Library systems in Middletown and Hamilton are cutting back, even while library usage is increasing, officials say.
In Middletown, cuts have been made in the budget for materials borrowed by patrons, Middletown Public Library Director Doug Bean said Monday, May 18.
The Lane Libraries, with branches in Hamilton, Oxford and Fairfield, will reduce salaries of managers and impose furloughs on non-managerial workers, spokeswoman Carrie Mancuso said Monday.
The state has a $900-million budget deficit for the fiscal year ending in June. The Lane Libraries expect to lose $1.2 million. Managers will be taking a pay cut amounting to 4.5 percent annually, while non-managers will be required to take furloughs of 10 days over 10 pay periods. The Lane Libraries employ 23 managers plus 110 other staffers.
The cuts, in effect from June through November of this year, are expected to save the Lane Libraries $150,000.
The situation is similar in Middletown, Bean said. Bean didn’t have precise figures, but said the Middletown library, with branches in Trenton and West Chester, has been reducing staff through attrition. The materials budget has been cut by 15 percent, although the trims affect less-popular items, he said.
“We’re very grateful for state funding, but with the declines right now, we’re just sharing the pain,” Bean said.
While budgets are going down, circulation is going up. Middletown’s has increased 11 percent a month for the past two weeks. Lane’s circulation for March 2009 is up 4 percent over March 2008.
Whatever cuts the libraries make, the goal for both systems is to affect the patrons’ experience as little as possible, the directors said.
“We have a rental collection of books, so we’ll still be able to get materials. We won’t see any difference in that kind of demand,” said Mary Pat Essman, Lane director.
“We are always attending to what the customer wants,” Bean said. “The scope of what we buy is broad, so some things that are less in demand, that’s what we’ll be trimming.”
