South Hadley values its libraries, as evidenced by our investment in a beautiful new facility just over a decade ago. This newsletter authored by SHDTC friend and South Hadley Public Library Trustee Lanette Sweeney, outlines the potential impacts on our libraries without additional revenue from an override.
As the Town budget for the coming year doesn't fund our libraries at the level required by the state, library decertification could impact residents' access to the resources of other libraries, either through direct borrowing or interlibrary loans. Last year, our patrons borrowed over 23,000 items, which would have cost over $345,000 to purchase. We also would lose access to state funding through library grants, which over the past decade has provided almost $250,000 to our libraries. The Minimum Required Appropriation from the Town's budget for our libraries to remain certified this coming year is $856,802, but the most our current proposed budget can provide is $773,154.
Based on the experiences of other decertified libraries, the climb back to state certification, and to "catching up" with new systems and technologies in the interim, can take years.
- SHDTC Updates Newsletter: Issue 85-Override-Libraries
Posts
