Budget Cuts Could Hit Library Hard

The far-reaching effects of the proposed cuts in Gov. Chris Christie's budget have grabbed wide attention lately, including at the Bernards Township Library Board of Trustees meeting Wednesday night.

The board grappled with the likely impact of proposed state budget cuts Wednesday night, as well as passing a new policy for unattended children and discussing library improvements.

Director Anne Meany started off the meeting with the discussion of the proposed cuts to libraries, which would remove the required contribution from townships to be based on the third mill tax. Instead, township contributions to libraries would be a budget line that could be adjusted by the township as it sets a budget.

Meany called the cuts "disproportionate" to libraries. "It's bleak," she said. Secretary and School Board Liaison Mary Jane McNally said the change from a third mill tax-based funding to funding set by township budgets would have an ongoing impact.

"That is a very big threat because it makes library budgets vulnerable," she said.

Treasurer Lois Bloom said the library will still receive the funding it expected for the 2010-2011 fiscal year, since the proposed budget cuts are unlikely to pass before that funding would be set. She said that in light of cuts the following year, however, the library will be conservative with spending this year, with remodeling the bathrooms the only major project likely to be considered.

"There's no question that next year we'll have serious cuts," she said.

Secretary and School Board Liaison Mary Jane McNally said state cuts would eliminate funding for regional cooperatives and for databases that the state has paid for in the past, such as the EBSCO suite which provides periodicals and literary criticism and RefUSA for business information and job searches, among others. Costs to the library to pay for these databases could be as high as $50,000 or $60,000, according to McNally. JerseyCAT, which gives libraries the ability to look up other libraries' holdings for interlibrary loan purposes, would also be eliminated.

Policy Change

The board voted unanimously to pass a new policy raising the age a child must be attended in the library.

The policy raises the age that children may not be unattended from 7 years and under to 10 years and under, including during children's programs at the library.

Any child under 12 years of age left alone in the library at closing must now be attended by two library staff people while the parents are contacted.

Library Changes

Some improvements are ahead for the library as well. A new phone system is currently under construction, which should be up in the beginning of April, allowing the library to have a phone message for calls after hours, among other benefits. The board also discussed plans for a Web site redesign in the future.

Meany added that the PC basics classes offered at the library have been so well attended that extra sessions on Monday afternoons and every Wednesday, instead of every other Wednesday, have been added.

"There's obviously a lot of need for that one-on-one, basic computer training," she said.

The next library Board of Trustees meeting is Wednesday, April 28 at 7:30 p.m.