Patrons of Manatee County’s library system talked dollars and texts Jan. 30.
During a town meeting, held at the Central Library in Bradenton, a long-range library services planning committee released details of a patron survey, which included recommendations that branches provide more computers, create more comfortable reading areas, step up the marketing of programs and offer self-service checkouts.
Patrons, in the survey and during the town meeting, also stressed the need for a well-funded library system.
“I’ve loved libraries since I was a little girl,” said seasonal Islander Joy Nowicki. “But it’s more than nostalgia. They are information, entertainment and necessity. They are vital.”
“They are the last thing that should be cut,” said library volunteer Alicia Long.
“We need the support of everyone,” said Bradenton City Councilwoman Marianne Barnebey, who raised concerns that state budget woes will lead to reduced funding for libraries. State appropriation is the avenue to federal funding for public libraries.
Others at the town meeting raised concerns about further county funding cuts.
During a luncheon Dec. 2 at the Tiger Bay Club, county administrator Ed Hunzeker warned of tough budget choices ahead. Discretionary programs are in danger, he said, observing, “The entire library system is $5.3 million; there is no law that says we have to have libraries.”
“Libraries are as much a part of county government as zoning and planning and parks,” said Vincent Buscimi of Bradenton Beach, as he left the town meeting.
In recent budget years, the library system experienced reductions in state and local funding that led to reduced service hours, including at the Island Branch Library. The branch is closed Sundays and Mondays, as well as Wednesday mornings.
Last July, Manatee County Library Services began work on its new five-year plan, a requirement for state funding and a tool for setting a course.
The long-range planning committee, which includes Island Branch Library manager Ava Ehde, has reviewed the prior five-year plan, created and circulated the survey for patrons, scheduled and held focus groups at each branch and completed the survey process with the town meeting in Bradenton.
Ehde said the committee’s objective is to define “the most vital of our resources” and focus on how best to serve the community.
This month, the committee will complete a draft of the plan, which will be submitted in March to the library board to review.
A final plan is due to the state by October.
Brochures distributed at the town meeting last week emphasized the economic importance of public libraries, linking public investment in libraries to job creation, wage increases and savings for taxpayers who otherwise would have to find alternatives to loaned books, DVDs and CDs, shared periodicals, research resources and computer and Internet services.