Budget cuts could threaten certification
According to Library Trustee Pete Jackson, the library will almost certainly have to cut more hours to meet the Finance Committee’s budget guidelines for fiscal 2011. If the budget is level-funded, Jackson said, it would probably mean reduced summer hours, and if they have to cut another five percent, further reductions in hours and services would follow. Ironically, these cuts would come at a time when circulation is up 10 percent over last year, said Library Director Mary Wilson, calling the library “ the best bargain around.”
Library Trustees Chairman Pete Jackson discusses the impact on accreditation of potential budget cuts at the library. (Photo by Lisa Aciukewicz)
Asked about certification, Jackson said the required budget cuts would bring the town’s support for the library almost $14,000 below certification levels, which means that the town could lose access to MBLC (Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners) databases used by Harvard students, interlibrary loan privileges, and library state aid, which amounted to $8,600 this year. Jackson pointed out that, if certified, half of the nearly $14,000 would be returned to the town.
Finance Committee member Lori Granville expressed confidence that de-certification could be avoided. “We can go for a waiver and, if they [the MBLC] say no, we can revisit the problem,” she said. But if the waiver is denied, Jackson replied, it would take a year to regain certification.
