By Nicole Falco
Alice Eisbrouck has always loved to read and really enjoys having easy access to a library, but lately she said she feels alienated from other library goers because of the bright yellow state-mandated access card she carries. Eisbrouck must carry that card in order to access limited library materials in Nassau County.
Eisbrouck and Harris are just two of the more than 40,000 "people without libraries" in Nassau County. Over 4,200 people without libraries live in Mill Brook and South Valley Stream. Since Jan. 1, 2000, the two women and thousands like them have carried the "bright yellow cards," but on Dec. 31, 2002 their cards will expire and they will lose what little library access they have.
Another Mill Brook resident, Julie Olson, has been a driving force in restoring full library service to her neighbors. A petition was carried by Olson and Eisbrouck, asking for support to create a special library district to tax themselves, elect trustees and ultimately contract with an existing public library for full service. Parts of Oyster Bay and Hewlett have already completed similar processes with success.
"I would move out of the area just to have a library if it really came down to that. I'm passionate about libraries," Olson said. "I know nobody wants to tax themselves, but it is the only way. I know there are people in our area who would want life to be very simple, 'If I want to go to the library, just let me pay,' but that may sound like the simple approach, but it's not the answer."
Prior to Jan. 1, 2000, people living in an area untaxed by a public library paid an annual fee to their local library for full service, but could not do so after a 1999 Board of Regents' ruling.
The Nassau Library System is dedicated, among other things, to stimulating the development of library service in unserved areas by helping those areas set up a system to tax themselves in order to secure service. The NLS is currently working with Mill Brook and South Valley Stream. Jackie Thresher, director of NLS, said that Mill Brook and South Valley Stream would have their state cards renewed because they are actively working towards ensuring themselves long term library service.
Olson and Eisbrouck collected 150 signatures and submitted the petition to Town Councilman James Darcy.
"This is an issue I've been working on for many years," Darcy said. "The Board of Regents, in a somewhat misguided effort to offer everybody library service forced unserved communities to establish a special library district or special funding district. While I'm not in favor of creating new taxes, sometimes you have no choice."
From Darcy's desk, the petition will go to Town Supervisor Rich Guardino and eventually the State Assembly and Senate will vote on legislation enabling Mill Brook and South Valley Stream to tax themselves for this purpose.
Senator Dean Skelos had introduced a bill that would restore an unserved individual's right to buy library access, but that bill had insufficient support. At a recent PTA-sponsored legislators' breakfast, Skelos said, "[The legislature] will draft legislation [for a special library district] if there is a request from any community that wants it. We have done it on many occasions."
At that same breakfast, Assemblyman Thomas Alfano told interested community members that it was important for them to campaign for this because there would be opposition to another tax. Alfano represents North Valley Stream, another unserved area.
If the special library district is approved, Valley Stream's library would be more than happy to contract with the unserved parts of the community, according to Marshall Botwinick, director of the Waldinger Library.
"The library is interested in serving people and more than willing to work with them as an individual or group to vote to tax themselves," Botwinick said. "We would be disappointed if they lost library service. We enjoy having them here."
The NLS is composed of 54 libraries, of which there are 17 that have asked to be excused from providing service to state-mandated access cardholders due to hardship. The Waldinger Library does offer service to state cardholders, but the service is limited. Those individuals cannot borrow books less than one year old, cannot borrow videos and there are restrictions on requests.
"We have a limited number of books, people with state cards aren't paying any support so we can't give everything away. [Taxpayers] should have some benefits," Botwinick said.
