Cutbacks hurt Storrs (MA) Library
The Longmeadow (MA) library will lose funding and staff in fiscal 2011 budget. Currently the library faces the loss of the equivalent of two full-time employees due to attrition and layoffs.
At their meeting March 1, the Select Board approved a 10 percent reduction in cuts, less than the initial 15 percent they asked department heads to work with. They also agreed to keep the Storrs Library open 50 hours per week.
Even though they are open 50 hours per week, the library is just meeting the minimum required for certification by the state Board of Library Commissioners, which administers state aid to public libraries.
“Because of the certification we have access to 9 million items in other libraries and the delivery charges are funded by the state,” said Library Director Carl L. Sturgis. “If we start losing hours because of a reduction in staff, we lose all of those benefits.”
Other communities are facing the same problems with their library hours and budgets. In Greenfield the library budget was cut by close to $50,000 in fiscal 2010, which meant the loss of seven part-time positions and an 11-hour cutback in library hours. Cuts are possible for the next fiscal year.
A public forum will be held at Longmeadow High School on March 9 at 7 p.m. to discuss the fiscal 2011 budget.
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