SOUTHAMPTON — Following the defeat of a $718,467 Proposition 2½ override, the Edwards Public Library will not meet state accreditation standards for the next fiscal year and must secure a waiver to avoid cuts to services and a loss of state funding.
Regardless of whether a waiver is granted, the library will need to cut hours and substitute staff positions, and will also reduce spending on new materials.
Library Director Barbara Goldin said she is “hopeful” the state will grant the library the waiver, but cautioned that relying on waivers to maintain services is not a sustainable method. The library also needed to apply for a waiver last year, which the state granted.
“The problem is that states won’t give libraries waivers every year,” Goldin said. “They expect the town to give the library the required amount of money, so I’m worried about the future of the library.”
As part of the state Board of Library Commissions’ accreditation process, communities must provide public libraries with a certain amount of funding, known as a municipal appropriation requirement. Libraries need accreditation in order to receive state funding and participate in the interlibrary loan program, which allows libraries to share books and other materials with other libraries in the regional system.
Under current funding, the Edwards Public Library does not meet the Municipal Appropriation Requirement. The lack of funding dates back to the town’s fiscal 2021 budget, which was passed last August. The override proposed for the fiscal 2022 budget, which voters ultimately rejected by a 798-478 vote at a Town Meeting last week, would have compensated for the library’s budget shortfall.
The library has a budget of $163,359 and needed just over $170,000 in municipal funding to reach accreditation. The override would have allocated more than $10,000 to the library.
In addition to losing interlibrary loan services, Edwards Public Library patrons will no longer be able to use their cards at other libraries if the waiver is not granted. The library would also lose access to state aid, which provided about $10,500 last year, and would no longer be eligible for state or federal library grants.
Even if the state grants the waiver, the library will reduce its hours of operations, Goldin said. The library is still putting together its new schedule but plans to close on Mondays and reduce its evening hours.
“Mainly, I feel bad that service to the community will be less than it used to be,” Goldin said.
The library will also cut its four substitute staff positions, Goldin said, leaving no backup coverage for when employees are out sick or on vacation.
Most of the $718,467 proposed override would have gone towards funding William E. Norris School, which also cut positions and services due to the failed vote. Additionally, the town’s fire and EMS services, police department, highway department, council on aging, Select Board, town clerk, administration and other municipal services are being impacted by the override vote.
Jacquelyn Voghel can be reached at jvoghel@gazettenet.com.