Wareham, Freetown fight to keep their libraries certified

Wareham and Freetown officials are optimistic that their libraries will regain certification at the next meeting of the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners on Thursday, but their struggle to maintain state approval in the future is already looming large.

The two communities and dozens of others across the state are feeling the pinch of reduced library budgets at a time when usage is rising due to the depressed economy.

Wareham officials say that even if the library regains its certification in May, it could stand to lose it again next year, according to Nora Bicki, president of the Friends of the Wareham Free Library.

Freetown officials, meanwhile, are facing the "ugliest" fiscal situation in recent years as they prepare a budget to go before the June 1 Town Meeting, said Selectman Lawrence N. Ashley. The town is hoping to restore about $14,000 to the library budget for this year and bring it back up to its previous level, he said. Still, the funding picture for the future is not clear.

The loss of certification in the two towns has meant losses in state aid and drastic cuts in the interlibrary loan privileges that allow library-goers access to millions of items of library materials. Wareham officials are hoping to regain $28,000 in state funds, and Freetown could regain $10,000 for the current year.

The state library commissioners took away certification from the Freetown, Norton, and Wareham libraries in February. Last month, the board turned down an appeal from Norton because the town did not present any new information. Freetown and Wareham sent representatives and pleaded their case, and their appeals were tabled until the board's meeting on Thursday.

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