Among the crowd of more than 120 people who gathered in the Kaysville City Council chambers Tuesday night were both supporters of a city-owned library and supporters of the merger. Each group expressed their conviction in the form of cheers and boos and, in the end, many backers of a city-owned library left the building in tears. Here is a summary of some opinions expressed: Reed Nelson: a former member of the city council for eight years, entered with a handful of blue signs expressing support for a city-owned and operated library. The signs stated "Save our library" and "Maintain our independence." Although Nelson is a member of the Kaysville Library board, he insisted the signs were a personal effort, not commissioned by the board.

Other signs brought by residents encouraged council members to "Keep our library, vote no to the county system."

Leta Nef: "They just didn't listen to us, and we tried so hard," said Nef, secretary of the Kaysville Library Board. "Somebody was trying to tell me, 'You will like it in the long run,' but I just want to say, 'Just you wait and see.'"

Nef said she was particularly proud of the new computers, but is now concerned that they will be disbursed throughout the county system. "We have 12 new computers for our one library. The county has 37 for five libraries."

Nef partially blames the city council for the recent failure of the bond. When the library board first approached the council concerning the bond election, they were encouraged by the council to increase the size of the bond. "It was a setup," said Nef. "The council members never really stood behind us."

Lynne Rogers: "I feel that it was fixed before we got here," said Rogers, Kaysville resident and a supporter of a city-owned library. Rogers campaigned by passing out flyers around Kaysville.

Bruce Allen: Chairman of the Kaysville Library Board, he credits the Alan and Kay Blood Endowment fund for the recent advancements in the library system. "We took the money and used it for what it was intended. You can just see how much it has improved the system."

In retrospect, Allen believes the board may have made a mistake by pursuing a new building too early. "I think maybe we went backwards trying to build a new building first," he said, referring to the failed bond intended to finance a new library building.

Other concerns about the merger are that if the library is no longer located in the center of town, the community will become divided. Residents of Kaysville will no longer come to the center of town to visit the library and will be able to use any library in the county system. Some residents are concerned that as a result Kaysville will see a split in the city.



--Carrieann Borges