students within the school distict, regardless of where they reside.
"So, students will be included in, and exempt from, any membership fees," she said. "We want to make sure that all students are supported."
Library Education and Access Program is available to any student of Houghton-Portage Township Schools, regardless of which community they reside. The LEAP card grants students access to printed materials, movies and music to download or stream, and access to free WiFi, hangout zones and computers at the library.