By Nicole Falco
Using an estimated library tax rate of 93 cents per $100 of assessed valuation and an estimated home assessment of $5,000, an NLS consultant, Joe Eisner, said it could cost as little as $46.50 per year, per household, for full library service for the 4,200 residents of Mill Brook and adjacent areas not currently taxed by a library district. By comparison, a yearly family membership at the Henry Waldinger Memorial Library had cost $210. Eisner stressed that those figures are only an estimate and would actually depend on which local library residents entered into a contract with.
The amount of money libraries spend per capita varies from district to district and can be as much as $200. For instance, the Waldinger library's spending is $30 per capita, while the Hewlett library spends $165, according to Jackie Thresher, director of NLS.
Residents need action
If the residents of Mill Brook and adjacent areas are serious about creating a special library district for themselves, it's not the politicians they'll have to influence; it's their neighbors.
Councilman James Darcy told the almost 100 residents at April 18th's Mill Brook Civic Association meeting in the Forest Road School that they have the full support of the Town of Hempstead. A petition with 150 signatures, carried by residents Julie Olson and Alice Eisbrouch, has already been submitted to the town. Also, Senator Dean Skelos has already introduced enabling legislation to establish a special library district via a town referendum for Mill Brook and adjacent areas.
"The next step is for us to report back to our state representatives that there is tremendous support for this. You folks who are interested in having a library district are going to have to have a grassroots campaign for this," Darcy said.
If the referendum were passed, the special library district would be created for tax purposes, a board of trustees to represent their needs would be chosen and residents would then contract with a local library willing to do so, such as the Waldinger Library, for full service. The contract can be for up to five years and would then need renewal.
This is not the first time residents in south Valley Stream tried to create a library district. In 1975 they voted 147 to 103 in favor of creating their own library district, but plans went nowhere and legislators today feel the vote is too outdated to act on and would be subject to legal challenges if it were.
Since Jan. 1, 2000, the unserved Valley Streamers and more than 40,000 like them county-wide have carried state mandated access cards issued through NLS, which give them free, but limited service at 37 of the county's 54 libraries. On Dec. 31, 2002 their cards will expire and they will lose what little library access they have unless they are actively seeking a solution, such as in the case of Mill Brook.
Residents of areas not taxed by a library previously bought a yearly membership at a local library, until a State Board of Regents ruling three years ago prohibited the sale of library service. Since then, the NLS has been working to identify unserved communities and stimulating the development of library service by helping those areas set up a system to tax themselves in order to secure service. Similar special districts have already been established in Oyster Bay and Hewlett.
What about us?
Approximately one half of the almost 100 residents gathered at the Mill Brook Civic Association meeting were not from Mill Brook, but were from North Valley Stream.
North Valley Stream, two small areas in Malverne and one small area in North Lynbrook are also outside of a library district. NLS representatives were pleased to see North Valley Streamers at the meeting because they are eager to help them secure full service.
"My wife is a woman without a library and that's a shame," said North Valley Streamer Richard Darmstadter about his wife Evelyn.
Evelyn is a retired teacher who averages about five to six books a week, but because of state-mandated access cards, her selection has been limited.
While Mill Brook is seeking to create a special library district, the 15,000 to 17,000 residents of North Valley Stream may be eligible to create a completely new library district, according to NLS standards. NLS would not recommend creating a new district for less then 10,000 residents.
The introduction of an "omnibus" bill in the state legislature for North Valley Stream and adjacent areas to secure library service is being considered.
