+

Public Libraries and Their Budgets in 2010

LIS 651-04April 7, 2011Vicky Ludas

Three Case Studies

+ Brooklyn Public Library, Brooklyn NY Municipal library founded 1897

Exempt from federal, state, and local income taxes

Run by 38-member Board of Trustees

Serves more than 2.4 million patrons:

Landmarked Central Library (Grand Army Plaza)

Business Library (Borough Hall)

58 Branch Libraries, 18 of which are Carnegie libraries

1,000+ employees

Per capita (as of 2008):

$31 in local revenue

2 books and 5 visits

Fifth-largest public library system in the U.S.

Photo source: http://vowelmovers.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/brooklyn_public_library_sunset_jeh.jpg

+

City of NY62%

State of NY6%

Federal Government

1%

Contributed fa-cilities and utili-

ties23%

Fines, royalties, etc.2%

Other7%

BPL Revenue and Support

City of NYState of NYFederal GovernmentContributed facilities and utilitiesFines, royalties, etc.Other

Total 2010 Revenue: $139,523,000.00

BPL: 2010 Revenue

+

Salaries and related ex-

penses54%

Donated rent and utilities

23%

Materials and subscriptions

9%

Supporting services

4%

Office adminis-tration

1%

Staff expenses0%

Other8%

BPL Functional Expenses

Salaries and related expenses

Donated rent and utilities

Materials and subscriptions

Supporting services

Office administra-tion

Staff expenses

Other

BPL: 2010 Expenses

Total 2010 Expenses: $138,707,000.00

+Budget Cuts: 2009 vs. 2011 Since 2009, city funding to the BPL has been reduced

by $9.9m. Resulting cuts:

Voluntary retirement Layoffs Cuts in OTPS (Other Than Personnel Spending)

160+ vacancies not filled

A mid-year reduction in 2010 of $4.6m led to: $2m decrease in collections budget More cuts in OTPS, often one-time savings

2011: $25.2m cut? Worst-case scenario: 40% staff layoffs, 16 libraries closed,

hours reduced everywhere else

+Montclair Public Library, Montclair NJ Municipal library founded 1893

2002 Library of the Year Special Mention by Library Journal

Suburban library serving about 39,000 people: Main branch, built 1955 Bellevue Avenue branch, built 1914 with Carnegie funds, now

closed (though hopefully not permanently) 34 employees at both branches Per capita (as of 2008):

$99 in local revenue 5 books and 8 visits

Public programs over the years: Film series Ballet company in residence Art gallery Cafe

Photo source: http://media.photobucket.com/image/recent/ERGOtherefore/Montclairlibrary.jpg

+

Municipal Appropria-

tion95%

State Aid1%

Miscellaneous 4%

MPL 2010 Revenues

Municipal Appropria-tion*State AidMiscellaneous

MPL: 2010 Revenue

Total 2010 Revenue: $3,530,136.00

* The base amount guaranteed by law is “1/3 of a mill,” about 33c per $1,000 of assessed value of a municipality’s land. Amount given can be increased but should not be less.

+MPL: 2010 Expenses

Personnel71%

Facilities5%

Materials and

Data-bases

7%

Utilities7%

IT2%

BCCLS2%

Other5%

MPL Costs

PersonnelFacilitiesMaterials and DatabasesUtilitiesITBCCLSOther

Total 2010 Library Costs: $3,509,879.00

+Budget Cuts: 2009 vs. 2011(proposed)

Reven

ues

Pers

onne

l

Mat

eria

ls a

nd D

atab

ases

Facilit

y

Secu

rity

100% 100% 100% 100% 100%88% 88%

64%

104%

97%69%

58%

18%

52% 47%

MPL Budgets

200920102011

Expenses

+Northvale Public Library, Northvale NJ Association library founded 1957

Borough library serving less than 4,500 1 branch, 4 FT and PT employees Per capita (as of 2008):

$73 in local revenue 8 books and 6 visits

Member of Bergen County Cooperative Library System (BCCLS) 75-member cooperative that allows cardholders access to any

of its libraries The BCCLS membership fee requires that the library be funded

like a municipal library The sticking point for town budget issues – can Northvale

afford funding the library to keep up with the fee for BCCLS benefits?

Source: Personal correspondence, V. Beckman, Director of Northvale Public Library, March 25-April 4, 2011.

Image source:http://www.njmls.com/communities/index.cfm?action=dsp.towninfo&city=NORTHVALE&county=BERGEN&a=

+Association Libraries Established by vote of association members

Not municipally owned or run

Employees are not municipal employees and thus are not paid government-funded benefits and pension

The public can volunteer for the association and vote for trustees

Can be funded by the municipality but as discretionary funding

Other potential income: membership fees, endowments, etc.

If the town decides it cannot afford to pay the library budget, the library will close

State laws often allow that association libraries can become municipal if the voters and town governing body approve

Fairly unique to Northeast, older libraries built before state laws about municipal libraries (so why Northvale…?)

+NPL: 2010 Income and Expenses

Municipal Funding

96%

Other4%

NPL Revenues

Municipal Funding

Other

Total: $350,000.00 (approx.)

Rent26%

Personnel54%

Ma-teri-als

10%

BCCLS, etc.10%

NPL Expenses

RentPersonnelMaterialsBCCLS, etc.

+Where are they now? As of 7/1/11:

Brooklyn: $23.2m of the proposed $25.3m cut was restored to the BPL

budget by the NY Mayor and City Council, meaning no drastic cuts or layoffs though service will likely be reduced to 5 days a week instead of 6.

Montclair: Through rallying efforts by concerned townspeople and a

unique public-private alliance, the Bellevue Avenue branch has been reopened one day a week, with self-checkout machines in place of librarians for the time being. However, much of the budget was not restored, and Montclair libraries lost $800,000.

Northvale: Unfortunately, the Northvale library could not be saved.

Taxpayers voted against a tax increase and the town announced it could no longer afford the library, so it is to be closed in July.

+Works Cited General

Henderson, E., Miller, K., et al. (2010). Public Libraries Survey: Fiscal Year 2008 (IMLS-2010–PLS-02). Institute of Museum and Library Services. Retrieved April 1, 2011 from http://harvester.census.gov/imls/pubs/Publications/pls2008.pdf.

Brooklyn

Brooklyn Public Library (2011). About Brooklyn Public Library: Board of Trustees. Retrieved April 6, 2011 from http://www.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/board_of_trustees.jsp.

-- About Brooklyn Public Library: Hours and Locations. Retrieved March 30, 2011 from http://brooklynpubliclibrary.org/hoursandlocations.jsp.

Eisner Amper LLP (2010). Brooklyn Public Library Financial Statements, June 30, 2010 and 2009. Retrieved March 22, 2011 from http://brooklynpubliclibrary.org/pdf/about/irs/2010-FinancialStatements.pdf.

Johnson, L (2011). New York City Council Committee on Cultural Affairs, Libraries and International Relations… Hearing on the Preliminary Budget. Retrieved March 30, 2011 from https://bpl.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/speakup/pdf/bpl_testimony.pdf.

LaVecchia, O (2011, June 28). NYC’s “saved” libraries experience déjà vu. The Awl. Retrieved 7/1/11 from http://www.theawl.com/2011/06/nycs-saved-libraries-experience-deja-vu.

+ Montclair

Drobness, T. (2011, January 13). Library budget for 2011 is going to be extremely bad. The Montclair Times. Retrieved March 22, 2011 from http://www.northjersey.com/news/113439159_Library_budget_for_2011_is_going_to_be__extremely_bad_.html.

-- (2011, March 31). Montclair Public Library needs $300k more in additional funds. The Montclair Times. Retrieved April 6, 2011 from http://www.northjersey.com/news/118968249_Library__can_t_handle__reduction__board_president_says.html.

Hirsch, Y (2011). Montclair Public Library 2010 Budget. Personal correspondence, March 18, 2011.

McDonald, T. (2010, July 22). The free ($4.1 million) public library. The Montclair Times. Retrieved March 22, 2011 from http://www.northjersey.com/news/98990949_The_Free___4_1_million__Public_Library.html.

Montclair Public Library (2011). A Brief History of the Montclair Public Library. Retrieved March 22, 2011 from http://www.montclairlibrary.org/history.

-- (2011). Montclair Public Library Proposed 2011 Budget – Summary. Retrieved March 25, 2011 from http://www.montclairlibrary.org/stuff/contentmgr/files/0/808e3f6f0c1edd06bf1f5f4890e16b00/files/proposed_summary.pdf.

Speri, A. (2011, June 6). Private funds help keep Montclair library’s doors open. The Star-Ledger. Retrieved 7/1/11 from http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2011/06/private_funds_help_keep_montcl.html.

+ Northvale

Curley, M. (2011, May 12). Northvale library to close; board puts blame on council. Northern Valley Suburbanite. Retrieved 7/1/11 from http://www.northjersey.com/news/121596949_Northvale_library_to_close__board_puts_blame_on_council.html.

New York State Library (2009). Types of Public Libraries: A Comparison. Retrieved March 29, 2011 from http://www.nysl.nysed.gov/libdev/libs/pltypes.htm.

Superville, D. (2011, March 16). Shortfall may shutter library in Northvale. The Record. Retrieved March 22, 2011 from http://www.northjersey.com/community/at_the_library/news/118062724_Shortfall_may_shutter_library_in_Northvale.html.