MA PL Closes, Maybe for a While

Saugus in trouble; after tax override, Franklin library survives

By Lynn Blumenstein & Norman Oder -- Library Journal, 6/15/2007

After closing in late May and expected to stay closed through the end of the fiscal year on June 30, the Saugus Public Library, MA, will remain shuttered indefinitely unless officials this month pass a trash fee that would nonetheless halve the library’s budget. Because of an anticipated zero budget for 2008, one full-time (of eight) and one part-time staffer left in May for new jobs, while others began taking the vacation owed them. The lack of sufficient staff forced the May closing, library director Mary Rose Quinn told LJ.

“It’s an enormous task,” Quinn said of the plans to close, since it requires recalling materials due other libraries and getting the building prepared. Whether or not the trash fee passes, the library won’t have enough money to buy books, so officials have already canceled standing orders, database purchases, and journal subscriptions that would continue on July 1. If the library stays open, “we’ll fundraise” for new books, Quinn said. The trash fee vote could come as early as June 4; the vote would be up to the 50 Town Meeting members.

The library had a $566,000 budget but about four years ago had a $637,000 budget. (The town population is 26,500, which translates to per capita funding over $21.) Because of state Proposition 2½, which caps property taxes, municipalities face limits in raising revenues. As operational costs have escalated over the past few years, other agencies in Saugus, including recreation, senior services, and schools, have suffered. In April, a tax override failed; it would have raised $5.2 million for the town and left the library level-funded.

The library web site offers a library value calculator, asking residents to assess the value to them of library services such as borrowing books and attending meetings. The calculator worksheet has been adapted from a spreadsheet originally provided by the Massachusetts Library Association.

The web site also warns that closing the library means the loss of three “much-needed grants for services and equipment upgrades,” thus violating the terms of the Pace Genealogy Trust and forgoing the annual income (approximately $30,000) for library books. Also, local residents who hold library cards from other communities will not be able to maintain borrowing privileges if their home library closes or does not meet minimum state standards. As of May 29, because the library was closed, it was decertified by the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners.

Franklin, MA, residents have approved the first tax override in 40 years, voting for a $2.7 million proposal that includes $260,000 to halt library budget reductions. Without these extra funds, Franklin Public Library would have had to reduce staff and hours to the extent that it might have lost state certification.

The library’s total budget is $920,000. The town had an $800,000 shortfall, but Director Felicia Oti said that “some departments are more impacted than others.” Luckily, the library, which was founded in 1785 and claims to be the oldest public library in the country, won’t have to reduce its service to 36 hours spread over four days per week.