Library faces $70K in cuts

By Nick Grabbe
Staff Writer

Published on March 02, 2007

The Jones Library is facing possible cuts to its materials budget and its English as a Second Language program.

The board of trustees has scheduled a public hearing on spending cuts for the next fiscal year. It will be March 13 at 7 p.m. in the trustees room on the library's third floor. The board must cut about $70,000 from its $2.1 million proposed budget, which would achieve the level of increase that would spare voters from needing to approve an override of state tax limits.

The board voted 4-2 Monday to delete $20,000 from its $240,500 proposed budget for buying new materials. Beth Girshman, the adult services librarian, told the trustees that this cut is "the lesser of many evils."

She explained that many materials the library buys go to serve people in other towns through interlibrary loans. The money could be cut "with less impact on the community than you might think," Girshman said. Trustee Will Bridegam disagreed. He said that many library materials - children's and young adult books, films, books on professions and hobbies, and books on tape - are not available at the campus libraries.

"They are critical to the basic mission," he said. "They are what makes it a library rather than an information service."

The trustees also voted 5-1 to eliminate the entire $27,000 cost of the English as a Second Language program. This money goes to a half-time employee who coordinates volunteer tutoring of between 60 and 80 adults a year, Girshman said. Bridegam said it is not part of the library's basic mission. Trustee Kathleen Wang described the cut as "heartbreaking." Library Director Bonnie Isman said that perhaps another funding source can be found for the program.

The trustees also voted 4-2 to spend $20,000 in next year's state aid on next year's budget, instead of the past practice of spending it in the following year.