Services are expanding, but money is tight

An increase of patrons and the growth of online services is making this an exciting time at the Hewlett-Woodmere Public Library, according to one trustee, however the state’s mandated 2 percent tax cap and a lack of money to resolve the parking problem also makes it a vexing situation.

“We needed to make cuts without jeopardizing the fact that we are among the most popular and successful libraries in Nassau County,” library board President Ben Eilbott said. There is expected to be a reduction in staff and salaries, but Library Director Susan de Sciora declined to be specific.

The 2012-’13 proposed library budget is $5,962,624. A $73,221 increase over the current budget of $5,889,403.

The tax levy cap, the amount of money to be raised by taxes, is going to be 2.2 percent, de Sciora said. The proposed tax levy is $5,766,404 and falls within the library’s allowable limit of $5,766,868, library officials said.

A budget vote and voting for one trustee running uncontested for re-election will take place on Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the Boehm Meeting Room in the library at 1125 Broadway in Hewlett.

Spending, which includes personnel, library materials, resources and services and general operations is proposed to increase $73,221 from $5,889,403 this budget season to $5,962,624 for 2012-’13. Employee benefits also went up by nearly $91,000.

Expanding the amount of online services for library patrons accounts for the increase de Sciora said. “We are increasing the services with our online catalog,” she said. “People can now renew and reserve books online and we are expanding the number of eBooks people can download to their Kindles.”

At the end of February the number of library patrons was 15,647, an increase of 803 from last year at this time.

How the library’s materials are accessed is changing, but due to the variety of age groups it serves, that transformation is ongoing. “There is a shift from old to new and while the old still exists, not everyone is used to the new yet,” de Sciora said regarding the increased usage of online resources such as eBooks. “We still serve the broad range of age groups from infants to 90 year olds.”

Library Trustee Shari Braverman is running unopposed for re-election for her second five-year term. Braverman said this is an exciting time for the library. “I really enjoyed the last five years,” she said. “We are expanding our eBook collection, offering museum passes and moving the library forward so it stays relevant in the community.”

Braverman said the library’s biggest challenges are maintaining a reasonable budget and the amount parking spaces. “We always try to keep the budget as low as possible while continuing to provide exceptional services and programs the constituents in the community expect,” she said. “And as revenues have declined, it has been a challenge to address parking solutions because they require a lot of money.”

With the amount of programs, services and activities the library offers, its 54 parking spaces are in high demand and an increase is needed, Eilbott said, but expensive solutions are not feasible at the moment. “We don’t have the money because it is a major expenditure for our citizens at a time when money is very tight,” he said.

Despite the amount of library users and the approximately 10,000 eligible voters in the library district, Eilbott said he is dismayed that the budget vote draws a fraction of that amount.

“It is exponentially disappointing as there are two to three hundred voters who come out when there are at least 10,000 eligible voters in the community,” he said. “People should come out and not take us for granted.”