Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays and 10 a.m. Currently, the library’s hours of operation are 2 to 7 p.m. The proposition that’s up for a vote also addresses the library’s hours. While a majority of those programs are grant-funded, Pamel said the library still needs staff for them. The library offers a plethora of programs, including weekly story time for preschoolers, book clubs for school-age kids, a handful of adult book clubs and more, Pamel said. The federal money helped us get over that hump.” “We’ve had a deficit the past few years, but didn’t last due to the loan. “It’d mean cutting a lot more than we wanted to,” he said. Lane noted that if the library hadn’t received a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan toward the beginning of the pandemic, the library “would’ve been further behind than we are right now.” Pamel mentioned that the library received $24,000 from the PPP loan. “ right into our operation budget,” Lane continued.
The proposition, however, wouldn’t replace the investment funding the library has received and will continue to receive, he added. Lane mentioned the library has fallen short on the 55% portion of the funding for the past few years. “ is basically seed corn ,” Lane said, which has been the library’s source of income “for years.” Pamel is the only full-time employee among five part-timers at the library.īreaking down the library’s annual fund collection, 35% of funds come from municipalities in the Dryden Municipal District, 10% from individual donations from patrons and benefactors and 55% from investment earnings. However, since the library is short staffed, it’s led to Pamel covering some of the hours. The library’s 2022 budget was set at $220,000, Pamel said, with half of it for staff costs. “The funding will enable the library to keep its staff intact and keep doing the program that we’re doing right now,” said Diane Pamel, the library’s director since 2007. Most of the libraries in the Finger Lakes Library System collect funds from their communities annually, he added.
Lane noted Southworth Library is the second-heaviest-used library in Tompkins County, behind Tompkins County Public Library in Ithaca, and has the most material usage out of the five rural libraries in the county.
“It’s come to the point where the library board felt that rather than cut back on what we provide to the community for services, we were going to ask to go on the ballot,” said Lane, who noted the library board received enough signatures on its petition to submit as a permissive referendum.Īccording to a release, the library has seen a 300% increase in material use, a 200% increase in visitors to the library and a 500% increase in use of technology resources in the last 10 years. The proposition will be on the same ballot as the vote for Dryden Central School District’s proposed 2022-23 budget. The annual fund request will be up for a vote May 17 at the Dryden High School auditorium from 7 a.m. This means that, according to Lane, the average household would contribute $10 or less annually through this provision.Īccording to a flier provided by the library, the additional funds would let the library be open 10 more hours a week, provide competitive wages for staff, continue to provide programs and events for all ages, add new materials, stay current with technology and have stabilized funding to cover budget shortfalls. Based on information that Lane and the board have received from the Tompkins County Assessment Department, this would translate to $0.0564 per $1,000 on a median assessment value of $165,000 per household.
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