By Leslie Gonzalez
Full services sought for S. Lynbrook, Hewlett
Residents who live in the unincorporated section of South Lynbrook may soon find it easier to use their local library, if proposed legislation to establish a new library district is passed. The new district, which would be named the South Lynbrook/Hewlett Library District, would be operated by the Town of Hempstead.
The new legislation, sponsored by Senator Dean Skelos, Assemblyman Bob Barra, and Assemblyman Harvey Weisenberg, was submitted about a month ago by the Town of Hempstead to the New York State Legislature. If passed, it will bring library service to about 2,000 residents in South Lynbrook and portions of Hewlett. Since the area is too small to justify its own library building, a contract fee to a host library would be raised through a tax the new library district would levy upon district residents.
The bill has also received the support of Hempstead Town Supervisor Richard Guardino and Town Councilman Anthony Santino.
"The areas in question are those unincorporated neighborhoods in the Lynbrook School District, which are not served by the Lynbrook Village Library," said Guardino. Included will be those who live west of Lynbrook's Union Avenue and north of Prospect Avenue; and those east of Union Avenue and north of East Rockaway Road.
"Since Lynbrook Village residents are served by a village library and Hewlett-Woodmere School District residents are served by a library district that runs along school district lines, those residents who are neither in the incorporated village of Lynbrook or the Hewlett-Woodmere school district do not qualify for neighborhood library service," Santino said.
Jackie Thresher, director of the Nassau Library System, said, "As municipalities and school districts chartered their own libraries over the years, pocket areas developed where Nassau County residents do not pay library taxes. Part of the problem is that unincorporated areas lack the ability to tax themselves. In other cases, only a portion of a village or a school district is not taxed for library services.
"Families who lived within these areas had to purchase household library cards for between $125 to $170," said Natalie Lapp, Lynbrook Public Library director. In January 2000, the State Education Department prohibited the sale of such cards. Instead, New York State Mandated Access Cards were made available, at no charge, to Nassau residents who are at least five years of age or enrolled in kindergarten, and non-delinquent in any Nassau County public library.
The cards offer only a partial solution. To receive an access card, unincorporated Nassau residents must apply at either the East Meadow or Levittown Public Library. The cards must be renewed annually, and inter-library loans may only be taken from Levittown. Library privileges are often restricted at the discretion of each location and, in places where more than 5 percent of services are used by non-residents, a library may be exempt from honoring the cards altogether.
Such is the case at the Hewlett-Woodmere Public Library, where access card holders may borrow only print music.
"At over 17 percent, we had the highest non-resident lending rate in Nassau County. It was a decision our board had to make," said library director Susan de Sciora. "They may use our Internet access stations, but preference is given to residents."
At Lynbrook Library, cardholders are entitled to all services, but cannot rent audio-visual materials less than one year old.
The proposed legislation coincides with a three-year effort initiated by the Nassau Library System to help untaxed areas secure full public library services if they are willing to tax themselves. Untaxed areas will be given until Dec. 31, 2002 to make that decision.
If passed by the legislature and approved by the voters of the proposed district in a "home rule" referendum, the town would be empowered to contract with a nearby library that would issue full service library cards to the residents of the new library district. The district would be taxed by the Town of Hempstead, which will, in turn, provide payment to the contracted library.
If the proposal is voted down, Thresher said the Nassau Library System may apply for a waiver to cease offering access cards to area residents.
"The cards are only a temporary measure until these areas decide what they want. Most people want library service for their community and their children," she said.
A contract initiated in 1998 with the East Rockaway Public Library has successfully provided library service to about 2,300 residents of Bay Park since January 2000.
Both Lapp and Thresher confirmed that preliminary discussions have been held to establish the Lynbrook Public Library as the host library for the new district. A contract, however, has yet to be created, pending state and voter approval.
"If the legislation passes in this current session, we would plan to conduct the referendum among the voters of the proposed library district this summer so that we can bring library service to the residents of this area beginning next January," Guardino said.
The Nassau Library System is currently approaching untaxed areas where public demand for library services has been greatest. Talks of developing a similar library system for portions of Malverne's and Lynbrook's unincorporated sections are still in preliminary stages.
