South Bannock Library District looking to secure remaining funds for new library
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INKOM — A rural library district is working to secure the last of its needed funding for a long-awaited new library building.
The South Bannock Library District is working to secure this funding so that it can bring a library to Inkom. Megan Short, the director of the library district, said that this has been a goal for a long time.
“We’ve built a great relationship with that community and it being under served in the library area. It’s always been a goal of ours to get a building there,” Short said.
There have been times in the past when the district came close to establishing a new library in Inkom, but those deals fell through. Now, the district has more than three-quarters of its funding secured, around $190,000 away from making it a reality.
Currently, the closest library to Inkom residents is over 10 miles away in McCammon. The next closest library is the Marshall Public Library in Pocatello, over 12 miles away.
Although the library district brings its bookmobile to Inkom, Short said that the area is in need of a building.
“Inkom is a huge growing community,” Short said. “It has no permanent library facility, so it’s a growing need.”
Short hopes the district can bring a well-sized community meeting room to Inkom with this library.
“(We) just really want to create a community hub,” Short said.
A library in Inkom wouldn’t just offer the community books. People would be able to access computers and Wi-Fi, printers, early learning kits and more. Having a permanent location would allow the district to bring programming to the community, like story time for children.
The library district was able to acquire the land where the library will be located through a land swap with the Marsh Valley Joint School District. Once built, the library will be next to Inkom Elementary School.
The district received a grant from the Idaho Commission for Libraries for $500,000 last year to go toward the new building. To use this funding, the library has to be operational by August 2026.
On the May 21 election ballot, the district has put forward plant facilities levy, which would go toward all of the library district’s buildings. If that levy passes, then the district will have all the funding it needs to construct the facility in Inkom.
If passed, the levy will collect $100,941 per year for 10 years. The estimated average annual cost to the taxpayer on the levy would be $7.47 per $100,000 of taxable assessed value.
According to the ballot language, “The district collects a plant facilities levy in the amount of $100,941 per year that will expire September 30, 2025. Therefore, there is no expected change in the district’s plant facilities reserve fund levy if approved.”
To pass, the levy needs to get 55% of the vote.
The library district is open to donations of any kind that could help them bring a new library to Inkom. These could come in the form of a monetary donation or a contractor donating time or materials.
For Short, there’s no question that Inkom will get a library.
“There’s always a chance (that it won’t happen), but I’m not counting on it,” Short said. “It’s been too long coming. It will get built.”