Library scraping for funds to get by

They're hoping for a happy ending to their harrowing budget tale.

With the failure of a property tax increase proposal in last month's election, Ashland officials are searching elsewhere for money needed to keep the town's library certified.

The Ashland Public Library needs about $38,000 more for the next fiscal year to retain its state certification, according to library director Paula Bonetti . Only certified libraries are eligible to receive state grants and to offer patrons interlibrary loan privileges.

"We're not asking for anything outrageous," said Carolyn Bell, chairwoman of the Board of Library Trustees. "We're just looking for our fair share."

Money from a proposed $2 million override of the Proposition 2 1/2 tax-limiting law would have allowed the library to hire more staff and ensure its certification, but voters overwhelmingly rejected the override on May 15.

Bell said the failure of the override puts the library in limbo. Library officials are hoping town officials can find the needed money before the fall Town Meeting, she said.

Finance Committee chairman Robert Powderly said that even though he spoke out against the override, he supported some items in the proposal. One of those was the library.

"The library is part of education, and I think it's important to have it," Powderly said. "An accredited library is something the town deserves."

Powderly said he is open to scrutinizing the town's budgets to see whether more money can be found for the library.

Many libraries around the state have been suffering from a cash shortage in recent years, as communities have cut services deemed nonessential to cover rising costs in other departments.

But Ashland has one of the few libraries facing a loss of state certification due to its financial woes.

Budget cuts last year reduced the library's hours from 51 to 40 per week, according to Bonetti; the library's four part-time staffers' hours also decreased.

Despite the cuts, circulation is up by 17 percent compared with the previous year, Bonetti said, meaning the staff is busier than ever.

"Our primary focus is keeping things running," she said. Bonetti estimated that she has to spend 25 of her 40 hours a week working at either the front desk or the reference desk, doing non administrative work.

Earlier this year, the state Board of Library Commissioners ruled that Ashland officials had disproportionately cut the library budget last year when compared with other town departments.

Because of the cuts, the library needed to receive a waiver from state requirements to keep its certification.

The board granted the waiver "with reservations," putting Ashland in a category with only two other communities in the state, said Robert Maier , director of the Board of Library Commissioners. Another local community, Medway, was not granted a waiver and lost its certification.

Maier said the same fate could befall Ashland if the town doesn't meet the state's requirements for a second time.

"I wouldn't want to suggest to that community that they would get a waiver again," he said.

Town Manager John Petrin said it's too early to discuss specifics about whether the town will be able to increase the library budget. But Petrin said he believes the town has been supporting its library all along and maintained that the library wasn't treated differently than other departments during the budget cuts last year.

"Hardly any budget went unscathed," he said.

Petrin also said the town contributes money to the library that doesn't appear in the library budget. Custodial staff and utility costs for the library, for instance, show up in a separate budget item under "building operations," he said.

"The argument I'd make is that the town is supporting the library in other ways," Petrin said.

He said he is considering whether to put those building-related expenses in the library budget to more accurately reflect the town's contribution.

The library's budget for the next fiscal year, which begins July 1, is $252,429. Library officials say they need that increased to $290,434.

Funding changes can only be approved at Town Meeting, and library officials are hoping that a plan to increase the budget will be ready for presentation to Special Town Meeting in the fall.

Ashland library officials are to attend a hearing in January with the state Board of Library Commissioners, where they will update the board on the library's funding situation.