Jervis Library Got Your Support

For twelve years, Jervis Public Library has received approximately $2.50 directly from taxpayers owning the average home. Due to cuts the library has endured recently and further impending cuts, Jervis Library is asking the public to increase that amount by an average of $15 in a proposition separate from the school district's budget.

The proposition on the May 19th school district ballot passed, and as a result, the library will receive an additional $250,000 enabling it to:

• Re-open on Sundays
• Restore its materials budget which has declined 50% since 2001—be able to buy more new books, DVDs, CDs, and other items patrons have requested
• Upgrade and add to the well used public computers
• Enhance the library's outreach programs and increase partnerships with local organizations
• Restore staff positions that have been eliminated as a result of funding cuts

"The Library provides an extraordinary public service return on investment," said Lisa Matte, Jervis' Director. "Despite the cuts we've already endured, the Library returns $6.80 in programs and services for every tax dollar it uses. Just last year, our patrons checked out an estimated $5.5 million in book materials from the library and we circulated $133,000 in VHS and DVD recordings, $263,000 in books on tape/CD, and $25,500 in music recordings."

According to Matte, the final 2009 budget is over $100,000 less than the tentative 2009 budget approved in July of last year, and the state budget holds further cuts for this fiscal year. In fact, the library's 2009 $1.35 million budget is comparable to what it was in 2001, and needs to increase by $267,000 just to adjust for inflation.

"We have to come together as a community and make sure the Library is here for our families and children," said Joseph Maloney, a community member who has organized Jervis Taxpayers for a Stronger Library, an effort to bring the community together around the Library. "I know times are tough, but the Library is always here for us, especially when times are tough, and we need to be here for the Library. $15 a year—you can't buy a best seller or a DVD for that, but we can fund Jervis so it can continue to provide us with the best a library has to offer."

Visit the Jervis web site for Jervis Public Library.