Board directs staff to begin investigating joint village–town library options and stakeholder steps

The Cottage Grove Library Board discussed options for a possible joint village–town library facility or service plan and directed the board president to begin preliminary outreach.

Board members said the topic has been raised repeatedly over the last six years and acknowledged the issue is complex because libraries are regulated by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) and involve county-level considerations. The village and town share parts of a school district, and trustees noted multiple school districts (Stoughton, Deerfield and others) overlap parts of the town, which complicates service arrangements.

Several board members recommended contacting town officials before investing extensive board time in the investigation; others noted the Village Board has recently discussed restarting collaboration with the town and the board should coordinate with any Village Board-led efforts. The board president was asked to be the point person and to involve one helper (Eric) to begin contacts with the town, DPI and Dane County to gather rules, regulations and realistic next steps.

No formal motion was required; board members agreed on the approach to start fact-finding and stakeholder outreach.