Spending on materials would increase by $3,000, to $46,100, reflecting the trustees’ desire to restore that budget line to its approximate level of three years ago. Employee salaries and benefits, including the mandatory retirement contributions, account for $386,155.42 in the proposed budget. The Woodstock library has five full-time and three part-time employees.
Spending on office supplies would rise by $1,000, to a total of $7,000. That budget line, said Raff, is “historically underfunded.” She added: “We want to match what we actually need to run the library” in order to make its resources more accessible. As an example, Raff cited the costs of “stickering and processing” that the library will incur in an upcoming project that will affix new labels to all of its books.
In support of the budget’s passage, the library points to the following statistics as evidence of its service to the community in 2012: a total of 214,828 library visits; 5,617 registered borrowers; 353 programs, with a combined attendance of 12,406; the Children’s Summer Reading Program, which drew 685 children to more than 30 offerings; a total of 77,005 circulation items, including books, DVDs, CDs, and books on CD; 22,359 computer-use sessions; and 21,000 reference questions that received answers from the library staff.
If voters fail to approve the budget, say library officials, spending on acquisitions will be reduced by more than 25 percent; cutbacks will occur in children’s programs, including the elimination of poetry, crafts, and theater workshops; and a fee will be charged for “system holds,” whereby the library locates items requested by borrowers and arranges for their delivery.
Plans for Annex
The library purchased the former laundromat at a foreclosure auction last year. In anticipation of competitive bidding at the auction, the library’s fundraising arm, Friends of the Library, secured $170,000 in donations for the purchase. When no competing bidders emerged, the library managed to acquire the property for $71,000.
The unspent portion of the funds that were raised, along with a $14,000 grant, will be applied to the cost of demolishing the decrepit laundromat building (an estimated $16,000, including asbestos abatement) the $70,000 fee charged by Joel Sanders Architect for the design of the Annex, and other expenses, such as a geotechnical survey, said Raff. Neither the cost of the construction nor its projected starting date has been established, pending the library’s submission of the design to a professional cost estimator.
Raff has previously described the Annex as “an inspiring and ecologically responsible multimedia space, offering the community 21st-century technology, maker spaces, and much-needed community meeting space.” The envisioned uses of the Annex include performances and computer instruction as well as meetings by community groups, which have taxed the physical limits and operating schedule of the main library.
The Annex will contain about 1,800 square feet, representing a roughly 700-square-foot increase over the size of the former laundromat’s footprint. The expansion will cover part of the parking area on the western side of the site, proceeding toward the library across the street and away from the stream behind the laundromat building.
As Raff noted in a June 2013 letter, a state Court of Appeals ruling established a “balancing test” to determine whether a proposed activity by one political entity, such as a library district or fire district, is subject to the zoning regulations of another, such as the municipality in which it is located. In the case of the Annex, the library is not bound to comply with Woodstock’s zoning law, although the project must adhere to state Department of Environmental Conservation regulations.
“We want to ensure that the design and construction of the Annex is led by an efficient and cost-effective process, so that we can serve the community by offering this needed space as soon as possible,” wrote Raff in the letter.
The Woodstock Public Library is celebrating its centennial this year; the local institution originated in 1913, in a converted barn. In addition to Hammond and Lee, the incumbents who are running for reelection, the library’s board of trustees includes Stuart Auchincloss, president; Esther Ratner, vice president; Walter Bost, treasurer; Doris Goldberg, secretary; Katryna Barber; Geoffrey Hanowitz; Jesse Jones; Barry Miller; and Barry Samuels.
