Library slashing hours

Kevin Spradlin
Cumberland Times-News

May 21, 2009 11:46 pm

— CUMBERLAND — The Allegany County Library System is cutting back its hours of operation and increasing user fees.
Both actions, as well as what the Board of Trustees hopes is a one-time transfer of $25,000 from a reserve fund that helps with capital projects, are in response to a third consecutive year of flat funding by Allegany County and state governments.
While funding has remained level, “the cost of everything has gone up,” said John Taube, director of the six-branch library system, bookmobile and Internet presence. “Going into the year, we knew we had a slight hole to make up.”
The system also had to absorb an additional $18,000 as the county moved to being self-insured. Part of the cost was passed on to employees, Taube said, but “we could not pass on the entire 24.5 percent increase.”
Beginning July 1, four library sites — Washington Street, South Cumberland, LaVale and Frostburg — will open one hour later and close one hour earlier Monday through Thursday. The current operating hours are from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
All four sites will open at 10 a.m. Friday and Saturday, instead of 9 a.m., and close at 5 p.m. The Washington Street library will be closed on Sunday. The George’s Creek Regional Library will close at 8 p.m. instead of 9 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday. The Westernport Library will close at 8 p.m. on Monday and Tuesday.
The library system has conducted daily patronage counts for all sites for the past eight years. The least frequently used hour, Taube said, is from 8 to 9 p.m. That patronage accounts for less than 3 percent of daily volume.
The 9 to 10 a.m. hour comprises about 7 percent, “so the adjustment overall will hopefully affect less than 10 percent of the users,” Taube said.
Also on July 1, the cost for overdue print materials per day for adults and children will double to 20 cents and 10 cents, respectively. The cost of printing and photocopying is to jump to 20 cents per sheet. The fee increases are expected to generate $10,000 a year, Taube said. He cautioned, however, against counting on this revenue stream. He said smart library patrons could simply return their materials on time to alter that projection.
Other adjustments to staff development and training, travel, equipment and repairs, fuel, electric and water, and the bookmobile are expected to save up to $35,000, Taube said.
“All things that we have control over, we’re going to reduce expenditures,” Taube said. “The reality is there’s only so much to go around. We need to do our absolute best with every penny that we get.”
The one-time reserve fund transfer is done “somewhat reluctantly,” he said.
Unrestricted reserve funds are used to match local and state grants for capital projects such as the renovations at the Westernport and Washington Street libraries, Taube said. If the library system is unable to match county funding on a project, state government might be inclined to follow suit, he said.
The library’s operating budget for fiscal 2010, which begins July 1, is $1.89 million. That includes $905,000 from Allegany County government and $769,848 from state appropriations. The remaining $220,650 comes from endowments, late fees and copying expenses borne by library patrons.
Asked if the outlook could be better for next year’s budget cycle, Taube said library officials “can continue to hope.”
“I think we’re very fortunate here,” Taube said. “The staff and administration and board believe in the service that we provide.”
Contact Kevin Spradlin at kspradlin@times-news.com.