I’m writing as a trustee of the South Hadley Public Library to let everyone know that if our library is decertified, which is the danger if a proposed override doesn’t pass on April 14th, we may lose a big chunk of state library funding and all our interlibrary-loan privileges.
This would mean your South Hadley Library card won’t work in other branches throughout Western Mass, as it does now, and you will no longer be able to borrow any materials from any branch outside the South Hadley Library, something library patrons did 23,000 times last year.
Over the past five years, our library has received nearly a quarter million dollars in state grants; last year we got more than $63,000 in such grants, and the state has allocated even more money for libraries in next year’s budget.
However, the South Hadley Library will no longer be eligible for such grants if we are decertified, which means that on top of having to slash our budget because the town has less money, we will have to slash it further because we are going to lose tens of thousands of dollars in state funding.
Additionally, patrons would no longer be able to request materials from other libraries, nor would the library be able to gather books from multiple branches for our monthly book clubs. Last year, South Hadley patrons borrowed eight percent more books and other items from other libraries than they did the previous year.
If we vote no on the override, we may lose our ability to borrow from other libraries.
Decertification of libraries is extremely rare; only one of the 370 libraries in the state lost certification in the past decade. To stay certified, we can’t let our budget drop too much. The state requires each year’s library budget be an average of the previous three years’ budgets plus 2.5 percent.
Because our library director runs a fiscally tight ship, our library budget for this year was just $14 over the minimum required to maintain certification, which means any cuts to the library budget may cause us to be decertified, ineligible for State Aid to Libraries funding, and cut off from all reciprocal lending.
The impact on the health of our library—and therefore our town—would be serious and long-lasting. Consider these comments from a previous Holyoke Public Library Director regarding their 1989 decertification:
“It took more than five years to regain certification. During that time, we lost many supporters and long-time patrons, and our statistics dropped. Holyoke residents were denied services, not only here but also at neighboring libraries. We were ineligible for State Aid for not meeting state requirements, and grants and donations were impossible to secure. That single budget cut put us about a decade behind other libraries in technology, automation, and services.”
Of course, we can (and will) apply for a waiver, but there’s no guarantee we’d get one. We would need to show that the library budget was not cut disproportionately in comparison to other town departments and that there is a plan in place to restore library funding within the next five years—which, again, we will not be able to do if our override doesn’t pass.
Everything we value about the town is on the line: our schools, our robust senior center, our good water and sewer system and snow-removal teams, and our vibrant, thriving library, visited nearly 143,000 times last year.
Please vote yes to pass the override—for our students, our seniors, our streets, and our wonderful library.