Painful Budget Cuts Begin January 1

Due to the severe cut in state support for public libraries, we will unfortunately have to make some difficult cuts for our 2010 budget.

We expect to be working with a budget almost $27,000 lower than our 2009 budget. We have already lost $5200 in expected funds in 2009 due to the cut in state support and the lengthy state budget impasse.

The cuts so far:

• Our budget for purchasing books and materials will be cut by 53%.  This will mean we will have far less new books next year, and other items like magazine and newspaper subscriptions will have to be cut as well.
• The library’s hours will be changed to:
  Monday – Thursday 10:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.
  Friday and Saturday 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
  Closed Sunday (a cut of 5 open hours per week)
• Staff will receive no raises or cost of living adjustment and will see some of their hours cut back.
• We may close for more holidays.
• Other cuts will occur due to the Delaware County Library System struggling with the budget cut as well.  These may include the loss of Inter-Library Loan, Reciprocal Borrowing, and increases in fines and fees.
• Stay tuned for more details.

We regret having to reduce the services we provide to the public, but this major decrease in our budget gives us no choice.  We encourage our patrons to contact their state legislators to let them know how they feel about the importance of public libraries and their funding.

Stephen Sarazin, Director
Aston Public Library