- Last year people borrowed 316,187 books, audio books, CDs and DVDs from Scranton Library, for free, that would have cost them over $7,900,000 to buy.
- A Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation study found that library investments provide significant economic benefits to the cities and towns that make them.
- The social and intellectual benefits to the town are incalculable.
- Increased visitors to an expanded library in Madison’s key downtown location will have significant benefits to Madison’s quality of life and economic activity.
- The size and range of offerings of a town’s library are a recognized reason why some prospective home buyers choose a town. In the past 10 years, 43 libraries in Connecticut have launched construction of new library buildings or significant additions.
- Guilford, Clinton, Westbrook, Old Saybrook, Essex and other nearby towns have expanded their libraries to meet 21st century library needs.
- National studies have consistently shown that, for every dollar invested in library facilities and services, more than three dollars is returned to the local economy.
- The return on library investment is even greater in Madison, since the taxpayers will be asked to invest only 75 ¢ for every $1 of cost of the Library Expansion Project and, after completion, less than 90 ¢ of every $1 of operating expense.
- Our Library is the one public service that is used by almost everyone in the town, of all ages. Its benefits are available to all citizens without cost. 75% of all Madison households have a current Scranton Library card.
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E. C. Scranton Memorial Library Building Expansion Proposal
September 2008 |
