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July 30, 2010

Willingboro library to cut staff, services

htpp://www.phillyburbs.com
July 29, 2010

By: Rose Krebs
Burlington County Times
WILLINGBORO — Municipal budget woes will impact the library in the form of layoffs, employee furloughs, service cuts and fewer hours of operation.

Library director Christine King announced Wednesday the library will be closed Fridays and Wednesday evenings starting Oct. 1 and on Sundays for the rest of the year. It was to be closed on Sundays until mid-September.

King said the library, located at 220 Willingboro Parkway, will close at 5 p.m. instead of 9 p.m. on Wednesdays starting Oct. 1. Wednesday evenings and Fridays are the least active days, she added.

King did not want to discuss layoffs in specific terms, as employees still need to be told, but 10 employees are expected to lose their jobs.

“All categories of employees will be impacted,” King said.

There are 20 full-time employees and 12 part-time employees at the library. There also are two student monitors who help shelve books. Monitors will be eliminated, King said, adding there are no current adult pages who help with shelving books, but those positions also will be cut.

The layoffs and reduced hours stem from a $200,000 cut in the library budget recently approved by Township Council. Township funding of the library for 2010 is proposed to be $1.3 million. Council is scheduled to finalize the budget Aug. 3.

“We don’t anticipate those funds will be restored in 2011,” King said, adding she understands the budgetary woes of the township and the library is “willing to share the pain.”

“It has come to all of us. It’s most unfortunate,” Mayor Eddie Campbell Jr. said of budgetary issues. “The economy has forced this state, and all states, to take drastic steps.”

King said the late date of the cut doesn’t leave many options for the library, other than layoffs, furloughs and reduction in hours. There are 15 furlough days planned through the end of the year. Fridays and Sundays will count toward those days.

Advertisement “I’m losing some employees that have been wonderful people to work with,” King said. “It’s painful to lose them. On the other hand, I’m concerned about the service to the public.”

Also impacted will be some subscriptions at the library and the purchase of new materials. King said the library will seek grants, free services and use a free provider for some best sellers, but that some magazines no longer will be offered and new books will be scarce.

The library will be increasing some fees for use of its computer labs and meeting rooms. Nonmembers will be charged more for use of that space.

Of any future possibility of the township library becoming part of the county library system, King said the board of trustees, council and many in the public have indicated they do not want that to happen. Also, the county has indicated it is not interested in taking the Willingboro library into its system,

“There are maintenance issues,” King said.

At recent meetings, some residents questioned if the library can be transferred to the county, or even closed, as a cost savings measure.

“Those individuals advocating the closing of this facility are individuals who don’t use it. Were they users, they would see it is heavily used,” King said.

King said there were 164,852 visitors to the library in 2009 and 74,000 visitors through June 30 this year.

BCT Staff writer Rose Krebs can be reached at 609-871-8064 or rkrebs@phillyBurbs.com

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July 29, 2010

Vital library resource

Letters to the Editor
July 25, 2010
http://www.nj.com

beyond children's reach

I have fond memories of going to the Trenton Public Library's Briggs Branch throughout the summers of my life and while I was a student, until I graduated from Trenton Central High School. The librarians there taught me valuable skills that transferred into my college education and graduate school, where I had no difficulty accessing my college's and university's libraries for research papers and assignments.

Communities with modern libraries often reflect that community's dedication to education to the highest degree. A visit to the Princeton Library will provide one with a view of a respect for the literary community that bibliophiles enjoy as one would enjoy a well-prepared gourmet meal.

Closing the Trenton Library's four branches presents a disregard for the children in our community ("Users mourn shuttering of libraries -- Paradise lost," July 16). I believe that without the libraries, I would not have gone to college nor to graduate school. As a parent, I would never allow a child or teenager to venture alone to the main branch on Academy Street, due to the crime rate in that area.

The library needs the necessary resources in order to continue to serve the community. Becoming a part of the county library system, without a city branch, would once again place information outside of the boundaries of our children's reach.

We need to dedicate our money and resources to our future. Alongside schools, our libraries serve a necessary function. I would have preferred a more pointed and outraged response from City Hall regarding how to preserve our libraries year-round versus lengthening summer-only pool hours as a recreational resource. The presence of only one library in the city jeopardizes our future as a city, because it disregards our most important asset: our children.

Selma L. Harvin,

Trenton

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Libraries spared the big ax

Published: Tuesday, July 27, 2010, 5:59 AM
Letters to the Editor/The Star-Ledger

Pleas were heard
Gov. Chris Christie and our state legislators deserve thanks for recognizing the value of libraries and for restoring approximately $7.9 million dollars in the state library budget. Although this is a 43 percent reduction in funding from last year’s budget, services such as statewide databases, inter-library loan and delivery and the Library for the Blind and Handicapped will be preserved.

This was due to the tremendous grassroots advocacy efforts of the library community. The citizens do care about library services. Christie and the legislators received more than 78,000 e-mails, as well as phone calls and letters and 80,000 postcards regarding restoration of library funding, more than for any other budget issue.

Furthermore, the state library and the library staff should be commended for their proactive approach to finding new ways to serve the community and for their flexibility in adapting to meet the challenges of the economic times.

Tough decisions were made by state librarian Norma Blake and her staff, including the consolidation of the regional library cooperatives into one statewide physical facility, but yet still preserving the regional framework whereby librarians will work to serve the needs of people in all geographic areas of the state.

Libraries are once again proving that they are the heart of the community.
Mary Moyer, past president, New Jersey Association of School Librarians

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July 26, 2010

The free ($4.1 million) public library

http://www.northjersey.com

Thursday, July 22, 2010
Last updated: Thursday July 22, 2010, 1:16 AM
BY TERRENCE T. MCDONALD
The Montclair Times
OF THE MONTCLAIR TIMES
There was no love on display for the Bloomfield Public Library at last week's Montclair Township Council meeting.

During a discussion of municipal funding for the Montclair Free Public Library, 2nd Ward Councilman Cary Africk asked why Bloomfield's library can operate on $1.8 million annually, while Montclair's – which serves a smaller population – originally proposed a 2010 budget topping $4 million.
"What do we do different?" Africk said.

"I think I would ask you to visit our library … start with walking in the damn door," scoffed Councilwoman-at-Large Kathryn Weller-Demming, crocheting a purple baby blanket.
Mayor Jerry Fried concurred: "You cannot compare the Bloomfield library with the Montclair library."

Library funding has been a touchy subject for months, ever since Township Manager Marc D. Dashield recommended slashing the library's municipal allocation by $700,000, nearly 18 percent of its total 2009 budget.

The amount stunned library officials. Cliff Kulwin, president of the library's Board of Trustees, told the council in April that he was shocked and horrified by the proposed cut. During a later meeting, other members of the board urged the council to reconsider.
As a result of the library hubbub, The Times compared the budgets of libraries in five other municipalities – Hoboken, South Brunswick, Teaneck, Linden, and Bloomfield – to examine how Montclair's library stacks up with those in towns with similar populations.
Since there have been numerous iterations of this year's library budget – the one first proposed by library officials last year; a second anticipating a 10 percent cut in municipal funding; a third suggesting a $700,000 cut – The Times chose to use the $4,062,096 budget proposed by library officials at the end of last year.

The financial records reveal that Montclair's library tops the list in almost every category: total budget; municipal funding; salaries; spending on library materials; and the amount the average taxpayer pays annually for library services.

The Times requested the budgets, and financial statements for Montclair's library, through multiple Open Public Records Act (OPRA) requests, as well as numerous phone calls and e-mails to library officials in Montclair and elsewhere.

The information compiled by The Times has Africk convinced that he does not have enough information to decide whether Montclair's library should have some of the proposed $700,000 cut restored, as some other council members have suggested.
"At some point you just have to say" – here Africk sighed dramatically – "we can't afford anymore," he said.

'more things to more people'
For library fans, the main branch of the library, located on South Fullerton Avenue, is more than just a building with books and DVDs to borrow.
The mayor, who has been pushing for the council to approve a less severe cut to library funding than the $700,000 originally proposed, ticked off a list of programs the library provides that it may not be able to if the dramatic cut is imposed.

These programs – including programs, after-school tutoring, free movies, dancing lessons for senior citizens –might be hosted by a community or senior center in another town, Fried said.
"In Montclair, the library has traditionally had a larger educational role than just a place where you can borrow books. I think that's what great libraries do all across the country," he said.
But great libraries come at a cost.

The original proposed budget for Montclair's library is larger than Linden's and Bloomfield's library budgets combined. Even with a 10 percent cut in municipal funding – suggested by library officials earlier this year – the library's budget would exceed the budgets of every one of the five libraries mentioned above.

Montclair's library also spends more on salaries – $2.5 million budgeted in 2010 – and library materials – $360,000 – than those five libraries, in addition to receiving more in municipal funding,
If the council follows through with the $700,000 cut to municipal funding, then Montclair's library would have the second-highest municipal allocation, behind Hoboken, of the five libraries.
Library officials do not deny that Montclair is generous with its library funding. But they said that Montclair residents demand their library be, in Kulwin's words, "more things to more people."

"Every community decides for itself what a library should be, and clearly in Montclair … the people want the library as kind of a community center and want to be able to take advantage of it," Kulwin told The Times.

'chosen by the people'
1/3 of a mill.
It's an arcane bit of lingo, recognizable only to library and municipal officials. According to a state law adopted in 1885, a municipality with a library is required to fund it with "1/3 of a mill;" in layman's terms, at least 33 cents per $1,000 of assessed value.
In Montclair, whose tax base is $7.3 billion, "1/3 of a mill" equals $2,462,767 in 2010. But the proposed municipal allocation could reach $3,333,749, a 35 percent increase over the amount Montclair is required to provide.
Last year, the municipality provided the library with $3,783,749, a 53 percent increase from 2009's 1/3 of a mill minimum.

Of the six towns whose library financial records were requested by The Times, only Teaneck provides its library with significantly more funding than the state requires. South Brunswick, Linden, and Bloomfield will fund their libraries in 2010 with the exact state minimum. Hoboken appears to fund its library $2 less than the minimum.

In 2008, the latest year for which figures are available, 58 percent of New Jersey municipalities funded their libraries above the 1/3 of a mill minimum, according to the New Jersey State Library. County libraries are not funded using the formula.

Montclair library officials strenuously object to the notion that the library is overfunded.
Kulwin told The Times the 1/3 of a mill figure is merely "the minimum acceptable." It's ludicrous, he said, that a funding formula instituted in 1885 still applies today.
Kulwin said that urban areas tend to provide more than 1/3 of a mill to their libraries, while suburban areas tend to stick to the state-imposed minimum.
The extra funding for Montclair's library "reflects the reality of Montclair being a unique mix of urban and suburban," he said.

Three bills are pending in the state Legislature to revise the 125-year-old 1/3 of a mill formula. All are opposed by the New Jersey Library Association. Patricia Tumulty, its executive director, said libraries, created by local referendums that include the 1/3 of a mill language, should not have their funding formula changed by elected officials.
"We believe it has been something chosen by the people," Tumulty told The Times.
Mary Quirk, a Montclair senior citizen who said she usually visits the library two to three times per week, was leaving its main branch on Tuesday afternoon with "Empire State," a Henry Porter spy thriller she picked up for her son.

Quirk said she borrows about 20 books weekly, reading at least one an evening. She'd rather the council search for other ways to save money than cutting library funding, which would hurt readers young and old, she said.
"The price of books is atrocious," Quirk said. "Borrowing books is a wonderful way to read and learn."

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Pennsville Public Library unveils new solar system

nj.com
Friday, July 23, 2010
By Jaime E. Marine jmarine@sjnewsco.com
PENNSVILLE TWP. - Pennsville Public Library officials unveiled the facility's new 36-kilowatt solar system Thursday afternoon, a project that is expected to not only save the library money but also produce income.

Pennsville Public Library Board of Trustees President Chris Hooks said while the library is in the midst of a critical time, the board made an important and forward-thinking decision by contracting Trinity Solar to install solar panels on the library's roof.

She added that unexpected budget cuts are the most pressing issue at all of the board's meetings. The library has been working hard to stay open, and some donations have given them temporary relief.

"This has been a huge project," Hooks said Thursday during a press conference about the solar project at the library, adding the last big project the library undertook was its meeting room. "It is a scary thing to do."

Moving forward with panels wasn't an easy decision, she added, but the library was able to fund the project 100 percent with money from donors and supporters. Hooks said they have once again found a way to fund a special project with no debt.

While this project is expected to save the library money, and produce income, Hooks said they have a lot more work to do and money to raise to benefit the library.

The library, located on South Broadway, is expecting the 162 panels on the roof to greatly reduce or even do away with its electric bill, she said. The library will also be in a position to sell the excess electric that the panels will generate.

Mike Constantini, solar consultant for Trinity Solar, said Thursday the $134,000 system is expected to generate about $35,000 a year. He added the system will pay for itself in about four years.

"The library will be compensated for the green energy they produce by utility companies," Constantini said, adding that could happen in about two months.

The solar system will be fully functional after all needed inspections are completed. The solar panels come with a 25-year warranty.

Constantini said while the financial return on this investment is a good thing, the environmental benefits are even bigger.

"It is always a fun day when I can see the panels up there," he said, adding he applauds the library for taking this aggressive step. "They went for it and did it."

Pennsville Public Library Director Nancy Whitesell said the workers from Trinity were wonderful during the installation process. She added they are among a few buildings in the township to have this type of system.

"We are going to save some money and make some money too," Whitesell said.

Constantini said his company plans to make a donation to the library for any referrals that come its way as a result of this recent installation.

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Lambertville library supporters win funding challenge

nj.com
Published: Monday, July 26, 2010, 8:08 AM
The Times
by Curt Yeske
LAMBERTVILLE - For Debbie Monigan, her appearance before the city council was akin to waving a checkered flag in the victory lane after a long, hard race.

She presented Mayor David DelVelccio and the city council with copies of more than 1,000 pieces of mail that were sent to state officials calling for measures that would sustain municipal library funding in the state.

The mayor was all smiles in accepting copies of the letters while congratulating Monigan for overwhelmingly exceeding his challenge of 250 letters last month.

The letters were in support of the Chivukula-Gill bill before the Legislature that would provide a dedicated line item in municipal budgets for the exclusive support of libraries. If enacted, the bill would provide the same guaranteed line item that is currently enjoyed by county library systems.

Currently, the library is legally entitled to the revenue resulting from a levy of one-third of a mill on a community's total property tax ratables. Cash-strapped municipal officials throughout the state claim that the decades-old arrangement impedes a community's efforts to meet the rising costs of operating a local government, especially with the current 4 percent cap on budget hikes imposed by the state.

The issue will be compounded even more next year with the recently enacted 2 percent cap on budget increases, said DelVecchio.

The mayor had proposed placing a question on this November's ballot that eliminates the city's long-standing arrangement and would make the municipal library part of the Hunterdon County system.

The mayor and the library advocates, including Monigan, agree that the proposed legislation would not mean an additional tax because the line item for the library would no longer be part of the city's operating budget.

Last month the mayor challenged the library advocates to write 250 letters to state officials calling for support of the legislation that would give local libraries the same dedicated budget line that the county systems have.

He said he would hold off on the proposed referendum if the supporters of the library could get 250 people to write letters of support.

Monigan beamed as she told how 100 or so volunteers began making telephone calls and went door to door to get people to send post cards and letters to state legislators.

"In all the calls I made and the people I met, not one was in opposition to what we want to see happen," said Monigan.

"There were two frequent reactions when we asked them to write. One was, "This is ridiculous. They are always trying to shut down libraries,' and "When we really need libraries is when they want to shut them down.'"

Monigan got some support by setting up a table on the crowded sidewalk at Bridge and Union streets during the Friday night fireworks program at the Delaware River. Volunteer Charles Groft got some at Lewis Island on the Delaware River during the fireworks.

Under the current system the city library has tax revenues totaling about $230,000. The library's board of directors allocated $110,000 to the city coffers to ease the revenue squeeze caused by the 4 percent cap on budget increases.

Curt Yeske / Special to The Times

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After library budget was cut by $500K…

Hudson Reporter
http://www.hudsonreporter.com
by Ricardo Kaulessar
Reporter Staff Writer
Jul 25, 2010

When lifelong Jersey City resident Daoud David Williams addressed the City Council at their July 14 meeting, he argued passionately for funding to be restored to the Community Awareness Series (CAS), a monthly program at the Jersey City Free Public Library in which musicians, activists, and others give performances and discussions. But as with many libraries in the state of New Jersey, the massive Jersey City Public Library system saw its budget cut this year – by more than $500,000. The city, facing its own reduction in state aid, included the library cuts in its budget.

The Jersey City Free Public Library’s 12 branches employ 113 people, with more than half of those in the Main Library on Jersey Avenue.

Thirty-six part-time employees have been laid off as the result of funding cuts, and two library branches have been closed.

_____________

“In the event that I have to lay off employees or close branches, all programs will be eliminated.” – Priscilla Gardner
________

Library Director Priscilla Gardner said last week that the system faces even more cuts, and if she has to lay off full-time employees, she may also have to banish all special programs.

Budget matters

The library operated on a $7 million-plus budget in the 2009-2010 fiscal year. Besides the more than $500,000 cut from the city budget, the library also saw a state aid cut of more than $13,000.

As a result, since January, the Pearsall branch in the city’s Greenville section has closed. Another branch, the Biblioteca Criolla, has relocated from its home on First Street to the fourth floor of the Main Library.

Gardner is not sure things will improve. A few weeks ago she met with the city’s business administrator, Jack Kelly, to request an $8 million budget for the 2010-2011 fiscal year.

“I was told that the library’s budget will not be increased, and that I may have to lay off some of our full-time employees,” Gardner said.

Looking at library’s future

Gardner said she wants to save all library programs. Unlike some city agencies, the library is allowed to seek private donations. She has encouraged programs like CAS to seek grants, to apply for their own 501(c)(3) nonprofit status, and to have fund-raisers like the library foundation does.

“It may not be the same amount that [CAS] received in previous years, but programs at this time have not been eliminated,” Gardner said. “However, in the event that I have to lay off employees or close branches, all programs will be eliminated.”

Current programs include the Historical Project (a project celebrating Jersey City’s rich history through slide shows and oral presentations), the Summer Reading Club for children and young adults (considered the library’s most popular summer program), and the Miller Branch Young Adult programs for young children and teens.

The Jersey City Free Public Library Foundation holds two annual fund-raisers. The most recent one was in June. Gardner could not estimate how much was raised from the fundraiser.

Money raised has gone toward purchasing the library’s new Bookmobile, as well as for security cameras installed at four branches.

Gardner said a second fund-raiser scheduled for later this fall may not happen, since it will ask for $100 donations, and she fears that with the bad economy, fewer people may come out than with the $25 fund-raiser in June.

Resident concerned

Williams, who worked in the public library system for 27 years, is hoping that the CAS program along with other programs will not be cut due to budget decreases as Gardner suggests.

“These programs gives people of all ages a place to be culturally exposed to many different things in their learning experiences,” Williams said. “These are such positive alternatives for the community to feel holistic and good about themselves.”

However, Williams doesn’t think library programs will be cut back. He said he believes Gardner’s threats are just a “smokescreen” to justify cutting the entire budget for CAS, as he and Gardner have squabbled over funding for the program over the years.

Ricardo Kaulessar can be reached at rkaulessar@hudsonreporter.com.

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Time to turn page at Haddonfield's library

http://www.philly.com
July 25, 2010
By Kevin Riordan

Inquirer Columnist

The 91-year-old Haddonfield Public Library - that Monticelloesque little edifice at Haddon Avenue and Tanner Street - is like the eccentric old couple next door.

They're sometimes charming, sometimes not, but we get along with them because we value civility and respect age.

Perhaps that's why questions of renovating or replacing the cramped, quirky, leaky library have been genteelly debated, and debated again, for decades in this most comfortable of Camden County communities.

Since 2008 a citizens committee has examined 13 sites for a new library and assessed the current location for an updated, expanded facility.

About $700,000 has been privately pledged (this is Haddonfield, after all) toward what is hoped will be a $5.3 million construction cost.

While the discussions drag on, storm water periodically floods the children's section in the basement. Narrow aisles, an abundance of stairs, and the lack of an elevator limit use by patrons with strollers or in wheelchairs.

Arguably loved more by people who rarely use it, the library is a functionally obsolete, deteriorating landmark. In more ways than one.

"It's been a long journey," observes Mayor Tish Colombi.

Noting that the borough hopes to put a proposal before the voters next year, she adds, "We just need to make a decision."

David J. Hunter has made up his mind: A public parking lot on Allen Avenue - the only new site deemed "worthy of consideration" by the citizens committee - is perfect.

The full-page advertisements he's placed in his What's On publications, including a clip-and-mail petition, inspire me to give him a call.

"The current site has been the focus for decades, probably because that's where the library is," Hunter says. "Here's a fresh idea."

I'm standing with him in the Allen Avenue parking area, which is in a direct sight line with the "Haddie" dinosaur sculpture at Kings Highway. Thus a new library could be visible from the borough's action-packed main street as well as from its busy PATCO station.

Hunter's enthusiasm is as engaging as his Aussie accent as he makes his case.

Higher costs? Fund-raising for a new building is surely easier than for a renovation.

Parking spaces, a commodity sometimes tough to come by in the center of town? Not to worry: Look at the capacity of the PATCO lot.

Hunter is worried, however, that Haddonfield seems overly attached to the current library. The borough commissioned an architectural study that produced various renderings to renovate but not replace the facility.

I put the question to the mayor.

"David has a good eye, and he's always had an interest in the Allen Avenue site," says Colombi, who hasn't served as mayor since 2001 and borough commissioner since 1985 because she lacks diplomacy.

Or shrewdness; Colombi goes on to wonder aloud whether interested parties (other than the borough) might find a way to underwrite the cost of an architectural study of an Allen Avenue library.

To help defray construction costs, the mayor notes, the borough could sell the existing library. A deed provision restricting the property to a library or a similar use "probably" could be resolved.

"It's absurd to keep coming back to this issue," Colombi says. "There needs to be a resolution."

It can't come soon enough for library director Susan Briant, who says the library "needs to come into the 21st century, with a building that can provide 21st-century services."

Acknowledging that cost is certainly a serious consideration, she adds, "I'm going to go out on a limb and say it's clear to me, as a professional, that a new building is an infinitely better choice."

I second that.

With all due respect to the semi-grand old library, Allen Avenue is a great place for the new library the community deserves.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Contact Kevin Riordan at 856-779-3845 or kriordan@phillynews.com.

Posted by tumulty at 10:23 AM | Comments (0)
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July 23, 2010

Libraries in Cranford, Kenilworth save hours, programs in dealing withstate cuts

nj.com
Cranford Chronicle
Published: Saturday, July 17, 2010, 8:42 AM
Leslie Murray

A reduction in state aid to libraries sparked fears that state programs such as popular interlibrary loans would disappear. However, a decision last week will keep the majority of those programs in place while library directors in local communities warn that future financial cuts could have serious detrimental impacts.

Amid a grass roots campaign by public libraries and residents across the state, it was announced that state budget funding for libraries would be cut by $6.1 million, a reduction of more than 40% from the 2009 funding level. Originally, the spending plan proposed by Gov. Chris Christie had called for a $10.4 million cut in aid to libraries, which would have eliminated programs and services including most state maintained databases, interlibrary loan and the JerseyConnect Internet system.

The budget cuts were offset by $6.6 million in new funds for state libraries, including $5.1 million in federal grant monies, part of the second round of the economic stimulus bill, as well as $1.5 million from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

In addition to state aid and grant monies, public libraries are funded through a formula that requires municipalities to budget a third of a mill of local assessed property values to run the local facility.

In Cranford and Kenilworth, the public library directors for both communities said the cuts to state funding will not impact the hours of operations at the respective facilities. However they warned that libraries were not in clear.

In Kenilworth, Library Director Dale Spindel said state aid “makes up a very small portion of (the) operating budget” for the borough’s library. She said the library receives about $7,000 in aid from the state each year. Unlike some other public libraries, Spindel said that local funding provides a sufficient budget to run the facility.

“As of right now, our situation is stable,” Spindel said.

Because the library operates on a schedule that meets state criteria, including three evenings each week, Spindel said that reducing hours of operation was not a consideration for Kenilworth. However, she said the threats to programs such as state databases and interlibrary loans would have had a major impact on the library.

“Had funding not been restored, there would have been a devastating effect on Kenilworth as well as other libraries in the state,” Spindel said.

In Cranford, Library Director John Malar said state aid for this year was reduced from $20,000 to $10,000. With the drop in aid, he said the decision had been made to leave the library’s operating hours alone and reduce the book budget by $10,000.

“I like to (have the library) open as many hours as possible,” Malar said.

Speaking about the originally planned cuts to state databases and the interlibrary loan programs, Malar said it would be been “virtually impossible” for individual libraries to provide the services without state help.

Adding that the book budget is “still healthy.” Malar said that with the drop in spending Cranford public library could have few copies of popular titles available to residents and could hold off on purchasing some titles all together.

He added that the intention was to “stretch the money we do have and use it as intelligently as we can.”

While the funding for libraries in the 2011 fiscal year remains uncertain, Spindel said that libraries will continue to provide services to the best of their abilities despite lower budgets.

“Librarians have a long history of being able provide a lot services for not a lot of money,” Spindel said.

Posted by tumulty at 8:39 AM | Comments (0)
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Aid cut to affect Burlco libraries

http://www.courierpostonline.com

By CAROL COMEGNO • Courier-Post Staff • July 22, 2010

MOUNT HOLLY — Burlington County Library patrons will notice no changes in services this year, but the county's smaller and historic libraries have been adversely affected by the loss of most grant aid from the county library system.

Last week the Burlington County Board of Freeholders approved almost the same tax rate as last year to support an $11.7 million library budget for 2010 that maintains all services and soon expects to finance a $6 million expansion and renovation of the main county library in Westampton.
The library budget met a county government directive for the library commission to reduce property taxes and spending, both of which were achieved.

In its approval, Freeholder Christopher Brown and other freeholders not only praised the library for its tax-cutting budget and innovative services but by its vote sanctioned the decision to reduce financial aid to nine, nonbranch member libraries by 83 percent in a single year. The aid was reduced from $60,530 last year to $9,000 -- $1,000 each for libraries in Burlington City, Beverly, Bass River, Crosswicks, Mount Holly, Southampton, Florence, Delanco, and Riverside.
Freeholder Mary Anne Reinhart, the lone Democrat on the board of freeholders, on Wednesday publicly said she was distressed over the reduction to member libraries and suggested the library had enough surplus revenue to continue that aid. She also told county library director Gail Sweet she opposed those aid cuts because they are occurring in a struggling economy when member libraries are trying to survive.
Sweet said that the reduction was prudent and in the best interest of county taxpayers since branch libraries are in close proximity to the member libraries.

The aid reduction already has had an impact on the 252-year-old Library Company of Burlington -- the second-oldest public library in the state -- and most of the other eight libraries. Many also lost other income this year when their local governments reduced financial aid for their local libraries. These libraries are open for limited hours and operate on budgets of $120,000 a year or less using mostly part-time and volunteer help.

Sharon Vincz, the director of The Library Company of Burlington, said the trustees had to lay off the archivist who had been stabilizing and chronologically arranging an historic collection of more than 2,000 books, including rare books of animal and bird drawings and lithographs by naturalist John James Audubon and a 500-year-old Latin book about Christ.

Vincz said the loss of 94 percent of its county library aid of $17,535 was like a "lifeline cut" and forced her to cut staff hours.
"We are grateful for all the other support we get from the county library like the book programs, but we have depended a lot on this money from the county," she said, echoing the sentiment of other library directors.

"Luckily, we had attracted some additional volunteers to save money."
She said the library also serves Burlington Township, which reduced its annual contribution from $10,000 to $5,000.
The Sally Stretch Keen Memorial Library in the Vincentown section of Southampton decided to close Fridays, reduced other weekday hours, did not fill a recently vacated aide job and is looking for more volunteers, said library trustee president Ed Moore.
"This was disappointing for sure," he said of the loss of more than $12,000 of its county aid of $13,755.

Riverside librarian Jean Bowker said she does not know yet how the library will pay both of its two part-time staffers and will not be buying any new children's books because of the loss of almost $10,000 from the county.

Michael Eck, director of the Museum of of History and Natural Sciences (also known as the Mount Holly Library), said a 90 percent cut in its contribution from $10,540 to $1,000 has made it very difficult.

"We've been running a deficit recently and cuts like these don't help," he said.
Reach Carol Comegno at (856) 486-2473 or ccomegno@courierpostonline.com

Posted by tumulty at 8:32 AM | Comments (0)
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July 22, 2010

Kevin Riordan: Camden's planned library budget cuts say a lot about budget cutting

http://www.philly.com
July 22, 2010

By Kevin Riordan

Inquirer Columnist

From a distance, what's gone so wrong for so long in Camden seems overwhelming.
Look closer and most of the city's calamities emerge as the result of individual decisions - many made by elected officials, often under fiscal duress.

For the latest example, consider Mayor Dana Redd's singularly shortsighted plan to eviscerate the modest but well-patronized Camden Free Public Library.

Her proposal to cut funding by about 70 percent (!) likely will force the Fairview branch to close within weeks and will put the Centerville and main downtown branches out of business by year's end. Layoffs of 13 of the system's 21 employees could come sooner.

The city library board is scheduled to meet Aug. 6 to figure out what to do. As for the domino effects and unintended consequences of losses like these, more in a moment.

First, let's be fair to Redd, who's both in a tough spot and far from alone in trying to balance the books on the backs of, well, books. Perhaps eager to show King Cut in the governor's office that they, too, can get tough on spending, Newark, Trenton, and several other municipalities also plan to reduce library services.

New Jersey's libraries may be particularly vulnerable these days because of their association with learning, an activity, in turn, associated with teachers, whose satanic labor union, we are frequently told, is the source of all the state's woes.

The issue of library cuts typically gets framed as a choice between keeping kids off the street or keeping cops on the street. Redd so far is no exception. ("I must first and foremost protect public safety," she insists.)

But the mayor's plan to reduce city library funding from $935,000 to $281,000 is "pretty devastating," says Jerry Szpila, the system's interim director. "We have three buildings and 21 employees, and the math is the math."

Furloughs - that brand of bottom-line duct tape so beloved by bean counters everywhere - won't be enough to do the trick.

"My administration has to make tough but necessary decisions . . . to balance a budget that will benefit Camden taxpayers," Redd says, or rather writes, in one of the proclamation-like statements she favors over chatting with journalists.

"Since we are still in the process of finalizing the budget, we will hold any comments until we introduce a budget to City Council," the mayor adds. Or types, or dictates, or whatever.

(Memo to whoever advises or directs Her Honor to avoid reporters: The Dana Redd I know is perfectly capable of answering questions. All by herself!)

Speaking of questions, a likely one is whether city voters would approve becoming a part of, and paying into, the Camden County Library system. As of Wednesday, the county had "not been approached" on the matter, according to spokeswoman Joyce Gabriel.

If such a proposal were approved, it would not require the county to step in to run any of the three facilities, including the $4 million Centerville branch it built and turned over to the city for $1 in 2005.

There will be those who see any public money spent in Camden as a waste. They will cheer closing city libraries as evidence that the bloodthirsty beastie called government is at long last being tamed.

But in the real world, the loss of places to read, or to be read to, or to search online for a job is a practical, not a philosophical, matter. It would mean another loss in a city that's undergone far too many losses.

Consider: In 1950, Camden had 43,267 manufacturing jobs.

In 2008, there were 1,942.

To figure out the significance of losses like that, we need the facts. The sort of facts we can - for now - get at a public library in Camden.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Contact Kevin Riordan at 856-779-3845 or kriordan@phillynews.com.

Posted by tumulty at 9:37 AM | Comments (0)
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Library Attempts to Make Sense of New Realities

http://www.chathampatch.com
July 21, 2010
Some funding has been restored but further cuts loom on the horizon.
By Zach Subar

Library of the Chathams Director Diane O'Brien said she is pleased $4.3 million has been restored to New Jersey's libraries and said that money will definitely be used for the state's popular interlibrary loan service.

The service had been in danger when Gov. Chris Christie announced a budget that would have cut funds to libraries by 74 percent. Now that the money has been restored, the cut will total 43 percent.

A 26-person committee that features representatives from libraries across the state has been meeting to determine how to best spend the money returned to libraries. O'Brien said the committee has concluded the interlibrary loan service, which allows books to be delivered from one library to another, will remain in place.

O'Brien has said in the past that the service is one of the most valuable the library offers.

"It means that nobody's got to get in their car" if a book is out of stock in their home library, she said. Instead, they can request to have it delivered to the library they frequent.

"We've never seen a service ... as desired by people as this," O'Brien said.

Commercial reference databases such as ReferenceUSA will also be kept.

O'Brien said, however, that libraries still face challenges going forward. The cuts they faced, she said, were proportionally larger than other state entities had to absorb.

It is not yet clear whether a 2 percent property tax cap signed by Gov. Chris Christie last week will apply to libraries. In the past, libraries have been exempt from following such measures, but O'Brien said that could change.

Towns are also now required to contribute one-third of a mil to their library—which translates to 33 cents on every $1,000 of assessed value.

That measure creates a uniform requirement for municipal library support. O'Brien said she hopes it stays, since there is a chance it might be struck down.

"If that goes, we've got big problems," she said. "Any municipality that wants to underfund their library can do so. There's no reason that a library that's well supported by its town should become the library of the town next door that isn't being supported."

Posted by tumulty at 9:33 AM | Comments (0)
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Ocean County Freeholders decide to spend $500,000 on libraries

http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com
Thursday, July 22, 2010 | 0 comments

TOMS RIVER — The Ocean County Board of Chosen Freeholders decided Wednesday afternoon to appropriate $500,000 this year for county library renovations and site studies, $100,000 of it at the library’s Stafford Township branch.

The projects include $50,000 to put in new doors and ramps at the Stafford branch, County Administrator Carl Block said.

Another $50,000 was designated for a site study in Stafford where a branch may be built at the St. Mary’s Parish Center a half-mile down the road.

However, that study could be postponed since construction of the new branch already has been postponed, Block said.

The funding comes from the county budget’s capital improvements fund. Other projects are slated for branches in Berkeley Township, Brick Township, Lakewood and Toms River, the biggest of which is a $250,000 heating and air conditioning overhaul in Brick Township.

Also Wednesday afternoon, freeholders finalized the rate increase for the Ocean Ride transportation system.

Regular bus rides will increase from 25 cents to 35 cents Aug. 2 and eventually rise to $1 by Jan. 1, 2013.

Staff Writer Eric Scott Campbell

Posted by tumulty at 9:27 AM | Comments (0)
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Margate library broadens role in community

http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com
By THOMAS BARLAS, Staff Writer | Posted: Wednesday, July 21, 2010 |

The Margate City Public Library is much more these days than a place to take out a book.

Library officials say the facility is continually changing into something more like a community center, where people meet regularly, make friends and discuss a variety of topics.

The situation didn't happen by chance: Library Director Jim Cahill said there has been a steady push by staff to make the library more than people expect.

So far, he said, it is working: Everything from the children's story hour to meetings by self-help groups are stretching the building's capacity, and making more people want to use the library.

"We're a community center," Cahill said. "We're a social meeting place. This is an area where people come for community involvement."

Cahill calls his library "the great equalizer," where people from diverse backgrounds are rediscovering what a library has to offer.

"There was a feeling at some point, as people had computers at home, there would be little use for libraries," he said. "But what we're finding is that people are looking for human contact."

And the Internet has not sounded the death knell for libraries - it has given people greater access to libraries than ever before, and people are taking advantage of that around the clock.

"If it wasn't for computers in the library, we wouldn't see the increase," Cahill said.

The library has also put extensive work into its website. Not only does it provide information about the library, but it has links city government and city activities.

Sometimes, that has unintended consequences - such as the library being a place people turn to when they have a problem that needs to be solved by city government.

"I can't tell you how many calls we get about what department they should call," librarian Gwen Meade said.

One thing that library officials said is also attracting attention at the facility is something called "The Great Courses." These are audio books and DVDs of topics - broad and narrow - taught by college professors.

The topics are varied, including "The Story of Human Language" and "The United States and the Middle East."

Meade said the series is popular with people who want extra help on some college or high school courses, or who are just trying to broaden their knowledge of different topics.

"It attracts new people" to the library, Meade said. "It's a very, very big hit, and its appeal is growing."

The library has 12 employees, six of whom are working on their master's degrees. Most of the degrees are related to library services.

"That's really surprising for a library of our size," Cahill said.

Cahill said the library plans to continually evolve to serve more people, and provide an even more diverse plate of activities.

"We're not a quiet library anymore," Meade said. "It's not about shush."

Contact Thomas Barlas:

609-226-9197

TBarlas@pressofac.com

Posted by tumulty at 9:22 AM | Comments (0)
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July 20, 2010

Task force recommends Somerville joining county library system

http://www.mycentraljersey.com
July 19, 2010
By MARTIN C. BRICKETTO • STAFF WRITER

SOMERVILLE — Joining the Somerset County library system would mean expanded hours and more services for borough residents at a cheaper cost, according to a presentation Monday by a panel charged with reviewing that possibility.

After months of research, members of the Library Review Task Force unanimously found that the community would be better served by having the library at 35 West End Avenue become part of the county system. Officials again expressed a commitment to keep the facility open as part of any such move. The library is attached to Borough Hall.

The Borough Council Monday voted to accept the recommendation of the task force and authorize the borough attorney to research the legal mechanics of making the transition.

Two council members, Dennis Sullivan and Rob Wilson, voted against the measure, both suggesting they needed more time to study the materials submitted by the task force.

Since the library was established by referendum in 1912, it could take another public referendum to formally dissolve it and join the county system. The task force set June 30, 2011 as the best date to begin a contractual agreement with the county system.

The total cost to operate the library in 2010 will be about $667,000, including a $499,000 borough contribution, according to the presentation. Those numbers exclude facility costs, since the borough would remain responsible for them whether it joins the county or not.

With a dwindling amount of state aid left on which to rely, the library could face a minimum deficit of $74,000 in 2011 and a minimum deficit of $218,000 in 2012 without a significant increase in the borough’s contribution, according to the presentation.

While the cost to the taxpayer here of a local library is slightly less than the county system for 2010, the local library could become more expensive in future years, according to the presentation.

By 2012, the owner of an average home in the borough assessed at $148,000 would be paying about $151 for the local library as opposed to $115 for a county branch. The county, which applies an equalized tax rate to all its member towns, would shoulder the cost of staffing, materials and programming at the borough facility.

The task force also stressed the service-related benefits of moving to the county. Members anticipated increases in the hours of the library, which is now closed Mondays, and staffing levels to meet system-wide standards. The library would see more support for building its collection and more programs in addition to residents being able to utilize the resources of other county library branches, according to the presentation.

Collection development would remain locally controlled through the branch director and an advisory board made up of borough residents. The advisory board would be able to control funds previously held by the current library board of trustees and also take advantage of donations specifically earmarked for the branch. The move could also mean retaining the current staff of the library

A review of the borough’s current library facility found that no substantial capital improvements would be necessary, according to the presentation.
Martin C. Bricketto: 908-243-6609; mbricketto@MyCentralJersey.com

Posted by tumulty at 3:32 PM | Comments (0)
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Funding cuts threaten Camden's libraries

http://www.philly.com
July 20, 2010

By Matt Katz

Inquirer Staff Writer

Mayor Dana L. Redd is slashing more than two-thirds of city funding for Camden's libraries, a move that could close all three branches.
In the best-case scenario, according to a library board member, one library would remain open with limited hours and a skeletal staff.

But all three branches could shut down, leaving many children in New Jersey's poorest city with no place to do homework, and cutting off Internet access for residents looking for jobs.

"That's a distinct possibility," said board member Frank Fulbrook.

Last fiscal year, the libraries operated on $935,000 from the city, plus $88,000 in state aid. This fiscal year, which began July 1, the library will receive $281,666.64, about a third of what the library board requested, according to a letter Redd sent to the library's board of trustees last week. Part of that money, about $20,000, was already spent last fiscal year.

In addition, since the libraries cannot remain open five days a week on such limited funds, they will not have enough operating hours to be eligible for state aid, the board said.

In all, that makes for a reduction in funding of nearly 75 percent. The city will continue to foot the bill for employees' health insurance, but it is unclear how many employees will be left.

"During difficult economic times, this administration has to make tough but necessary decisions to find cost-saving measures to balance a budget that will benefit Camden taxpayers," Redd said in a statement.

City Council would have to vote to approve the final city budget containing the cut. Council President Frank Moran did not return a call for comment.

The library board discussed the budget cuts, which affect the fiscal year that began July 1, during a closed session Monday.

Afterward, library director Jerry Szpila said the system would start to absorb the cuts by closing every Friday for a year beginning in September. The library's 21 employees would be furloughed those days. No other cost-saving decisions were made.

Libraries in Camden, which have operated continuously since 1905, serve a different function from libraries in the suburbs. Patrons said the library is a place where poor people can do something productive, free - an alternative to being home or on the street.

There were more than 150,000 visits last year to the three branches, which host chess tournaments, literacy programs run by volunteers, and tax-filing assistance programs.

The Centerville branch was built with $4 million in county funds, and when it opened in 2005 it was intended as the centerpiece of a revitalized neighborhood.

On Monday, the New Jersey Judiciary announced a training program for librarians to help them assist patrons with legal information and court resources.

That could be particularly helpful in Camden, where the main library branch is on Federal Street between the Camden County jail and courthouse.

"For the city to be the kind of city they want it to be . . . you don't get rid of education, you put as much money into education as you can," said Curtis Williams, 34, who comes to the library every day to read Christian-themed fiction.

Sitting under a framed copy of the Constitution, Williams said libraries are needed "if you want to live in a civilized society."

In the children's section Monday, two children read quietly by themselves and three teenagers played Monopoly.

By the front windows, there were three games of chess going on - every day, adults said, they teach Camden teenagers the game. And in the back, all of the approximately dozen computers were in use, mostly by young people.

"I know it's going to affect children, even if it's just to encourage children to read for pleasure," said Jose Delgado, a former Camden school board member. "If a kid has a paper [for school], what's he going to do if he doesn't have a computer at home? I guess write out reports. I don't know."

In Philadelphia, Mayor Nutter faced protests and a political crisis in 2008 when he unsuccessfully tried to save money by closing 11 library branches. And last week, he announced that despite previous threats, he would not cut branch schedules or lay off library employees in the fiscal 2011 budget.

In New Jersey, Gov. Christie is reducing state funding for libraries by $6 million, a 43 percent drop, but less than the 74 percent cut originally proposed.

"Politicians have robbed people for years," said Shane Streater, 35, a chess player at the library. "It's not the people's fault, it's the politicians who left Camden high and dry."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Contact staff writer Matt Katz at 856-779-3919 or mkatz@phillynews.com.

Posted by tumulty at 3:20 PM | Comments (0)
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Camden library faces steep funding cut

http://www.courierpostonline.com
By DEBORAH HIRSCH • Courier-Post Staff • July 20, 2010

CAMDEN — The Camden library system stands to lose two-thirds of its city funding -- a drop so steep, one board member predicted imminent closure of all three branches.

In a written response to the library board's annual budget request, Mayor Dana Redd said the city would provide $281,667 for the fiscal year that began this month. That's about a third of the $905,000 the city allocated for the library in fiscal year 2010.

Redd said she believed the library provided important services, but "we cannot ignore the fact that "we must live within our means.' " "For me, as mayor, I must first and foremost protect public safety. The public demands nothing less," Redd wrote. "While this may have an adverse affect on other city operations, these are the types of difficult choices I must make in these difficult fiscal times."

To board member Frank Fulbrook, a cut this deep could "force branch closings, if not a total shutdown."
"This could put us out of the library business," he said.

Though the city's three libraries operate independently under a seven-member board, the majority of the system's budget comes from the city. Camden allocated $935,000 for the system in fiscal year 2009, up $100,000 from the previous year. That same amount was originally budgeted for 2010 but reduced by $30,000 after the city faced state budget cuts in the spring.

The system also received about $88,000 in state grants, according to Interim Library Director Jerome Szpila.

For fiscal year 2011, the board lowered its request to $823,000. Board members also approved furloughing the system's 21 employees to cut costs. Under that plan, all three libraries would close Fridays starting in September. The furloughs are expected to last an entire calendar year.
Even that, Fulbrook said, won't be anywhere near enough to deal with the cut. Unless more money comes through, he said, board members will probably have to begin massive layoffs within a few months. At best, he predicted that they might be able to keep one branch open. "It's not a negotiating point, it's a crisis," Fulbrook said.

Szpila said he didn't think the library would even qualify for state grants this year because the city may have violated minimum funding requirements.

Redd said her proposed amount of funding is "substantially more" than required under state law. She pointed out that the $281,667 figure does not include what the city pays to provide benefits such as health insurance to library employees. However, according to the latest available data on file with the N.J. State Library, the city would need to provide at least $389,958.
New Jersey Library Association Executive Director Patricia Tumulty said most cities spend $40 to $50 per person on their libraries. In Camden, she said, that amount is closer to $15.
Camden is not the only city taking a hit. Tumulty said at least 10 of the state's 304 library systems are mandating furloughs.

Cutbacks in state grants aren't helping either, Tumulty said. The state allocated just under $8 million for libraries this year, down about $6 million from the previous year. Those funds help libraries pay for operations, interlibrary loans, electronic card catalogs and Internet access.
Reach Deborah Hirsch at (856) 486-2476 or dhirsch@camden.gannett.com

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July 18, 2010

To Save Or Not To Save: Montclair's Public Libraries

montclairpatch.com

As the Montclair Town Council seeks to make budget cuts, on the chopping block is at least some funding for the Montclair Public Library.
By Shelley Emling
This past week's article on the future of Montclair's public libraries (reprinted below) prompted a lot of responses. Obviously people have very strong opinions when it comes to their local library.

For example, Montclair resident John Skillin wrote eloquently of how a public library is the very heart of any civilized community.

"The Bellevue Avenue Branch library of Upper Montclair has served the citizens of the 'north end' since 1914," he said. "This population includes the isabled, the elderly, and hundreds of children at three nearby schools: Mt. Hebron, St. Cassian's, and Lacordaire Academy. These are patrons who do not drive. To suggest they can just as easily use the main library or the academic library at Montclair State University is a vallacious argument."

Skillin and others pointed out that the building itself is one of the most beautiful and distinctive in all of Montclair and that it's undergone signfiicant renovation in recent years, including a new copper roof, and has been inclued in the national registry of historic landmarks.

"Adapting the building to some other use would be costly and impractical," he said. "If the library were closed, the building woudl undoubtedly languish and deteriorate, as has happened to Carnegie libraries in other parts of the country - a tragic loss."

Skillin pointed out that the library branch has been threated with closing before. "During the Great Depression of the 1930s, volunteers augmented the regular staff and helped keep the library open until the economy recovered," he said. Attempts to close the brand in 1977 and 1989 were successfully challenged by community leaders with a shared vision of a better future for Montclair."

Here's the original article below. Please email me at Shelley@patch.com and tell me what you think.

Whose library is better—Montclair's or Bloomfield's? And should Montclair's Bellevue Branch Library be saved? These are just two of the questions being asked in the face of a dramatic budget crisis that will have a major impact on the library system going forward.

First, Gov. Chris Christie's budget calls for a 74 percent decrease in funding for statewide library services. Once state funding is lost, New Jersey will lose an additional $4.5 million federal funding, meaning less access to the Internet at libraries and an overall loss in library programs.

Second, Mayor Jerry Fried said that Montclair's proposed $69.9 million budget calls for a large cut - probably about $450,000 - from the Montclair Public Library's annual $3.8 million budget.

The Montclair Public Library Board President Clifford Kulwin said that the number for the proposed cut to the library is actually $700,000, which was in the original version of the Town Manager's budget.

"The library, in my opinion, is the model operation in the Township," said Mayor Fried on Friday. "They've been operating with a flat or declining budget in the last five years.

"And they've managed to increase services and programs despite these budget issues," he said.

Mayor Fried pointed out that Montclair does indeed overfund its library, adding that—under state regulations—the town should be funding it by a bit more than $2 million.

At least one member of the Montclair Town Council, Cary Africk, wonders if perhaps even more should be cut from the Montclair library program. He pointed out that Bloomfield operates its library with a $1.7 million budget—half the amount of Montclair's.

A quick comparison of Bloomfield and Montclair libraries reveals the following:

Bloomfield: Serves 47,683 people; has 157,042 volumes; and circulates 86,314 volumes a year.

Montclair: Serves 38,977 people; has 210,507 volumes; and circulates 338,480 volumes a year.

Both Montclair and Bloomfield libraries offer a wide range of programs. Montclair, for example, offers Shakespeare plays, Zumba dance workshops, and photography exhibits—all this month. Bloomfield, too, offers piano recitals, health seminars, and Chinese language classes.

The subject of libraries, and comparisons between Montclair's and those in other towns, have sparked a wide range of reactions.

Montclair resident Nancy Toomey said she doesn't visit the Bloomfield library often but, when she is looking for a specific book, "often Bloomfield has it on the shelf but Montclair simply does not have it."

In addition, "Bloomfield's children's section is also wonderful but I haven't used it in years since my kids are older, of course."

Another gripe: "At Montclair, a book will be listed as not available but then it's on the shelf or it will be listed as available and then simply is not there ... this can be frustrating."

Mayor Fried said that: "I don't know whether Bloomfield's library is good or bad. But my guess is that Montclair offers a lot of services that Bloomfield doesn't."

When it comes to whether to save the Bellevue branch, which is now only open one day a week thanks to budget cuts, there are definitely opposing viewpoints.

Mayor Fried said that perhaps the Bellevue branch could be turned into more of a community center or, at the very least, a place that could be utilized by students at Mount Hebron Middle School, which is just across the street.

"The Bellevue branch is actually more efficient than the other branch as there aren't as many personnel there," he said.

Montclair resident and educator Maura Grace Harrington said that Montclair needs to expand its concept as to how to make this Bellevue branch work for the entire community.

"As an educator, I am keenly aware that many books and periodicals that were formerly available only in hard copy are now available online," she said. "I wonder whether there might be grant money available to make the Bellevue Avenue Branch a satellite library that focuses on accessing books and periodicals electronically, rather than as a storehouse for many volumes, which perhaps could be moved to the main library.

"Could there be personnel at the main library who could be directly contacted via Skype or some other medium by patrons at the Bellevue Avenue Branch who need help locating materials?" she asked.

In short, Harrington believes that the Bellevue Avenue Branch library is a building that has come to symbolize, in many ways, what's best about Montclair—sense of history, a value placed on learning, and the building of community.

On the other hand, Montclair mother of three Emily Grand expressed frustration over how she's often had to get books via interlibrary loan since so many items are not available at the Montclair Public Library.

"They are often available at the Bloomfield library," she said. "It's been a puzzle to me. Our tastes run to the pretty ordinary so it's always surprising when the books are not available."

Grand added that, although the Bellevue branch is convenient to her, she's not certain it's very cost effective and she could see sacrificing it as the town grapples with a tight budget.

"We rarely find the books we want there, but instead have books sent up from the downtown branch and pick them up on Bellevue," she said. "I would love to see some type of collaboration between the Bellevue branch and Mount Hebron school whose library is also very ineffective."

Certainly it's worth a look at how other nearby towns fund their libraries.

Maplewood, for example, funds its library above the state requirement as well. The library, which is a standalone organization run by its own board, is nonetheless dependent on the state and the Township. The Maplewood Library received $1.687 million from the town in 2009 and has asked for $1.652 million in 2010—the lion's share of its budget. The total 2010 library budget is $1.767 million.

The library is more dependent on the state for the programming and services listed above rather than funding: nevertheless, the library is looking forward to its projected $11,000 check from the state this year—although it has been cut 50 percent from $22,000 and is down from $30,000 in 2009. This money is used to buy books and materials.

To see what's being done to help save NJ Libraries go to the Facebook page here.

What do you think about the library issue? How much do you depend on the Montclair Public Library? And what about the Bellevue branch? Please comment!

Posted by tumulty at 3:48 PM | Comments (0)
Category:

Burlco Freeholders approve library budget; library tax remains stable

July 15,2010
http://www.phillyburbs.com
By: Danielle Camilli
Burlington County Times
MOUNT HOLLY — The Board of Freeholders Wednesday approved the Burlington County Library System’s $11.7 million budget for 2010 that reduces spending while maintaining services and holding the line on the county library tax.

The spending plan is about $5,000 less than last year and reduced the amount to be raised by taxation by $202,557, officials said. The library will used $585,900 from its fund balance, which includes surplus and revenue generated through the year, to fund its operating budget.

Library officials reduced spending in travel, renovations, education and training for employees, public relations and marketing and support to its nine member libraries. Freeholder Mary Anne Reinhart cast the lone no vote on the budget due to the 83 percent cut to the member libraries, saying it hurt the already struggling libraries and could have easily been funded under the spending plan.

Member libraries are located in Beverly, Burlington City, Chesterfield, Delanco, Florence, Mount Holly, Riverside, Southampton and New Gretna.

The BCLS branches are the library headquarters in Westampton and the libraries in Bordetown Township, Cinnaminson, Evesham, Medford, Maple Shade, Pemberton Township and Riverton. The library system also operates its Bookmobile, “Library on Wheels,” with various stops throughout the county with more than 4,000 selections for patrons.

It is also increased spending for some line items. The library will spend 7 percent more, or $38,759, in centralized purchasing for library materials, including books, DVDs and CDS, in an effort to maintain current levels. Reductions in state aid resulted in cost-shifting this core library function to the dedicated-tax budget, officials said.

Posted by tumulty at 3:40 PM | Comments (0)
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July 16, 2010

Funds help libraries breathe just a bit easier

centraljersy.com
Thursday, July 15, 2010 7:18 PM EDT
By John Saccenti, Staff Writer

While local librarians are happy that money restored to the State Library will allow them to continue to provide a variety of services, they’re still disappointed with a 42 percent overall state funding cut.

”We can’t mitigate that it’s a significant cut, but the way the public responded in advocating to get these programs restored, and that the state wide programs were funded, is a huge victory,” said Pat Tumulty, executive director of the NJ Library Association.

This year’s state budget provides $7.95 million for the State Library, $4.299 more than originally proposed. Gov. Chris Christie had originally proposed a 74 percent — or $10.4 million — reduction in library funding, from $13.70 million.

The money will help support services such as the EBSCO database, interlibrary loans and the JerseyConnect Internet System. In addition, the Thomas Edison State College, the distance learning institution which houses the State Library, will not be merged with the New Jersey State Museum and governed by Rutgers University.

Librarians say the services “saved” by this year’s budget are crucially important to the services they provide as well as to library patrons, who often depend on EBSCO and internet connectivity for research, job searches and for things as simple as accessing news and e-mail.
”It would create a lot of suffering if the state were to cut back on that or eliminate that,” said Plainsboro Library Director Virginia Baeckler. “We have people sit at the computer all day long, and if (libraries) didn’t have it it would be a serious handicap for the public.”

Internet connectivity at Plainsboro is provided by an agreement with Verizon FiOs, but like other libraries throughout the state, Plainsboro depends on databases provided by the state library such as EBSCO — a multipurpose database covering virtually every subject area of general interest and which includes full-text magazine articles, newspaper articles, consumer information, reference books, biographies, photos, maps and flags.

Of vital importance is the interlibrary loan service, which allows patrons of one library to borrow books from libraries across the state.

”It’s just a lifeline because nobody can buy everything they need,” said Ms. Tumulty. “It’s been a huge part of the library services for over 25 years, so having no money in that line was really devastating.”

Princeton Public Library Director Leslie Burger said the funding restoration means the library will continue to offer free interlibrary loan services and database access to periodicals and business resources.

She expressed appreciation for library patrons who contacted their legislators about the funding cut. About 1,000 cards asking for the restoration of funds were filled out and mailed to the state from Princeton Library patrons.

”We’re delighted that some of it (the funding) is back, and we really do think it’s due to the tremendous advocacy from people throughout the state who love their libraries,” she said.

But the news isn’t all good: The library still expects to lose half of its state aid funding, about $16,000, she said.

”I’m distressed about that because that’s money we use to purchase materials,” she said.

Ms. Tumulty also credited a strong grassroots effort by libraries and patrons to get the message out. She said the Save My NJ Library website provided people with information regarding the cuts and assisted patrons in becoming NJ Library Champions. These “champions” were then asked to contact legislators, governors, senators and Assembly people.

”Clearly, many senators, particularly those on the budget committee, got those messages,” said Ms. Tumulty. “We had a very significant grassroots program to raise awareness to these funding cuts. We give a lot of credit to the public for making this turn around.”

Staff Writer Kristine Snodgrass contributed to this report.

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Paradise lost - Users mourn shuttering of city libraries

nj.com Times of Trenton

TRENTON - It doesn't take much to get city residents talking about how much they love their libraries.
Just mention the impending closure of the four branch libraries next month because of budget cuts, and stories of their central role in people's lives come pouring out.

"My favorite library is Briggs. When I was in middle school, I used to spend so much time there," recalled 20-year-old Justin Schanck. "My aunt would be like, "Where are you?' I'd be at the library. For hours! I'd get the encyclopedias and just read through them."

"Just learning, all the time," added his mother, Andrea Schanck.

The Schancks were standing just inside the entrance to another library, the Cadwalader branch on Hermitage Avenue, reminiscing and ruing the news that only the main branch downtown will remain open after Aug. 14.

"It's taking away a positive thing," said Justin Schanck, a musician who favors books on science and self-empowerment. "They're only going to have one library? Are you serious?"

Security guard Warren Goldstein overheard the conversation and chimed in.

"There's going to be more crime in the neighborhood, because there's going to be nothing for the kids to do," said Goldstein, a guard in the libraries for eight years.

Yesterday afternoon, Cadwalader branch gave ample examples of what the city will lose next month. More than a dozen people sat at computers or browsed the shelves. Children played computer games or listened to music, while adults checked their e-mail or leafed through magazines.

One librarian led a patron through a step-by-step computer instruction course, tapping on the keys with a pointer and giving typing hints. Another librarian checked out books and DVDs for a steady stream of customers.

Fliers on the counter advertised a talk on the "Rainforest in Science and Art" tomorrow and gave a schedule of nearly daily activities for July, from walk-in resume help to knitting classes.

At the East Trenton branch on North Clinton Avenue, Carolyn Roberson and her 18-year-old daughter Jasmine were enjoying the air-conditioned quiet but also doing critical work at the library computers.

Mom, a nursing assistant dressed in peach-colored scrubs, was looking for job openings at hospitals, while her daughter was filling out applications for financial aid before she starts at Rutgers University in the fall.

"The computer at home is not working," Jasmine explained. "I'm going to get a laptop for school. Until then, the library."

The library's imminent closure is "not good at all," her mother said. "Especially for the kids -- and the grownups -- because a lot of people don't have computers at home. What about the kids in this area, especially if they don't have transportation?"

Eleven-year-old Daquan Wilson, who was playing a game on a nearby computer, said word of the closings made him "pretty mad." During the school year he comes to the branch every Friday, and during the summer he comes every day, he said.

"They told us the library's closing, so I wanted to come here all the time," he said. "The books they have here, my brother and I like. Sometimes I'll put the book up and look at it and draw."

After a few minutes, he and his brother Raquan went upstairs to the spacious children's room, where library page Damaries Archila give them and two other children paints and helped through an arts and crafts project. They dabbed at plastic butterflies, coloring the wing sections with purple and green.

As two men boxed up books to take to the main library, Archila said she did not think the children would make it to the main library on Academy Street after East Trenton closes.

"I asked them what they will do, and most of them said they'll probably go home, watch TV, or be in the street," she said. "We've had a couple of parents complaining, because most of them are working, and the only safe place for the kids is the library."

Patricia Tumulty, executive director of the New Jersey Library Association and a West Ward resident, said municipal budget problems are leading some suburban libraries to close one day a week, but that large urban systems are beginning to close branches as well.

In Newark, employee furloughs will force all library branches to close on Mondays and Tuesdays, starting in mid-August and continuing through December. Two branches will be completely shuttered, and only the main branch will remain open on Saturdays.

"It's hitting all libraries in different ways, but certainly the urban libraries much harder, given the unique role they serve in their communities," she said. "People have less. They depend on the library much more. You cannot even apply for a job unless you have a computer."

She said the state library's budget to aid local libraries was cut roughly in half, to $3.8 million, in Gov. Chris Christie's budget for the new fiscal year. The state just received a large federal grant to beef up internet access and provide job assistance at libraries, but that money will not go toward regular library aid.

Mayor Tony Mack has renewed his call for regionalization of the city libraries, under which they would become part of the Mercer County Library System, saying such a move would make more resources available to residents.

But county spokeswoman Julie Willmot said yesterday that the county cannot simply absorb the cost of operating the branch libraries. As in other towns that already participate in the county system, Trenton residents would have to start paying a library tax to cover the branch costs.

"County Executive Brian Hughes has long promoted the regionalization of government, but only in instances where taxpayers will see a real, dollar for dollar savings," she said.

Contact Meir Rinde at mrinde@njtimes.com or (609) 989-5717.

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July 15, 2010

Cash-strapped Trenton to shutter four libraries - Staff demotions also planned

nj.com
July 15, 2010
TRENTON - In one of the first signs of the massive service cuts looming for the city, the Trenton Free Public Library is planning to close its four branch libraries next month and demote a majority of its employees.

The move echoes a crisis of 18 months ago, when the closing of the branches was averted only after the state allowed the library to reduce hours at the main downtown branch as a way to save money.

But library director Kimberly Matthews said an expected $1 million reduction in city funding and a cut in state assistance leaves the system with no other options this time but to close the branch doors.

"There's simply no fat left in our budget," Matthews said yesterday. "Unfortunately, these reductions all hit public services, because that's the only thing that's left. That's why we're seeing such a tremendous cut."

Mayor Tony Mack said yesterday he had heard that layoff notices were going out to library employees, but he sought to shift responsibility for the funding decision to the former administration of Mayor Douglas Palmer.

"Those things were done prior to us coming here," he said. "It's horrible. It's a sad day in the capital city. We're closing libraries and building jails. It sends the wrong message to the community, and I'm going to do everything I can to keep those libraries open."

However, given that the city faces a $43 million cut in state aid and is planning up to 400 layoffs of police, fire and other employees, Mack said he did not know yet if the city would be able to restore any library funding.

"All of our budget talks are about police and fire, finding a way to keep those departments at a staffing level that keeps our city safe," he said. "Clearly our No. 1 priority is public safety," he said.

Matthews said that after Aug. 14, the four branches -- Briggs, Cadwalader, East Trenton and Skelton -- will be closed. In partial compensation, starting Sept. 1, the main library on Academy Street will return to its old schedule of being open 60 hours a week, up from 40 currently.

The main library will be open 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. In addition, the community room, computer lab, and Trentoniana research room will reopen, Matthews said.

Based on her discussions with acting business administrator Bill Guhl and other officials, Matthews said she expects the city's annual contribution to the independent library system to drop from $3.1 million to $2.1 million. Funding from the State Library will fall from more than $100,000 to less than $50,000, she said.

As a result, the Free Public Library's total budget is projected to shrink by more than a third in the 2010-2011 fiscal year, from $3.5 million to $2.3 million.

"I understood we were going to be facing some difficult times," Matthews said. "We are an autonomous organization that depends on the city for our funding, and therefore we have to be extremely responsible and forecast what our revenues will be."

Matthews said she and the library board discussed other options, such as closing only certain branches, but decided it was impossible to choose among them. In addition, some of the branches are deteriorating and would need "significant improvements" if they were to stay open, she said.

Board chairman Eric Jackson could not be reached for comment.

Matthews declined to say how many employees will lose their jobs, but she said 27 of the 42 library workers will be demoted or see their work hours reduced.

The previous closure plan, in 2008, brought an outcry from children and adults who use the libraries, eventually leading to the changes that allowed the branches to stay open.

Resident Kevin Moriarty started a foundation at the time that raised $17,000 for the library but shut down over a dispute with the library board. He said yesterday that he feared a new crisis would arise.

"It's a sad day for everyone in Trenton, kids as well as adults," he said. "The city missed a great opportunity. If the trustees had accepted the deal with the foundation a year ago, they could have had a mechanism in place to raise money to offset the worst effects of the budget cut."

The library director said she understood people would be upset by the closures.

"Certainly, we love our library. We know the citizens of Trenton love the library," Matthews said. "We want to encourage anyone and everyone who would like to have their voice heard, with the city council and the mayor, to feel free to speak out. As citizens, that's your right.

"However, it's extremely important for people to understand that this is a difficult time for the city as a whole and all city departments will be affected. The library does not feel it's being unfairly targeted. I believe we're facing the same budget reductions that everyone else in the city is facing," she said.

At the same time, she noted that the city's contribution to the library has not increased since 2005, and she said this past year was the first in at least a decade in which the library kept to its budget rather than running into a deficit.

"We are doing really well, and we are being extremely responsible with taxpayers' dollars," she said. "This is also another reason this is happening. We know it's coming and we need to be responsible and do our part."

Contact Meir Rinde at mrinde@njtimes.com

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Newark community is up in arms about local library closures due to city budget cuts

nj.com
Published: Thursday, July 15, 2010, 8:00 AM

NEWARK — Rachael Baldwin and Michael Allen don’t know each other. They live in opposite ends of Newark, but when it comes to their local branch library, they see the world exactly the same.

It’s a place of refuge when times are tough, a place to relax and be free, and, yes, a place to learn. It’s family.

When Baldwin lost her job, she found employment through the First Avenue Branch in the North Ward. She was able to use its computers to update her resume, send out faxes, even relied on the staff to get her daughter there safely after school. Allen, a poet, found he could get wonderfully lost just writing and reading at the Madison Branch in the South Ward. He spends so much time there, his wife has to pull him away before it closes.

The two say they are almost traumatized by the news city budget cuts will force the branches to close next month.

"It’s like making me homeless," Allen said. "I have to come to this place. This is where I go to get lost. Even if it’s for 10 minutes."

Library Director Wilma Grey doesn’t want to fracture the bond residents have with their branches. She knows the First Avenue library is always packed with kids, even now with the summer reading program under way. And just the other day, with the air conditioner straining against the humidity, the Madison Branch library had people busy reading and a stream of parents taking out books for their children.

The branches are small, taking up tiny store front-like spaces, but both have been in the community for more than 20 years. Residents, many who have signed petitions against the closure, are distraught the libraries will not be there to help kids with homework, reading and the many other services like English as a Second Language for immigrants.

Grey, however, had to make the tough call last month when she learned the library would lose about $2.45 million in city funding. As part of a plan to save money, Grey said closing the First Avenue and Madison branches had to happened because they operate in rented spaces. In addition to their demise, the library is looking at other cuts that deprive residents. There will be a salary freeze, 31 layoffs and furloughs forcing the library to close all of its facilities two days a week through December.

"If there are any available funds, I hope they (the city) find a way to channel those funds to the library, because it’s so important to so many people," Grey said.

In many corners of the city, library branches are just steps away for kids who want to do more than just read and get help with assignments. They get to do arts and crafts, compete in chess tournaments, anything Juanita Egoavil can come up with as the branch manager at the First Avenue Branch.

She said many of her kids can’t afford summer camp, a trip to a book store or the main library downtown. In her own way, Egoavil has made the library a second home for the community, a place for them to get away. Out of her own pocket, she has spent money to give it a cheery touch with posters, pictures and stuffed animals that sit on book shelves.

"I just tried to make it a happy place,’’ she said.

For 12-year-old Mahishan Gnanaseharan, it’s been paradise since the first grade.

"When I first saw that library, my heart skipped a beat,’’ he said.

Mahishan, born in Sri Lanka, became excited because he knew the library could help him when he didn’t know much English. The more he came to the library, education clicked and he blossomed into an voracious reader who can’t get enough fiction. His father, Selliah, said Mahishan loves reading so much that he’ll pass up a movie, maybe even a game to devour a novel. At night, when he’s supposed to be asleep, his parents find him huddled underneath the sheets reading a book in the dark with a light pen.

If he’s not busy, Mahishan says he can inhale a 300-page book in less than a day, having read the Harry Potter series in a month as a second-grader. At First Avenue, staffers said he reads about 400 books a year, an accomplishment honored two years ago when he was asked to be a speaker at the main library’s annual gala. At the event he talked about how his branch library helped him to read, how it was his source of inspiration.

When he learned it would close, he called it a crime against humanity.

"A lot of people depend on the library,’’ said Mahishan, and he knows from personal experience. He needs several hundred more books to quench his thirst to read.

Where will they come from now?

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July 12, 2010

Victory for libraries

http://www.northjersey.com

The Record
Editorial
July 10, 2010

THIS WILL still be a long, hard summer for many public libraries around the state. But it will not be as long and hard as it might have been.

A month ago, libraries were staring head-on into the face of drastic budget measures, a 74 percent cut pushed by Governor Christie. In the end, thanks to a last-minute budget compromise, and perhaps a dose of common sense, the cuts adopted weren’t nearly as draconian. The final number was a 43 percent cut, or a reduction of about $6 million from last year.

While still harsh, the new budget does allow libraries, which also receive local funding from town to town, to retain many core services.
Patricia Tumulty, executive director of the New Jersey Library Association, said the money saved in the budget talks will help libraries maintain three important services that had been slated for the ax, including the popular interlibrary loan and delivery program, access to the libraries’ large electronic database, and, importantly for hundreds of thousands of state residents now looking for jobs, basic Internet access.

And the news got better this week, with the announcement of grant awards of $6.6 million to state libraries. That includes $5.1 million in federal grant monies, part of the second round of the economic stimulus bill, as well as $1.5 million from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
There are still people in government and foundations who realize what a vital role libraries play in New Jersey communities, and especially the lifeline they provide in these days when more than 440,000 state residents are still looking for work.

Indeed, a big part of the grant monies will be used to address that need directly. The $5.1 million will go to Thomas Edison State College, affiliated with the New Jersey State Library, and will be used primarily to shore up broadband infrastructure in libraries across the state. The money will also be used specifically in the area of job research.

For instance, every library across the state will be able to get staff training to help the unemployed and the under-employed, and the money will also be used to train patrons on job searches.

In all, the grant money will be used to add computers at 124 libraries and to upgrade broadband capabilities at 79 libraries, and provide job search assistance, employment skills, workforce development programs and other online resources at 365 libraries across New Jersey.
"This grant will help to pave a road to economic recovery for our state," said New Jersey State Librarian Norma Blake. "New Jersey job seekers are facing a job market in which access to computers and broadband Internet is a basic requirement for job searches, employment applications and workforce skills training."

Providing access to job-related services has always been part of the mission of the public library: to educate and inform, to help persons, of any walk in life, to better their circumstance, to find another door open when a first one closes.

Maybe in the old days it was a place where a recently laid-off worker could skim the classifieds in the local newspaper to see who was hiring. Today, of course, it’s more involved than that. Many employers accept only online applications.

Thanks to these Internet upgrades and continued jobs services, as well as the undying commitment of thousands of librarians across this state, the unemployed of New Jersey still have one more valuable resource to draw upon as they look for work.

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Newark Library Sees Drastic Cuts

July 8, 2010
localtalknews.com

NEWARK – As the result of a $2.45 million cut by Mayor Cory A. Booker and council, the state's largest municipal library will see more severe service cuts this summer including layoffs, additional furlough days, the permanent closing of two branches and the Main Library's opening three to four days a week.

"This cut is the most severe in the library's history," said Library Director Wilma J. Grey. "We're talking about the library's survival."

About 40 people attended a community meeting June 30 at the North End Branch Library located at 722 Summer Ave. Grey made a presentation on how the 11-branch system intends to cope with the cuts.

Grey prefaced her remarks by saying that the cuts came from Newark's government and not the state. Newark and other public municipal, county and college libraries have had to weather Gov. Christopher Christie's proposed a $10.4 million - or 74 percent - cut in state aid and a bill that would have eliminated a minimum library funding level.

A New Jersey Library Association-organized grassroots campaign got the Christie administration and state legislators to restore $6 million for the 2010/11 fiscal year. Grey noted, however, that the City of Newark supplies 90 percent of NPL's overall budget.

Grey further explained that NPL had coped with a 10 percent reduction - amounting to $10 to $15 million - that the city had imposed on all departments in January. The Roseville Branch Library, at 99 Fifth St., was to have been closed Jan. 6.

"We got the bad news from the city May 17 and the Library Board of Trustees went into triage at their May 26 meeting," said Grey. "The $2.45 million loss, while coming at the start of the city's fiscal year (which started July 1), comes in the middle of our budget's calendar year."

Booker and the council announced last month that the city is facing a $180 million budget deficit. The deficit's causes include the current global recession, the reduction of state aid and the exhaustion of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey's court settlement fund.

Grey explained that the library system has to absorb a year-long 20 percent cut in 2010's last six months. That July-December compression becomes more like a 40 percent cut in jobs and services.

Grey spoke with library trustees Sandra King and Jim Crist. King and Crist also fielded audience questions and urged petitioning the city council.
According to a June 29 published report, Rutgers-Newark history professor and 25-year trustee Dr. Clement A. Price likened the 40 percent cut as a crisis more severe to the library than the Great Depression era 1930s and immediately after the July 12-17, 1967 riots or rebellion.

"This is scarier because it is real," said Dr. Price of the cuts. "The cuts are almost in place."

Reducing NPL's services, said Grey and King, would have statewide effects. Newark's libraries are a cornerstone to the state and Essex County regional library lending networks. Patrons come from all over to use the Charles F. Cummings New Jersey Information Room for local and state history research.

Newark's pending cuts may reflect or amplify those facing libraries elsewhere - including those in Local Talk's towns. Maplewood and South Orange's public libraries, for example, are subject to their municipalities' budget-induced furloughs.

The Montclair public libraries went to a reduced schedule last spring. Monday patrons have to go to Montclair's Bellevue Avenue branch in Upper Montclair since the main library is closed; the main library is mostly open and the Bellevue Branch is closed the rest of the week.

Montclair Library Director David Hinkley told Mayor Jerry Fried and the Township Council at a recent meeting that their $700,000 cut may affect the institution's survival. One councilman, at the same meeting, questioned the Bellevue Branch's need - although it is on the state and national historic registers.

"I was approached by a patron at a branch who asked if I had remembered her receiving a book from me 10 years ago," said Grey. "She said that the book by Margaret Meade led her to become a teacher in anthropology. How many opportunities to affect our young peoples' lives will be lost?"

Grey's future community meetings are set for July 14 at 6 p.m. at Vailsburg Branch, 75 Alexander St., July 21 - Van Buren Branch, 140 Van Buren St., Aug. 4 - Springfield Branch, 50 Hayes St.

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New Jersey Library Funding Cuts "Only" 43 Percent

http://www.libraryjournal.com
Most databases preserved, but per capita state aid cut in half, regional networks consolidated. | By Norman Oder Jul 9, 2010

After the proposed 74% cut in state support for libraries in New Jersey generated a groundswell of protest, and the result has been a 43% cut, a reduction of $6.1 million. This decidedly mixed result includes a halving of per capita state aid to libraries and the consolidation of four regional networks into one.

"We've lived to fight another day," Pat Tumulty, executive director of the New Jersey Library Association, told LJ. "This is a way of keeping our programs going."

"To All The Library Supporters Who Made Your Voices Heard, Thank you, you did it!" NJLA said on its advocacy site, Save MY NJ Library. "$4.299 Million was restored in the New Jersey Budget for library programs!"

The $4.3 million restored (out of the proposed $10.4 million cut) will support crucial services such as most databases, interlibrary loan, and the JerseyConnect Internet system. Nor will Thomas Edison State College, the distance learning institution that also houses the New Jersey State Library (NJSL), be merged with the New Jersey State Museum and governed by Rutgers University.

New federal funds
Crucially, sufficient money was restored—especially for JerseyConnect—for the State Library to get a $5.1 million federal broadband grant, supplemented by $1.5 million from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; add computers at 124 libraries; upgrade connectivity at 79 libraries; and provide job search assistance, employment skills, workforce development programs and other online resources at 365 libraries across New Jersey.

While the broadband grant does not replace state funds lost, it allows local libraries to improve connectivity, and positions the state library to work with consortium of New Jersey's community colleges to train library staff and job seekers. Also, residents will gain access to online content and training developed by New Jersey Network, the state public broadcasting network.

Taking some hits
However, the four regional library cooperatives, which have operated for 25 years, will be consolidated into one: INFOLINK. Discontinued are the JerseyClicks federated search and GALCO (Get a Library Card Online). Much technical assistance and training have been cut, as have pilot projects innovated by the State Library.

When the statewide delivery contract expires in December, there is a "possible loss of frequency," according to a presentation from State Librarian Norma Blake.

While the number of jobs losses is unclear, Blake indicated that the Library Development Bureau has eliminated two positions and the Law Library has eliminated one position in FY 2011.

Tumulty acknowledged that, while libraries were among the few programs that saw significant restoration during the legislative session, many were not starting as far in the hole.

"We're still fighting an uphill battle," she said, noting that state funding is relatively low. "Having said that, the programs we support through state funding are the programs that join our libraries together."

The 43% reduction, she agreed, was not in line with other programs, most of which took a 15-20% cut. The governor's office, she says, told library advocates that they started with programs deemed necessary and cut from library programs, which were seen as "discretionary."

"Fortunately," she said, "many of the public responded."

Looking at the details
According to a Q&A from Blake, while the State Library intends to fund the databases through June 2011, if mid-year budget cuts are requested "we may have to re-examine our priorities to determine what would have the least impact on the library community."

The JerseyClicks federated search will be replaced with individual links to the databases to be placed on each library's home page, and librarians will be trained regarding those connections. As for authentication for remote use, the library is talking to its vendors.

The state library has seven vacancies; union raises due in January "could trigger more position losses."

Instead of maintaining a statewide regional cooperative, why not have the State Library offer statewide services? "We are having one region which could be called a statewide cooperative to preserve the structure so that when money is easier to get we can add again one or more regional offices," Blake responded.

Posted by tumulty at 12:22 PM | Comments (0)
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Federal stimulus money coming to Morris County NJ libraries

BY MINHAJ HASSAN • STAFF WRITER • July 11, 2010

http://www.dailyrecord.com

Some 22 of the 30 local libraries in Morris County will benefit from a federal grant that will go toward adding more computer workstations, improving computer service and adding new programs to help patrons search and apply online for jobs.

The $5.1 million grant from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, commonly known as the stimulus package that President Barack Obama signed in 2009, calls for adding workstations and improved Internet connections at 125 libraries statewide. In addition, some 365 libraries in the state will receive funds to provide job search help and workforce development programs.

In Morris County, 22 local libraries are slated to receive some stimulus funds for either new programs or additional workstations, or both: Boonton, Chatham, Chester, Dover, Denville, East Hanover, Hibernia, Jefferson, Long Hill Township, Madison, Mendham Township, Montville, Morris County Library in Whippany, Morristown, Mount Olive, Mountain Lakes, three libraries in Parsippany, Pequannock, Rockaway and Roxbury.

The announcement about the funding was made last week but the amount each library will receive from the grant and what it will be for will be determined in the next couple of months, said Gary Cooper of the New Jersey State Library, which is administering the grant.

New Jersey's two U.S. senators, Frank Lautenberg and Robert Menendez, said the help is needed.

"At a time when New Jersey's libraries are facing severe budget cuts, this timely investment will help libraries throughout the state continue providing important public services," Lautenberg said in a statement. "With so many employers requiring job applications to be submitted electronically, this funding will help ensure the public can visit the library to access computers, the Internet and other job search assistance."

"Oftentimes our community libraries provide individuals with access to technological resources they would otherwise not be able to access through other means," Menendez said in a statement. "This funding will help ensure our youth and workers have access to modern state-of-the art computer facilities to take advantage of all the educational and professional resources available electronically today."

Libraries have come to play a more prominent role as career search hubs, especially for those who don't have Internet access at home. Some libraries even stressed that beneficial service in their signs and literature. For example, a "Jobs Resource Center" banner was posted on the front lawn of the Joint Morristown/Morris Township Library last year.

According to a recent study by the Pew Research Center, 23 percent of all library users had no Internet access at home.

Local library directors said they are seeing an increasing numbers of visitors using the computers to check job listings or work on resumes.

"I'd say quite a lot," said Boonton Holmes Public Library director Sam Pharo about the increase in job seekers. "Our computers are pretty well dominated by adults looking through Craigslist and other job search sites. They also use them to build resumes."

The Holmes library has 11 workstations, he said. With the grant, Pharo anticipates adding a workstation and having the Internet connectivity improved.

"Our wiring is a little outdated," he said.

Nancy Adamczyk, the director at the Madison Public Library, has also seen a major uptick in job searchers.

"Some of them had to give up Internet service at home," she said. "We have all seen a lot of people coming in."

The library currently has about 15 workstations, she said.

Mountain Lakes Library Director Peggy Bulfer said her "small library" could use another workstation. "I have one spot we could turn into an additional workstation," she said. "Lately, there's been a wait (for people to use the public computers)."

While the libraries will see some major state funding cuts, they won't be as deep as originally anticipated. Nearly $4.3 million of the originally proposed $10.4 million in state funds for libraries was restored, according to Save My NJ Library.

That's good news for local library patrons since they will be able to take out books from any library in the county, as well as have access to various research databases. Those services were slated to be cut or minimized.

"Interlibrary loans will absolutely continue," said Morris County Library director Lynne Olver. "They will not cease."

The continuation of the interlibrary loan service was "the absolute top priority" for many libraries, Oliver said.

Minhaj Hassan: 973-428-6628; mhassan@gannett.com

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Complex? Sure is, Moorestown finds

http://www.philly.com
By Kevin Riordan
July 11, 2010
Inquirer Columnist

Cost concerns and a contractor's woes scuttled plans four years ago to replace the architecturally adventurous but functionally obsolete Moorestown Library.

When a fire damaged the similarly inefficient Town Hall in 2007, Moorestown opted to redevelop the entire municipal complex at Second and Church Streets.

Three years have passed, and this comfortable community of savvy citizens and capable officials still hasn't figured out what to do with its library, municipal offices, and Police Department.

The township has so far spent about $1.54 million (some of it on relocation costs and new equipment), township operations remain dispersed in various buildings, and plans have been sent back to the drawing board.

"We haven't gotten it right yet," Mayor Daniel Roccato says. "But we will get it right. This is a complicated project."

It certainly is. Moorestown hopes its new municipal complex will not only be more efficient but also bolster downtown. And the protracted effort to start the work is unfolding in a contentious climate of fiscal austerity and public distrust.

"There's a lot of fiction out there about things being done behind closed doors," Township Manager Christopher J. Schultz says. "Let's correct the record. This was done publicly. This town is as transparent as any."

In June, after all 10 bids to build the project exceeded the $11.7 million construction budget, the Township Council directed consultants to revise the plans.

"We're simplifying and downsizing the space. We're making progress," says Stephen Schoch, managing principal of Kitchen & Associates in Collingswood, the project's architect.

Adds Schultz: "This is not just building a building. It's much more than a renovation and new construction project. It's a major redevelopment."

Designed by the visionary and idiosyncratic architect Malcolm Wells, a Camden native who died in November, the existing municipal complex opened in 1975.

It consists of two imposing, vaguely barnlike structures coated in creamy, now-discolored stucco, which parallel each other across a parking lot. A row of pergolas serves to connect them.

"What's 'Moorestown' about it? I don't know," Schultz says.

I don't know, either. Even before the fire, the complex - with its windowless walls and tedious tundra of parking - was a rather chilly and cheerless public space.

But let's acknowledge that Wells, whose other South Jersey landmarks include the semi-subterranean Camden County Library branch in Voorhees, championed "green" long before it was hip. He sought not only to connect his buildings with the earth but also to embed them in it.

"They're like bunkers," observes Moorestown Library director Joseph Galbraith. He admired Wells, with whom he corresponded, but calls the building "a nightmare" to operate and maintain.

"The ceilings and floors are 18 inches of concrete, with double rebar," Galbraith says. "You can't open the windows. There's very little natural light. And it leaks."

The plan now under revision would house the library, Police Department, and Municipal Court within a gutted and renovated Town Hall. Most municipal offices would be in a new, two-story structure on the site, with the future use of the library building to be determined.

"Why has it been so difficult? It's not that anyone has failed miserably," Schoch says.

"The township wants something they can be proud of, that meets their needs - including the distinct functions within the Township Hall building - and does so within a tight budget. Getting all these things to line up is no easy task."

I hear that.

But I also hear people like Leslie Klemm, a 40-year-old mother of three who just wants her town to "move forward" with the project.

Dan Craft, a 48-year-old engineer, father of two, and frequent patron of the library, is frustrated, too.

"If we're going to do something," he says, "let's do it."

Amen.

Posted by tumulty at 9:51 AM | Comments (0)
Category:

Interlibrary loan program at risk due to funding cuts

Published: Friday, July 09, 2010, 5:41 PM
nj.com
Independent Press
Liz Keill

REPRIEVE FROM BUDGET CUTS - New Providence Public Library is just one of the many town and municipal libraries throughout the state that would be affected by budget cuts, hampering residents' access to interlibrary loans, database access and more.

A meeting this week in Trenton might have saved some services at public libraries within the Independent Press circulation area, but no final decisions have been announced, so librarians continue to find new ways to provide their services within limited budgets.

On June 29, Govovernor Chris Christie signed the 2010-11 budget which restored $4.3 million in NJ Network funding, although there is still a significant loss in library funding.

The new budget cuts funding by $6 million, a 43% reduction versus the 74% cut originally proposed by Gov. Christie. It remains to be seen just how the restored funding will be spent.

Approximately 26 librarians gathered on July 7 to make funding decisions. They represented an assortment of libraries, from academia to hospitals, public schools and municipalities. “We are all anxiously awaiting the outcome of those meetings,” Diane O’Brien, director of The Library of the Chathams, said. As of press time, specifics had still not emerged.

But New Jersey library officials received some unexpected good news on Friday that $5.1 million in federal stimulus grants will be spread out over two years to the state’s 365 public libraries. The intent is to expand the computer infrastructure and enhance the resources that assist job seekers.

Interlibrary loan program
New Jersey State Librarian Norma Blake said funding cuts may be scaling back the interlibrary loan program, but at this time, the extent of the cutbacks is unknown. Blake credited a grass roots movement with helping maintain library services, with more than 80,000 postcards and countless emails sent to legislators.

O’Brien called the interlibrary loan program “probably the single most important service we can offer our patrons” and said her main concern is its continuation. The program allows libraries to borrow reciprocally throughout the state. “The state has covered the major cost of this program,” she said, with delivery vans transporting books and other materials from place to place on a daily basis. “I certainly couldn’t move all those books and requests from my car,” she said.

O’Brien said no one library owns everything that people need. Over the past year alone, the Chatham library received 20,760 requests for shared resources. Although several libraries could get together with a courier service, that would still cost money. Items sent via a delivery service, paid through statewide funding, wouldn’t occur. Using the U.S. mail or other carrier services would mean a charge of $3 per item. The library would either need to restrict the number of items a patron could request from another library or pass on the shipping charges to the users of the loan service. For the moment, O’Brien said, the Chatham library is holding steady.

No other local public library has taken the drastic cuts the Summit library has already taken, but all of the librarians share the same concerns.

The Summit Library — which already has shut its doors on Thursday nights, cut staff and increased fines for overdue books — had announced on its website that all interlibrary loans would cease as of last Thursday, July 1. But as the deadline passed last week, Summit Library Director Glenn Devitt said the popular interlibrary loan system would be retained, at least temporarily. However, he said he has not seen the state’s budget yet and he is “sitting tight” with all the conflicting information that’s out there.

Patrons in Summit may borrow books directly from nine local libraries: Berkeley Heights, Bernards Township, Bernardsville, The Chathams, Long Hill, Madison, Millburn, Morristown/Morris Township and New Providence.

“We were encouraged by council to look for alternative funding,” Devitt said. As a result, fines will increase by five cents for children’s books (from 5 cents to 10 cents a day) and from 15 cents to 20 cents a day for adult books. In addition, part time help has been cut back. “If someone leaves, we’re not filling the position,” he said.

“We will not be open Thursday night. We did a survey and that is the slowest evening of library use per hour,” Devitt said. He added, however, that library use fluctuates during the summer. There may be fewer patrons coming in, but they are taking out more books, cd’s and other materials. “I know people are back from vacation when the books are returned with sand and coconut oil,” he quipped. Nevertheless, he said, “Circulations are booming. I expect another record year.”

In Berkeley Heights, Library Director Stephanie Bakos said she doesn’t anticipate any news from the state until next week. She will then share that information with the Board of Trustees at its next meeting in July. “In the meantime,” she said, “life goes on as usual.”

In New Providence, director Colleen Byrne said it’s too soon to make predictions as information is not yet available about specifics of the budget.

Jennifer Konopacki, superintendent at Warren Public Library, explained that Somerset County has eight branches, with its own delivery system. They will not be as badly hurt, she said, as individual municipal libraries that rely on a database and a state delivery system for interlibrary loans.

According to New Jersey Library Association Executive Director Pat Tumulty, the extra funding will allow libraries to continue Internet access, share materials through interlibrary loans and purchase academic databases for library users.

Jim Hechet, director of Somerset County Library Services, has urged patrons to become advocates by visiting Save My NJ Library. The reinstatement of some funds has been the result of advocacy efforts.

Cuts originally proposed would affect commercial databases, frequently used for homework assignments, access to full-text magazine articles, job searches and consumer information.

Hecht said state-wide cooperative purchasing agreements, which allow libraries to obtain databases and other services at reduced costs, would no longer be available. He said the end result would deny thousands of school children and adults equal access to information. Hecht pointed out that libraries are a key resource to help get the New Jersey economy back in shape.

Posted by tumulty at 8:53 AM | Comments (0)
Category:

Furloughs force Friday closures in county govt.

http://www.dailyrecord.com
By JOSEPH P. SMITH • Staff Writer • July 8, 2010

Cumberland County Library patrons will have to hold on to their books and patience come Friday.

The library (which has Saturday hours) is closing for one day as part of a series of unpaid furloughs for about 120 workers in a dozen county government departments.
The shutdowns shouldn't be noticeable to the average county resident, in general. Most of the departments deal with internal, business or government matters.

"Emergency services are definitely available," said county Human Resources Director Joe Ross, whose department also is closing Friday.
Friday is just the first installment for those 120 workers, who face a total of six days off spread over four months.

The county estimates it will save $190,000 in salary and wages with the furloughs, just one of many steps taken this year to reduce spending.
State workers have been taking furlough days and Millville police officers recently agreed to take eight unpaid days off in order to save several officers from being laid off. Millville government also has reorganized work schedules for most city employees to cut costs; many departments are shut down on Fridays now.

County Library Director Jean Edwards said 16 people, a mix of full-timers and part-timers, are affected by the furloughs. The days off are spread out to lessen the impact per paycheck, but the pay loss will be felt, she said.
Edwards said she put in a plan for one furlough day per month, but it was rejected.
"It's always a big deal when your salary is decreased," Edwards said. "People aren't making a lot of money to begin with."

The county schools superintendent office also is closing, though it is a qualified shutdown. Five county-paid clerical workers are off, but state employees, such as the superintendent, are working.
"But we're asking for any contacts to be Monday through Thursday," Superintendent Richard Stepura said, adding callers should just leave a message Friday.

"It'll be handled first thing Monday morning and if there is anything of an emergency, the (district) superintendents know how to reach us," he said.

Stepura noted most of the furlough days fortunately fall during the summer. Friday also is a good choice if an office has to close, he said.

In addition to those departments affected Friday, workers will get two furlough days if employed at the Adjuster's Office, Clerk's Office or Board of Elections. Those furloughs don't start until Sept. 3, though. Surrogate's Office workers also will be off for two days, both in November.
Also, workers at the Extension Center will get six furlough days, with the first coming Aug. 13.

Posted by tumulty at 8:48 AM | Comments (0)
Category:

July 9, 2010

Library cheers $6.6M grant

nj.com
Friday, July 09, 2010
Matt Fair
STAFF WRITER
TRENTON -- As something of a salve to the sting of state budget cuts, New Jersey State Library officials announced yesterday they have received $6.6 million in grant money to help bolster technology offerings.

Officials with the library, on West State Street, said it will be a boon to the nearly 500,000 unemployed New Jerseyans who have come to rely increasingly on public libraries as they search for jobs.

"This grant will help to pave a road to economic recovery for our state," Norma Blake, the state librarian, said in a statement issued yesterday. "New Jersey job seekers are facing a job market in which access to computers and broadband internet is a basic requirement for job searches, employment applications and workforce skills training."

The money comes as the state library system is facing a loss of $6 million in the recently adopted state budget. The library's budget fell by nearly half from $14 million to just under $8 million for the current fiscal year.

The $6.6 million in grant money includes $5.1 million provided by the U.S. Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration as part of the American Recover and Reinvestment Act economic stimulus bill.

An additional $1.5 million is being provided by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

The federal money is part of $404 million in grants that were announced by U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke earlier this week.

The money will be spent over a three-year period, adding computers at 124 libraries, upgrading connectivity at 79 libraries, and providing job search assistance, employment skills, workforce development programs and other online resources at 365 libraries.

"One of the most important things we're doing right now is offering services to job-seekers and helping with the unemployment problem," Blake said. "Seventy-five percent of the libraries across New Jersey right now have said their main jobs are helping the job seekers."

Officials said they've seen a large boost in library use since 2007 when the economy first started to sour, including a 9 percent jump in attendance at programs, an 8 percent increase in the use of public Internet, and a 14 percent rise in circulation.

The funding announcement represents a stunning turnaround for the library, which is affiliated with Thomas Edison State College. Both institutions had been slated to be folded into the operations of Rutgers University as part of Gov. Chris Christie's original budget proposal.

The two managed to maintain their autonomy in the budget deal that legislators hammered out over the last few weeks.

As much as a blessing as officials have said the funding is, they also said it was something of a curse as the award requires the cash-strapped entity to put $2.4 million of its own money into a budget line that was going to be eliminated. That money would have gone to support other library functions.

"We're making it up in other ways, so we had to take losses in other areas," Blake added. "Getting this grant, we cannot afford to let that budget line go."

Contact Matt Fair at mfair@njtimes.com or at (609) 989-5707.

Posted by tumulty at 9:12 AM | Comments (0)
Category:

Are libraries unnecessary?

philly.com
July 9, 2010

Their budgets and staffs are shrinking, but people continue to rely on them.

By Marilyn Johnson
The United States is beginning an interesting experiment in democracy: We're cutting public library funds, shrinking our public and school libraries, and, in some places, closing them altogether.

This has nothing to do with whether the libraries are any good, or whether their staff provides useful service to the community. The budget of the country's highest-circulating library, in Queens, N.Y. - named the best system in the United States last year by Library Journal - is due to shrink by a third.

Los Angeles' libraries are being slashed, and, beginning this week, their doors will be locked two days a week. In Philadelphia, the mayor has threatened the latest in a series of library budget reductions.

Such cuts and close calls are happening across the country. The rationale is that we won't miss a third of our librarians and libraries the way we'd miss a third of our firefighters and firehouses. But I wonder.

I've spent four years following librarians as they dealt with the tremendous increase in information and the ways we receive it. They've been adapting as capably as any profession, managing our public computers and serving growing numbers of patrons, but it seems their work has been all but invisible to those in power.

I've talked to librarians whose jobs have expanded with the demand for computers and training, and because so many other government services are being cut. The people left in the lurch have looked to the library, where kind, knowledgeable professionals help them navigate the bureaucracy, apply for benefits, access social services. Public officials will tell you they love libraries and are committed to them; they just don't believe they constitute a "core" service.

But if you visit public libraries, you will see an essential service in action. Librarians help people who don't have other ways to get online, can't get the answers they urgently need, or simply need a safe place to bring their children.

I've stood in the parking lot of the Topeka and Shawnee County Library in Kansas on a Sunday morning and watched families pour through doors and head in all directions to do homework or genealogical research, attend computer classes, read the newspapers. I've stood outside New York City libraries with other self-employed people, waiting for the doors to open and give us access to the computers and a warm, affordable place to work. I've met librarians who serve as interpreters and guides to communities of cancer survivors, Polish speakers, teenage filmmakers, and veterans.

The people who welcome us to the library are idealists who believe that accurate information leads to good decisions, and that exposure to the intellectual riches of civilization leads to a better world. The next Abraham Lincoln could be sitting in their library, teaching himself all he needs to know to save the country.

While they help us get online, employed, and informed, librarians don't try to sell us anything. Nor do they broadcast our problems, send us spam, or keep a record of our interests and needs, because no matter how savvy this profession is at navigating the online world, it clings to that old-fashioned value: privacy. They represent the best civic value out there - an army of resourceful workers that can help us compete in the world.

But instead of putting such conscientious, economical, service-oriented professionals to work helping us, we're handing them pink slips. The school and public libraries in which we've invested decades and even centuries of resources will disappear unless we fight for them.

Communities that support their libraries will have an undeniable competitive advantage. Those that don't will watch in envy as the Darien Library in Connecticut hosts networking breakfasts for the unemployed, and the tiny Gilpin County Public Library in Colorado beckons with a sign promising "Free coffee, Internet, notary, phone, smiles, restrooms, and ideas."

Those lucky enough to live in those towns, or those who own computers or have high-speed Internet service and on-call technical assistance, will not notice the effects of a diminished public library system - not at first. Whizzes who can whittle down 15 million hits on a Google search to find the useful and accurate bits of info, and those able to buy any book or article or film they want, will escape the immediate consequences of these cuts. Those in cities that haven't preserved their libraries, those less fortunate and baffled by technology, and our children will be the first to suffer.

But sooner or later, we'll all feel the loss, as one of the most effective levelers of privilege and avenues of reinvention - one of the great engines of democracy - begins to disappear.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Marilyn Johnson is the author, most recently, of "This Book Is Overdue!" This appeared in the Los Angeles Times.

Posted by tumulty at 8:59 AM | Comments (0)
Category:

July 7, 2010

N.J. libraries get small reprieve from budget cuts

http://www.philly.com
July 7, 2010
By James Osborne

INQUIRER STAFF WRITER

New Jersey libraries, hit hard in the state spending plan signed into law last week, got some relief Wednesday through a $5.1 million federal stimulus grant to expand their computer infrastructure and assistance for job seekers.

The money will be spread among the state's 365 public libraries over two years, New Jersey State Librarian Norma Blake said. State systems in Maine, Tennessee, Oklahoma, and Montana also received stimulus grants.

"At a time when New Jersey's libraries are facing severe budget cuts, this timely investment will help libraries throughout the state continue providing important public services," said U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D., N.J.).

The new state budget cuts funding for libraries by $6 million, a 43 percent reduction from last year but far less than the 74 percent cut laid out in Gov. Christie's initial budget proposal.

Some branches still will have to reduce their hours or, in some cases, close, Blake said. Programs such as the interlibrary book-loan service have been scaled back, and subscriptions to electronic databases in areas including genealogy have been eliminated.

The federal money will not offset the state cuts. The grant is solely for computers, Internet connectivity, and programs to help job seekers find work online.

"Overall our broadband is pretty good," Blake said, "but there are places in the state with no access to high-speed broadband."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Contact staff writer James Osborne at 856-779-3876 or jaosborne@phillynews.com.

Posted by tumulty at 8:52 PM | Comments (0)
Category:

State restores some funding for libraries at last minute

Library association director credits public for quick response to budget cuts
The Sentinel
http;//www.ebs.gmnews.com
BY PATRICIA A. MILLER
Staff Writer
Don’t get her wrong, Patricia Tumulty is grateful that some of the massive cuts in state funding to libraries across New Jersey were restored during last-minute adjustments to the state budget.
But problems still remain.

“We still have about a 50 percent cut from the year before,” said Tumulty, executive director of the New Jersey Library Association [NJLA]. “We live to fight another day.”

The NJLA planned to meet with library officials from around the state this week to discuss how they will deal with their remaining funds.

“We’ll discuss how much we have and what services we’ll be able to provide,” she said in a recent interview. “Our core services and library loan drive and some of our databases will be able to continue with this level of funding. But it’s still a big cut. We’re certainly very happy to get the funding, but there are many, many other challenges facing our municipal and county library leaders.”

Library officials had originally been faced with a 74 percent cut in state funding under Gov. Chris Christie’s original budget, from $14 million to $3.6 million. The loss of state funds would also have meant the loss of at least $4.5 million in federal matching funds. But legislators restored $4.29 million before the budget was adopted last month, leaving a pot of $7.97 million this year for libraries around the state, Tumulty said.

“It’s a very difficult cut for us to take,” she said. “But we certainly feel we’re in a much better place than we were in March.”

And she credits the public for helping to keep more of the state funding. More than 80,000 postcards protesting the cut were hand-delivered to legislators, who were also blasted with emails, she said.

“It was a wonderful grassroots effort by the public,” Tumulty said. “We are so proud they really value their library services. They really understand the value of libraries. We’re hoping the public response will keep us from getting a significant cut next year.”

Had the original cuts gone through, the intra-library loan system, various databases and Internet access for patrons would have been lost.

“These had very serious service implications for us, particularly since so many people use libraries to apply for jobs online,” Tumulty said.

Many municipal libraries throughout the state were established through local referendums, she said.

Jamesburg residents in 2008 voted 959- 564 to keep the small Jamesburg Public Library up and running.

“It’s a walking town,” said Jamesburg LibraryDirector Lillian Torres. “People like having something right in their own community. It’s not just borrowing items, it’s a place to go.”

The Borough Council had placed the question on the general election ballot. Municipal officials said at the time that statemandated cost increases for the library were too high and that Jamesburg would be better off entering into an agreement to use Monroe Township’s library.

Municipal library funding is currently based on a state formula that requires onethird of a mill (one-tenth of a cent) for each $100 of assessed valuation to be given to the library, or $33 for each $100,000 of assessed valuation in a town.

The NJLA supports a new bill in the state Senate that would call for a dedicated municipal library tax outside of the state cap on municipal expenditures, Tumulty said.

Posted by tumulty at 6:12 PM | Comments (0)
Category:

Libraries across New Jersey to benefit from $5.1M federal grant

NJ.com
Wednesday, July 07, 2010, 4:11 PM
WASHINGTON — Thomas Edison State College has been awarded $5,104,914 in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds to add computer work stations and upgrade connectivity at nearly 125 libraries across New Jersey, U.S. Sens. Frank R. Lautenberg and Robert Menendez (D-NJ) announced Wednesday.

The funding will also provide job search assistance and workforce development programs at 365 New Jersey libraries.

Share Among the libraries to benefit from the award are:

In Gloucester County: The James H. Johnson Library in Deptford Township, Gill Memorial Library in Paulsboro, Gloucester County Library branches in Harrison, Greenwich and Logan Township, Glassboro, East Greenwich, Margaret Heggen Library in Washington Township, McCowan Memorial Library in Pitman, Monroe, Newfield, Swedesboro, West Deptford, Westville and Woodbury.

In Camden County: Bellmawr, Gloucester City, Gloucester Township, Oaklyn and Runnemede.

Across South Jersey, Cumberland County Library in Bridgeton, Elmer and Salem.

“At a time when New Jersey’s libraries are facing severe budget cuts, this timely investment will help libraries throughout the state continue providing important public services,” said Lautenberg.

“This funding will help ensure our youth and workers have access to modern state of the art computer facilities to take advantage of all the educational and professional resources available electronically today,” Menendez said.

Posted by tumulty at 5:19 PM | Comments (0)
Category:

July 6, 2010

New Jersey librarians to make plans for restored state funding

http://www.express-times.com

Tuesday, July 06, 2010
By BILL WICHERT
The Express-Times
New Jersey lawmakers last month agreed to restore about $4.3 million in state funding for public libraries, but only after residents called their elected officials and sent thousands of e-mails to legislators and Gov. Chris Christie.

The grass-roots campaign showed that New Jerseyans care about their libraries, said Barbara Rose, director of the Washington Public Library.

"It was encouraging that the people fought for what they needed," Rose said. "They let their voices be heard."

Now library representatives from across the state are scheduled to meet today with State Librarian Norma Blake to discuss how the restored funding would be applied to library programs and services.

Library officials said last week they anticipate the state dollars would help maintain some electronic databases and support an interlibrary loan program.

"For our patrons, this is great," said Ann DeRenzis, director of the Phillipsburg Free Public Library, referring to the databases. "There's something we can offer."

After Christie originally proposed cuts in library funding totaling more than $10.4 million, or 74 percent compared to fiscal year 2010 levels, the governor and the Legislature finalized a fiscal year 2011 budget last weekthat reduces funding by about $6 million for a total allotment of slightly under $8 million.

The restored funding also should ensure New Jersey libraries receive their share of federal dollars, said Patricia Tumulty, executive director of the New Jersey Library Association.

The roughly $6 million cut in state funding for public libraries still includes a 50 percent reduction in state aid to libraries. Faced with cuts in local funding as well, libraries around the state are already closing on certain days or reducing their evening hours, Tumulty said.

Referring to the state aid cuts, Tumulty added, "That's going to hurt some local libraries. There's no doubt about it."

On top of a roughly $28,000 cut in municipal funding this year, the Phillipsburg Free Public Library is anticipating a state aid reduction of $8,000, DeRenzis said. The Friends of Phillipsburg Free Public Library have provided financial assistance to the library, she said.

"You look for money in any place you can," DeRenzis said.

Given the limited funding, new fees might still be charged to library patrons looking to access materials through the interlibrary loan program, library officials said. Beginning May 1, the Sussex County Library system began charging users a per-item shipping fee of $7.

The New Jersey State Library currently covers the delivery costs related to transferring materials between libraries, but if those payments are no longer made, the Phillipsburg Free Public Library might have to charge a fee to offset delivery expenses, DeRenzis said.

Rose, of Washington, argued that libraries are meant to make services available to all residents and charging for services could exclude some users.

"We'll do whatever we can to avoid that," Rose said.

Reporter Bill Wichert can be reached at 610-258-7171, ext. 3570, or bwichert@express-times.com. Talk about issues in your town at lehighvalleylive.com/forums.

Posted by tumulty at 2:54 PM | Comments (0)
Category:

Depth of cuts for library funding a major concern

http://www.mycentraljersey.com
July 6, 2010

There's something about cutting funding for public libraries that strikes at the very core of our democratic values, and it should be done only as a last resort in tough economic times.

Some 300 public libraries across the state are breathing a collective sigh of relief now that their funding has not been cut by $10.4 million, or 74 percent, as originally proposed in Gov. Christie's budget back in March.

In a compromise deal, Trenton lawmakers restored $4.3 million of those proposed cuts, resulting in a total of $7.9 million in funding for libraries for fiscal year 2011.
Still, that represents a whopping 42 percent reduction of about $6 million in total funding from 2010 levels of $13.7 million, and the exact impacts of those cuts across the state are still being formulated.

No one's suggesting libraries shouldn't share in the burden. But the numbers-crunchers and policymakers seem too willing to sacrifice large chunks of library funding. The effects are disproportionate and the value of our public libraries is not being fully appreciated.
The East Brunswick Public Library, for example, stood to lose $73,000 under the originally proposed cut of $10.4 million, and reduction officials there were characterzing as a "huge hit." The changes in the final funding reductions won't do much to ease that impact.

Likewise, the Plainfield public library, already reeling from $300,000 in cuts from the municipal budget, was apprehensive mulling how it would cope with an additional 50 percent cut in state aid. Collectively the cuts could be devastating, and this in a commmunity where residents have been increasingly relying on the library's resources.

Libraries will now do what they have to do — reduce costs by cutting things like staff, hours, internet access and interlibrary loan and delivery systems. That may not seem like a big deal to the more well-heeled members of our society who can afford things like internet access, books, periodicals and newspapers. But for the less affluent, losing access to basic information is an intolerable disadvantage in a nation that supposedly prides itself for its egalitarianism.

To this day, every child born on American soil can still plausibly be told: "Some day, you'll grow up to be President." That will be seem less and less plausible if our citizens cease to have relatively equal access to educational materials and the wealth of information that can be found in our free public libraries.

Speaking at a conference at the American Library Association, President Barack Obama said: "And so the moment we persuade a child, any child, to cross that threshold into a library, we've changed their lives forever, and for the better. This is an enormous force for good."
There is something sacrosanct about our free public libraries. To the extent that we diminish them, we diminish our power to create an educated and informed citizenry that is so crucial to the well-being of our country.

It is at least heartening to see that New Jersey state Assemblyman Upendra Chivukula, D-Franklin, has sponsored a bill that would allow public libraries to be funded by a dedicated revenue stream from local taxes — the same way the Middlesex County open space trust fund is structured. The bill recently sailed through the state Senate by a vote of 40-0 and is now headed for a vote in the Assembly.

"Libraries have a role even in today's 20th century — they bring people together, they're information resources and they're efficient as a shared resource," said Chivukula. "And people, when they they move away from reading and libraries, what happens is that it transforms our society into something which has no contact with other people."

The well-being of our free public library system should never be negotiable.

Posted by tumulty at 11:07 AM | Comments (0)
Category:

Changing how town libraries are funded

http://www.nj.com
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Curt Yeske
SPECIAL TO THE TIMES
LAMBERTVILLE -- The supporters of the Lambertville Free Public Library may be few in number but they hope to have a loud and meaningful voice in how their library and similar libraries are funded throughout the state.

Volunteers recently initiated a letter-writing campaign asking their representatives in the State House to support a bill that would allow the cost of town libraries to be listed as a dedicated tax line item in municipal budgets. That would change the way they are funded and make them more independent from municipal planning.

County library systems in the state already enjoy that status and the people at the Lambertville library would like to have it too, said Deborah Mercer, a former director of the city library and volunteer letter writer.

The issue is of importance to the Lambertville City Council along with other local communities that have municipal library status. They include Trenton, Hamilton, Princeton Borough, Pennington, South Brunswick and Plainsboro.

Town officials say existing laws, which earmark a percentage of tax revenue for library expenditures, sometimes force them to raise more money than necessary for library budgets just so they can raise enough for other purposes.

Lambertville elected officials say they are being squeezed by two conflicting state laws. One says the city shall provide a sum equal to one third of a mill of its tax ratables exclusively for the library. That translates to $33 for a house assessed at $100,000. Two years ago that amounted to slightly more than $243,000 for the Lambertville Free Public Library.

But another state law, enacted in 2008, bans the city from raising its municipal budget by more than 4 percent. At that time, a 4 percent increase in taxes would have meant a hike of $37,000 for the library but just $13,500 for all other increased expenditures, according to Mayor David DelVecchio.

The city council two years ago pushed for a referendum to remove the library from its municipal status to make it a department of city government. Voters soundly defeated the proposal.

In a move to ease the city's revenue burden, the library has allocated about $110,000 of its own money to the city coffers in each of the past two years.

The library supporters see a way out of the bind with bill A2659 introduced by Assemblyman Upendra Chivukula, D-Somerset, and a companion measure in the state Senate by Nia H. Gill, D-Montclair.

Posted by tumulty at 11:03 AM | Comments (0)
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Helping at the library: From shelving books to conducting story-time sessions volunteers do lots to take the load off local librarians

http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com
By DEBRA RECH, For The Press | Posted: Monday, July 5, 2010

Former Cumberland County Freeholder Chuck Griffiths, 66, of Vineland, has volunteered at the Vineland Library for more than a year. He maintains the World Wars sections of the library as part of its Adopt-A-Shelf program.

At age 16, Margaret DeMarco of Bridgeton used to volunteer and shelve books at the Vineland Library. Now at 67, DeMarco is still volunteering and fixes things at the Bridgeton Library.

"The librarians don't need to be changing light bulbs," DeMarco said. "We need their expertise. There are too few librarians for them to do handiwork also, so I do it for them. Chairs break, upholstery gets ripped, closets need to be cleaned out and organized. I even polish furniture. Whatever needs to be done, I do it gladly."

Whether they're shelving books or helping teach a class for the public, library volunteers serve an important purpose. Deb Poillon, director of the Cape May County Library, said volunteers are vital, especially in the summer when there are more people in town There is no special training required of volunteers, except an initial interview.

"Volunteers can do a lot of things to help the library staff," Poillon said. "It's wonderful that they come in and help out, a valuable thing because it gives the library staff the opportunity to do more things like maybe adding a craft to a story time. All you have to do to volunteer is fill out a form and we do a background check. No special training is involved and we let the volunteers tell us what they are interested in doing at the library."

DeMarco started volunteering at the Bridgeton Library right after she retired from her job as a tax auditor in 2008. Her job at the library is unique for a volunteer, as she uses her talent for fixing things to help the library staff.

"No one should work in a broken down environment," DeMarco said. "So I am the one who does it for them. I've always been involved with the library. Sometimes we may feel with the Internet you don't need the library anymore but that isn't true, especially for people who don't have computers at home."

DeMarco volunteers once a week but often takes projects home to complete.

"I just love my job there," DeMarco said. "It's fun and nice to see people come in and appreciate what the library has to offer."

Anita Lupcho, communications coordinator for the Vineland Library, is also a volunteer. She brings her dog in for Puppy Tales, a program where children read to trained therapy dogs at the library once a month. She started in 2003 when Puppy Tales began.

"I read about therapy dogs and the progress children can make reading to them and decided to get involved," Lupcho said. "I enjoy it. Not only am I doing something I love, working with dogs, but working with children. The kids are having a ball and don't even realize it's an educational program."

Lupcho, who is also volunteer coordinator at the library, said volunteering has changed in the 17 years she has been with the library. People used to come in and just file things with card catalogs. Now, with computers, that job is no longer needed.

"People also work more so don't have as much time to volunteer," Lupcho said. "It seems like if we offer something less time-consuming and on their own terms, then people want to volunteer. "

Chuck Griffiths, 66, of Vineland, also volunteers. He began last year at the Vineland Library shelving books through the "Adopt-A-Shelf" program. Volunteers choose a shelf they want to help organize according to the Dewey Decimal System. Griffiths, a retired teacher and former Vineland councilman and freeholder, said he chose the shelf for World War I and II.

"I just make sure the books are put back in proper order and I now see why the librarians may get frustrated if they are shelved incorrectly," Griffiths said with a laugh. "I do maybe 400 books and it takes about an hour or so. I was always involved as a councilman and liaison for the library, so the library has always meant a lot to me publicly. "

Margaret Moore, 82 of the Cedarville section of Lawrence Township, shelves books at the Bridgeton Library twice a week. She is a retired social worker who says she just loves books and started volunteering several years ago.

"I love the people who come into the library," Moore said. "I shelve books in the young adults and children's sections, so I get to see the library staff interact with the kids. No training was needed for what I do, so long as I can remember my alphabet, I'm OK."

Barbara Brown, 63, of Cape May, is a retired social worker who has volunteered for the Cape May County Library system for several years. She started at the Lower Township branch in Villas helping in the children's section and now volunteers in the Cape May Court House branch also in the children's section, where she supports the librarians with story time. She has also shelved books for the libraries.

Because Brown lends a hand, the librarians are able to add a craft to the story time. Brown started volunteering by working with the children's summer reading program in Lower Township. She then helped with story time in Lower and now does it with the same librarian but at the Court House branch.

"When I moved to Cape May full time a few years ago, I was looking for a way to spend my time and get involved and the library system was the first that was receptive to having volunteers," Brown said. "I enjoy story time because we also sing and dance. I really enjoy working with the children and the parents too as they become really involved. Plus the library staff is very supportive and appreciative of all the volunteers do so I know I am making a difference."

Contact Debra Rech:

609-463-6719

DRech@pressofac.com

Posted by tumulty at 10:24 AM | Comments (0)
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Librarians Nurture Students’ Passions

ed.gov blog

In his remarks to about 75 leading members of the American Association of School Librarians on Monday, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan identified libraries as often being “at the heart” of school success stories.

“Libraries are integral to helping kids figure out what that big world looks like. You (librarians) help people find their passions,” Arne said, jokingly bringing up the seemingly endless supply of books about snakes that his son brings home from school, much to his wife’s chagrin.

Secretary Duncan spoke to school librarians June 28. At right is Cassandra Barnett, a high school librarian from Arkansas who is the outgoing president of the American Association of School Librarians. (Photos by Leslie Williams/U.S. Department of Education)
The Secretary pointed to the Obama administration’s support for libraries and librarians through a proposed $450 million fund for literacy under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. States and school districts could apply that money toward library services and other uses that improve student literacy. This larger, broader fund would replace an existing $19 million fund expressly for school libraries.

The proposed literacy fund, along with the Department’s Race to the Top and Investing in Innovation (i3) programs, intentionally allow for greater spending flexibility at the state and local level, but AASL’s incoming president expressed concern that school libraries were not explicitly named components of these grant programs.

“If we’re not on the roster, we can’t get into the game,” Nancy Everhart said, employing a sports metaphor with the basketball-playing secretary.

With the Department’s shift toward more flexible, and less narrowly defined, funding, Duncan encouraged librarians to advocate for a seat at the table when states and school districts apportion their budgets, including the money they receive from the federal government.

“We want our money to follow your successes,” Duncan said, assuring the crowd that, “we don’t want to fund things that might just feel nice or look good.” He acknowledged the role that school libraries can have in transforming “pockets of excellence” into “systems of excellence.”

Leaders of the American Association of School Librarians were among 20,000 librarians gathered in Washington, D.C., for the American Library Association's annual conference.
Responding to a question about the best way to identify and convey exemplary library programs to the public, Duncan encouraged the school librarians to keep lines of communication open with both the Department and their association’s parent organization, the American Library Association (ALA), which convened about 20,000 librarians in Washington, D.C., this week. Confident that the best ideas in education will come from the local level, Arne assured the audience that the Department will continue to take its cues from successful schools, and will work with librarians to shine a spotlight on what works.

In addition to Arne’s appearance, members of the Department’s outreach staff and librarians from the National Library of Education were on hand in the ALA conference’s exhibit hall to answer questions about the federal education agenda and distribute Department publications.

Mallory Easton
Office of Communications & Outreach

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Ringwood, New Jersey Library Budget Cuts

http://www.homesbyorly.com/Blog/Ringwood-New-Jersey-Library-Budget-Cuts
July 4, 2010
by Orly Steinberg
In Ringwood, NJ the Ringwood Public Library, may have to cut services and materials. What does it mean to the public to lose services and materials?

It means a possible loss of the Ringwood Public Library’s:

•Books
•CD’s
•DVD’s
•Hours of Operations
•InterLibrary Loans (ILL’s)
•Internet Access
•Personnel
•Programs/Events
•Research Databases
•Website
Access to knowledge hasn’t always been available to the general public. For centuries books were considered a valuable possession to be passed down to the next person. A person who could read and write was held in high esteem. And the opposite for the person’s who could not read nor write. Women, even from wealth, were not encouraged nor given access to education; people of color even less.

At one time libraries were not a part of the mil’s of the tax revenue but, supported through private donations. Now a day’s governmental bodies place libraries under Human Services. Human Services departments, unfortunately, are the first to suffer budget cuts when the economy slows.

The State of New Jersey doles their funding on a per capita basis. Gov. Chris Christie proposes a 74 percent budget cut to libraries. If this happens on July 1, 2010 it will take libraries years to recover from this loss of aid; if the libraries are able to recover. Many libraries will close because their local economy can’t give them enough support.

What is sad, as the libraries, across the nation, are being downsized and/or closed is the very time that the public needs the library the most. Same my New Jersey Library.

Compliments of Orly Steinberg

Posted by tumulty at 10:10 AM | Comments (0)
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July 1, 2010

Library officials in Plainfield fear looming budget cuts

Published: Tuesday, June 29, 2010, 6:17 AM
Jeremy Walsh/For The Star Ledger
nj.com
PLAINFIELD — With drastic cuts to Plainfield’s public library looming as the mayor tightens the city’s budget, a recent agreement in Trenton to restore much of the state library funding will have little impact, library officials said.

“We’re still in pretty dire shape, because unless the city restores our funding, that stuff from the state’s not going to matter,” said Mary Ellen Rogan, Plainfield library’s assistant director. “Because we’re not going to be able to keep our doors open.”

State legislators have restored $4.3 million of library money that had been cut from the upcoming state budget, but Rogan said this would only bring back the Plainfield facility’s interlibrary loan program and other secondary services.

Last week, library director Joseph Da Rold turned to the city council to preserve municipal funding he believes Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs is planning to cut in next year’s budget.

Da Rold said he was told in a meeting with city administrator Bibi Taylor that the library would get $1.2 million, down from $1.5 million this year. It would be forced to lay off 12 of its 19 full-time employees and six of its 12 part-time workers and close Mondays. It would also end the library’s volunteer, local history and literacy programs.

“There is a movement afoot to disenfranchise the library from the city government,” Da Rold said. “This goes against 130 years of a relationship with the city and the library.”

Da Rold is requesting $1.9 million to stem the layoffs and add library hours on one additional evening and on Saturdays.

Taylor and Robinson-Briggs did not return phone calls, but the city will likely face a difficult budget year with municipal aid from the state expected to be reduced by $1.5 million.

The council passed a $72 million budget for the current fiscal year in February. The new fiscal year begins July 1, but the council does not anticipate introducing a budget for several months.
Council president Annie McWilliams said the governing body would discuss the issue with the administration.

Last year the library’s one branch lent materials to 17,563 people, including 5,500 children. Library users borrowed 126,000 items — 33,000 more than were borrowed in 2008.
Plainfield resident Marion Fowler, who said she volunteered for several months at the library, defended the library at the council meeting.

“To take this away from the community would be really very devastating,” she said. “The library is a necessity. Some of our children do not get everything they need at home or at school.”

Posted by tumulty at 6:57 AM | Comments (0)
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Newark Public Library faces staff, service cuts due to N.J. budget

nj.com
June 29, 2010

NEWARK — With millions of dollars in budget cuts slated for the Newark Public Library, one of the city’s most revered cultural institutions will face major reductions in staff and services, according to library officials.

Share Days after the city’s May elections, library leaders were informed they would lose at least $2.45 million in city funding, or nearly 18 percent of the library’s budget. The city typically funds about 90 percent of the library, with the rest coming from grants, donations and state aid. In response to the cuts, the library put together a spending plan that calls for 31 layoffs, salary freezes, branch closures, and two furlough days a week until the end of 2010.

"These were tremendously difficult decisions for the trustees," library director Wilma Grey said in a statement. "We can no longer maintain all of our facilities and services."

The employee furloughs will force all branches to close on Mondays and Tuesdays, starting in mid-August and continuing through December. The First Avenue and Madison branches will be completely shuttered. Only the main branch will remain open on Saturdays.

To Newark historian and library trustee Clement Price, the cuts represent one of the institution’s darkest hours.

"There are two episodes in the Newark Library’s history that are similarly frightening: The depression of the 1930s and former mayor Hugh Addonizio’s stark musings about closing the library after the riots," said Price, a trustee for close to 25 years. "This is far scarier because this is real. The cuts are all but in place."

According to Price and Grey, the library, aside from being renowned in its own rite, is of major importance to a city like Newark, where so many low-income residents rely on its services.

Price said the library serves as "a quiet, wholesome, safe space to read, to check out books, to get your tax returns done, to get on the internet, to do your homework and to feel as if you are a part of civil society."

Because of the budget shortfall, children’s programs will be cut, computer classes for adults will be cut, and the budget for purchasing books and databases will be cut. The library will also lay off all 14 "special police security officers" and all 17 of its pages.

"Those are young Newarkers, most of whom are black and Hispanic," Price said of the pages, who move and stack books. "That really hurts me. One of my first jobs when I was a kid in D.C. was at the library, moving books."

Newark officials declined to comment on the library funding reductions. But the cuts come as the city faces a $180 million budget hole, employee furloughs and massive layoffs of its own.

Calling the library a "civic first responder," Price said the library should receive a special dispensation. Supporters such as Jerry Caprio, president of the Friends of the Newark Public Library, urged residents to protest.

"Now the library needs the support of the community," Caprio said. "I am urging anyone who loves books or who has benefited from the library in any way to pick up the phone or send an e-mail to their elected officials to show their support for this essential treasure

Posted by tumulty at 6:51 AM | Comments (0)
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Parents must now stay with their pre-teen children at Hunterdon County Library

nj.com
June 21, 2010

Parents can no longer drop off 9-12-year-old children at the Hunterdon County Library and leave them there to fend for themselves.

The county Library Commission voted on June 18 to change the policy after director Mark Titus advised that, “Parents have a tendency to leave their children, go off and not be available in case there’s a problem.”

Titus said the librarians have had to talk with parents about their children's inappropriate behavior, “pretty frequently,” but the problem has “improved a lot,” since staffers have been trying to work with parents on it.

The policy requires that parents or a responsible caregiver (13 or older) remain with children younger than 9-years-old at all times. Children 9-12 could be unattended but were not to be “left alone for extended periods of time.”

The new policy calls for parents of 9-12-year-olds (or a responsible adult) to be in the library “at all times,” when their children are there.

Children 13 and over are “old enough to use the library responsibly,” the policy states. “If problems arise, they may be asked to leave or parents may be contacted.”

If the parents cannot be reached, the policy states, “the police will be called.”

The point of the change, Titus told the commissioners, was to prevent problems.

“We have to maintain some sense of decorum,” Titus said. “There are kids that will jump off the table while parents are watching. There are parents who think that’s funny.”

The library’s policy manual is online at hclibrary.us/pdfs/policies/librarypolicy.pdf.

“We want to insure the children’s safety,” Titus said on Monday. He said the online policy manual will be updated to reflect the change.

Posted by tumulty at 6:46 AM | Comments (0)
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Hackettstown Library to close for summer for renovations; youth literary programs will continue

June 25, 2010
By STEPHEN J. NOVAK
The Express-Times
HACKETTSTOWN | The Hackettstown Free Public Library will be closed this summer as its interior is renovated, the first major work done on the building in more than 30 years, according to its director.

The doors will close July 1 when work commences and reopen sometime in the fall, a library news release says.

While the work is going on, children's and teenage reading programs will be held at the American Legion playground pavilion on Willow Grove Street in town.

During those events, there will be a limited children's book collection available for checkout with a Hackettstown library card.

Residents will be able to check out books over the summer from other area libraries using Hackettstown cards, said the library's director, Rona Mosler.

"This has been a whole series of having consultants come in and make strategic plans about the whole thing," Mosler said. "We didn't set out to have it start in the summer."

Mosler said the work is needed, regardless of the time of year, and will help fit what she called "the new library experience."

"The library, of course, has become a lot busier. There are more members. People are using the library more and differently," Mosler said, adding that the reorganization of the interior will provide better space for materials such as DVDs and books on tape.

Plans for the interior include new furniture, carpet and paint in the adult section. More public computers and easy chairs will be added. The office area will also be remodeled.

Officials said the work will retain the character of the building, constructed in 1935.

Officials were unable to provide a cost for the work.

Posted by tumulty at 6:41 AM | Comments (0)
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Mount Laurel Library cuts operating hours, raising fees

By: Kristen Coppock
Burlington County Times
http://www.phillyburbs.com

The Mount Laurel Library is reducing its hours of operation.
Starting July 1, the library will be closed on Thursdays. It will be open Monday through Wednesday, and Fridays from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., as well as Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday, 12 to 5 p.m.

The staff has instituted “Virtual Thursdays” as a way to continue serving the public. Customers will be able to download books, receive information from a librarian, via qandanj.or, and obtain job search information from the library’s website, www.mtlaurel.lib.nj.us.

An outdoor book drop also is available for returning library materials at any time, and people can renew checked-out items through the website or by phone at 856-234-5019.
The reduction is a response to municipal budget constraints.

Advertisement Meanwhile, the library staff is making an effort to generate additional income. Late fines for materials being returned to the library are being raised to 25 cents per day. Library card costs also are rising for nonresidents to $75 per year and nonresidents who work in Mount Laurel to $35 annually. Library cards to use only the computers will be $35 per year.

BCT staff writer Kristen Coppock can be reached at (609) 871-8073 or kcoppock@phillyBurbs.com.

Posted by tumulty at 6:27 AM | Comments (0)
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