Harvard’s new public library is larger than the libraries in most surrounding towns and has a more highly educated staff, more programs for children, and a far greater level of use. Not surprisingly, it also costs more to operate than its neighboring counterparts do. That information and more is pulled from a comparative survey of nearby libraries—and a few farther afield—recently released by Finance Committee member Lori Granville.
The sample Granville used included 11 towns in addition to Harvard: Ayer, Bolton, Boxborough, Lancaster, Littleton, Shirley, Stow, Carlisle, Dover, Lincoln, and Sherborn. The latter four towns were chosen because they are thought to be similar to Harvard in terms of wealth and educational characteristics. Of those towns, only Lincoln appropriated more support for its library in 2008, and only Carlisle and Lincoln had higher appropriations per capita.
The relative cost of running the town library was what sparked Granville’s interest in doing the survey, she said, and in particular the 42 percent increase in Harvard’s library expenditures over the past four years. But during that time, of course, Harvard built an award-winning new library at a relatively modest cost of $2.6 million to the town; the rest of the $7.4 million total cost came from a state matching grant, $1.6 million in donations, and $700,000 from the Library Trust. The new library is much larger than the old Hapgood library, and because it’s attached to the Old Bromfield School, it’s laid out in a way that requires more staffing than a new library building like Boxborough’s does, Granville found. She also discovered that a marked increase in operating costs is typical when a new library opens; that the Finance Committee had, in fact, predicted a sizable increase here; and that library budget growth in Harvard has leveled off.
When word of Granville’s work on the survey reached the Library Trustees a month or so ago, the trustees objected to some of the towns she was using for comparison and offered help in structuring the survey to produce more meaningful results. It made little sense to compare Harvard’s library costs to Bolton’s, the trustees argued, because Bolton is in the process of enlarging its library significantly. Library Trustees Pete Jackson and Ginger Kendall both expressed concern that the survey results would be used to bolster the view that library spending is much higher in Harvard than is necessary—an opinion that appeared to be gaining ground among Finance Committee members. After a brief standoff, Granville, Jackson, Kendall, and Library Director Mary Wilson began working together on the survey, and three more-affluent towns were added to the sample, while three others—Groton, Boylston, and West Boylston—were dropped. By all accounts, the group worked well together, and Jackson called it “a mutual education experience.”
For her part, Granville told the Finance Committee that she and the trustees don’t always agree on how to interpret the data, but said she is “very impressed with the operation over there.” Granville’s conclusions at the end of her survey included a statement that “Harvard has a great library that is well-funded for a community of our size,” one that offers a wealth of programs for citizens of all ages. But in order to continue offering the same level of service, while keeping within current budget constraints, the library will have to recruit more volunteers and do more fundraising than it does now, she said.
Of the 12 towns in the survey, Harvard ranks ninth in volunteer hours, seventh in population, fifth in the percentage of residents with a library card, fourth in the number of hours open, first in the number of children’s programs, and sixth in the number of programs for adults. It has the seventh largest print collection and ranks seventh in total circulation.
