Mon, Sep 22, 2008 (2:07 a.m.)

The Henderson library district, which operates four branches, is facing the same budget squeeze as everyone else but has found a creative way to stretch its dollars. It plans early next year to open a small branch in a shopping mall, a first for Southern Nevada.

In a recent story in the Las Vegas Sun, reporter Mike Trask told readers the district will lease space in the Galleria at Sunset, getting the first six months free and then paying a discounted rate. It will cost the district roughly $25,000 to renovate the space now used by a toy store, and it will house popular books that will be exchanged on a rotating basis with other branch libraries.

The district has had to close its libraries on Sundays to save money. But the mall library will be so small by comparison — only two full-time employees will staff it on a given shift, compared with 15 or 16 at existing libraries — that the district will be able to absorb the expense without raising taxes.

An advantage of having a library in a mall is the heavy foot traffic. Plus, it is an excellent way for the library to market itself and increase the public’s access to books. The mall also wins because the library will attract customers.

This is not to say the mall library should replace traditional branches, which are much larger. The library district plans to forge ahead with other traditional branches through a long-term loan it is taking as part of its operational budget — again without raising taxes — and through the sale to Henderson of one of its buildings.

Opening a library in a mall is a good way to get more people in the habit of reading, something that benefits the entire community.