RVC Library Discusses 2013-14 Budget

The following is from the Rockville Centre Library Board of Trustees:

Dear Friends,

The library continues to be as busy as ever providing resources, programming and services to the entire community. From tiny tots to mature seniors, and everyone in between, the library provides a host of choices for education and for entertainment.

Senior current events, films on Friday, Monday mysteries and other book discussions are just a few of the opportunities in the library that nourish the mind. Health and wellness programs are just as popular as ever, with knitting, cooking and game nights as additional offerings to round out your options.

Our Youth Services Department is staffed by a team of hard-working, dedicated and inventive librarians who devise creative programming for our youngsters. Wonderful story times for all ages, crafts and books discussions, community service opportunities, and, of course, the Summer Reading Program are just some of the ways that they engage the imaginations and enthusiasm of our children.

Circulating eReaders and downloadable books cater to the techno-savvy patron. An excellent selection of online resources through subscription databases that would be financially prohibitive to the average persion is available to you. Your library has more than 7,800 audio books and, again, more than 7,800 DVDs. And books ... yes, we have book -- more than 170,000 volumes.

The library board of trustees takes its mandate to be fiscally responsible very seriously and we are doing as much as we can for the community by providing a wide array of programming, new technology and cutting edge databases for all areas of research. However, complying with state-mandated increases such as pension expenditures and in order to be in compliance with the New York State mandated 2-percent tax levy, we have had to make the difficult decision to close the library on Sundays. The saving from such a budget cut will allow us to keep our programs and most services at the same high level of quality that our community expects.

This year again, the library's budget is in line with the state requirements and reflects a 2-percent increase, which is about a $7.60 increase per family annually for a home with a market value of $500,000.

Sincerely,

You library board of trustees
Eileen Burke Bucaria
April Wexler
Bill Murray
Charlie Kelleher
Andrea Maher