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Duchesne library board weighs digital-only cards for nonresident property and business owners
Summary
At its Nov. 19 meeting, the Duchesne County Library Board discussed whether people who own property or businesses in the county but live elsewhere should receive digital-only library cards giving access to services such as Hoopla and Libby; staff will ask neighboring Uinta County about reciprocal access.
The Duchesne County Library Board debated a proposal on Nov. 19 to allow nonresident property owners and business owners who pay Duchesne County property tax to hold digital-only library cards that would grant access to the library's paid digital services, including Hoopla and Libby.
Library staff described recent requests from several business owners and property owners asking for access. "Right now, we pay about $1,600 a month, about $2 per checkout," a staff member said, describing Hoopla's current budget impact. Staff also said the system currently limits Hoopla use to five checkouts per patron per month.
Board members raised two recurring concerns: budget pressure from added digital checkouts and whether neighboring Uinta County would reciprocate if Duchesne County extended access. "I think it should go both ways," a board member said, noting several Duchesne residents own land in neighboring counties and that reciprocity would be fair if taxpayers in both counties contribute to digital collections. Other members warned that opening digital access more broadly could "stress and stretch our dollars" and prompt questions from Duchesne residents if tax rates need to rise to cover added usage.
Staff described operational options to limit risk: issuing a digital-only patron category that blocks physical circulation, preventing multiple active accounts for the same person across counties, and creating child subaccounts to restrict age‑inappropriate content. The board discussed enforcement challenges tied to property deeds that list many owners and the administrative work of verifying property ownership.
The board did not adopt a policy at the meeting. The next step agreed by members was for staff to contact Uinta County library officials to ask whether Uinta would allow reciprocal access to Duchesne residents who pay taxes there; the board will resume the discussion after receiving that response.
Procedure and next steps: staff will report back with Uinta County's position and with recommended account category language if reciprocity appears feasible.
