Today's Standard TImes had an article that Freetown and Wareham libraries have lost their state library board certification. Dartmouth's library escaped that fate by obtaining a waiver. The amount of state aid is lost is small. The state doesn't contribute that much to local library budgets. The biggest loss is the ability to access materials through the interlibrary loan network, SAILS. Libraries that lose their state certification cannot borrow books from the network.
Freetown Selectman Lawrence Ashley was critical...
... of the state boards action saying to the Standard Times, "Everyone on the Board of Library Commissioners should be fired. It is incredulous that they will not give the library a chance. Can't they see that the town has been doing the best it can? We are trying to balance everything out. We laid off teachers, police officers. It's sad. I think they have a very myopic view of the world. They are punishing all these people, many of whom don't have the ability to buy books or computers. The board is doing more harm than good."
Towns represented at a regional summit this past Tuesday indicated the most towns would not be able to meet the state funding requirement for certification which is a 2-1/2% increase every year in the library budget. Most towns are cutting budgets. One possible solution mentioned was for libraries to form their own lending consortium outside of the SAILS network.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Local libraries lose state certification
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3 comments:
Communities are going to have to start making decisions for themselves. The state creates mandates but doesn't provide the funding for them. That is fine but stop tying the hands of local governments by insisting on these ridiculous rules. I am very hopeful that the regional summit meetings will unite communities to work together without relying on the state.
The state mandates will have to change during these tough times, surely they want people to read and borrow books. So they'll have to lower the funding mandate a smidgeon.
Our Library Director and her secretary should reduce their salaries or take on desk responsibilities three days/week. The Library Director should make $70,000 and the secretary $35,000. The Directors salary is way out of proportion with the size of the main branch. Lokk to other communities and states. This wastes taxpayers money, and this comes from an avid library user.
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