Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Budget Woes

Well, the verdict is in and public libraries get cut, not just by the 20.1% in State Aid, but in statewide programs like our online databases and reference.

Please lend a hand. If you have thought about giving to the local library of your choice or Franklin County Library System, make the decision "yes" today to assist us with a $175,000 slash in countywide library services. You can mail a check to Franklin County Library System or use the "Donate Now" link on our webpage to make credit card contributions.

We want to provide you with the service that you desire, but losing $175,000 per year is tough! We will be making adjustments in our staff, hours, and programs over the next few months to deal with the problem. Hopefully, those cuts will NOT often be apparent to you. When they are, please bear with us. These cuts are not by our choice. We would actually like to expend services to meet growing needs.

Also, beginning in January, two changes in overdue fines will be implemented: the daily rate will be increased to $0.20 per day per item and a surcharge on postal mailings of overdue notices of $0.50 per letter. We encourage each borrower to register his/her email address with their home library to avoid the snail mail charge. The cost of snail mailing overdue letters is huge!