Tamarac is getting a new library, but it will actually be much smaller than the crowded Broward County library branch on McNab Road. City commissioners last week approved a joint agreement with Broward County to run a storefront library that will be subsidized by city tax dollars.

When the county approves the contract, a site will be chosen, said Samuel Morrison, director of Broward County libraries.

It’s not the dream facility the city had hoped for, but for now, commissioners say it’s better than nothing.

“This is an interim solution,” Vice Mayor Larry Mishkin said. “We hope we will be able to work it out with the county. I think it’s a little bit more than a Band-Aid. We think it’s a step forward anyway.”

The County Commission had planned to spend $900,000 on a second branch for Tamarac in 1997-1998 but funds for that library were shifted to pay for libraries in Southwest Broward. Money allocated for a new library in North Lauderdale also went to Southwest Broward.

Tamarac’s library at 8601 W. McNab Road is critically overcrowded.

What Tamarac got was money to increase hours at its existing library, and $151,000 for a 5,000-square-foot storefront branch at an undetermined location.

“This is mainly to give us relief,” Commissioner Marc Sultanof said. “We will have four libarary people on their payroll staffing this satellite unit. We are trying to centralize the location of it so more people can use it.”

Sultanof said he is trying to stir interest among corporations to raise contributions to be put toward a new library.

The agreement commissioners approved last week explains how much the city will pay to run the facility. Here’s how the financing will work:

For the first year, Tamarac will reimburse the county for 50 percent of the operating costs, with a maximum contribution of $75,000.

In the following four years, the city’s contribution will drop by 10 percent a year, after which the county will be solely responsible for all of its costs. After that, the county will pick up all costs, according to the agreement.

County officials say the library will have about 8,000 books. The Tamarac storefront library will be the fifth operated jointly by the county and a municipality, Morrison said.