Facing potential cuts, North Shore libraries ask for support

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Over the past year, North Shore libraries have been there for their patrons, whether offering curbside book pickup, hosting educational and fun virtual programs or promoting a wide selection of digital resources, like e-books.

But in order to provide services, the state needs funding. Although the New York State Library Association requested $123.1 million in funding for fiscal year 2020-21, library aid totaled $94.1 million, with 20 percent withheld because of the ongoing pandemic.

For the upcoming fiscal year, Gov. Andrew Cuomo, according to the NYSLA, proposed cutting library aid by an additional 7.5 percent in his executive budget. The proposal comes after a NYSLA survey found that libraries have incurred an average of more than $6,500 in Covid-19 related expenses.

“These prospective cuts to library operating aid in the budget that’s being negotiated right now are really going to threaten the ability of our communities to recover from Covid-19,” said Caroline Ashby, the director of the Nassau Library System.

In times of crisis, Ashby said, people often turn to their local libraries for social support, workforce development, entertainment, education and other programs.

Throughout the pandemic, the Sea Cliff Village Library has offered story time for socially distanced children three times a week, outdoors, even during the winter. Story times are also recorded and offered online.

“For the adults, we have a monthly Monday movie discussion group where everything is virtual,” said Camille Purcell, the library director. “We have a Shakespeare discussion group, and we meet every Sunday for five weeks and they do a different play.”

The Nassau Library System reached out to library fans on Feb. 11, asking them to support their local libraries by sending virtual postcard telling Cuomo and the State Legislature what those libraries mean to them. Nearly 700 postcards have been sent thus far.

Glen Cove Public Library Director Kathie Flynn said that postcards that referred to her library were on display there.

“Today is advocacy day at the libraries,” Flynn said on Feb. 26, the day members of the library community traditionally take a trip to Albany. This year, they had virtual discussions with lawmakers about issues libraries are facing.

“We’re just trying to get the message across of how important the library is,” Flynn said. “We weren’t closed during the pandemic. We went online, mostly. But we still tried to meet the needs of the community. We still had people asking questions online; we were doing research for them.”

When libraries were ordered to close last March, Locust Valley Library Director Kathleen Smith recalled, her staff immediately created a website on the library’s webpage suggesting activities to keep people occupied while they were largely confined to their homes. The library offered a wide range of virtual programs, like exercise classes and book and movie discussions, throughout the year.

Meanwhile, the Locust Valley facility is over 100 years old and, Smith said, it needs maintenance and upgrades. Funding for repairs comes from the state.

Funding for library construction had been stagnant for over a decade until investment by the State Legislature in 2018, according to the NYSLA. Last year, however, funding was slashed by $20 million, and this year Cuomo has proposed only $14 million for the program, which would severely impact over half of the state’s libraries that are over 60 years old.

Ashby said there are also costs that patrons are not aware of, like the cost of providing digital resources, which accounts for a large chunk of the Nassau Library Systems’ budget. In 2020, use of digital resources like e-books have grown dramatically.

“Research goes way beyond the walls of the library,” said Michele Vaccarelli, the director of the Oyster Bay-East Norwich Public Library. “The library offers a plethora of online research, databases from auto repair to genealogy and other databases. Beyond those walls we have e-books and audio books that are also available 24/7.”

Being a part of the Nassau Library System also allows a facility like the Gold Coast Public Library, in Glen Head, to request media that a patron may be looking for from other county libraries.

“[State] funding primarily funds the library systems,” explained Mike Morea, the director of the Gold Coast Public Library. “For us that means the Nassau Library System. We are one of 54 libraries in Nassau County, and we work together through the system that provides us things like the ability to purchase resources, like the Nassau Digital Doorway, the e-book and audio book platform that we all share.”

The best way to support local libraries, Ashby said, is to use them, and to write letters of support to the governor and state lawmakers. To send a postcard in support of a local library, go to www.facebook.com/NassauLibrarySystem/.