By Andrew Hackmack
The Board of Trustees of the Henry Waldinger Memorial Library unanimously passed a resolution on Nov. 14 opposing any such plan.
Board President Mary Sheffield said that passage of the resolution is a chance for the board to make its views on consolidation clear. She said she and the other trustees believe the Waldinger Library is run efficiently. ³We feel that we¹re not overspending,² Sheffield said. ³We¹re very conservative.²
The Waldinger Library is unlike a school district library, in which the budget is approved by taxpayers. The library gets its operating funds from the Village of Valley Stream, and its annual budget is adopted by the village board.
Library Director Mamie Eng said that consolidation would not be cost-effective for the village because of the way the library operates now. The village owns the building and provides all maintenance services, including snow removal. Several other functions, including purchasing and payroll, are also taken care of by the village. To transfer these functions to the county, Eng said, would not save any money at the village level, because a staff still needs to be maintained to provide the same services for other village departments.
³It¹s just going to be an added tax at the county level,² Eng said.
Where the village leaves off, the Nassau County Library System picks up. Eng said that because a majority of the county¹s libraries belong to the system, they already get favorable rates when they purchase materials such as books and electronic resources. ³There¹s no better rate that they can offer us,² she said. ³It¹s the same market.²
Eng said that one particular concern local library officials would have if consolidation were to occur would be that the county could cut funding to libraries in a budget crisis.
Residents for Efficient Special Districts, a Baldwin-based civic organization advocating cost-effective services on Long Island, supports Suozzi¹s efforts to at least explore the possibility of consolidating library districts. ³RESD firmly believes that cost efficiencies can be obtained by consolidating certain areas of library district operations,² spokesman Tony Brita said, ³without any degradation in the delivery of public library services.²
Brita noted that there are several ³back-office² functions that are not crucial to the mission of public libraries but are common to every library district. These include procurement, insurance and IT infrastructure.
³Improved efficiencies, as well as accountability, through consolidation will result in lower taxes for Nassau County residents,² Brita said. ³We applaud [Executive] Suozzi¹s leadership on this issue, and encourage continued progress.²
Sheffield is concerned about the proposal to establish a central library Board of Trustees under the county plan. She emphasized the importance of local control, saying that each existing board reflects the identity of its community.
Eng echoed her sentiments. ³The local control of the budget is important, and the local selection of materials is important,² Eng said. ³We need to reflect our population.²
Eng explained that the Valley Stream library is family-oriented because that is what people in the community want. She said the Board of Trustees does a good job in responding to the needs of residents.
The Waldinger Library serves about 40,000 patrons who live in the village and unincorporated Mill Brook. In 2006, the library held 375 programs, and Eng said it is on pace for the same level of activity this year. ³There is something going on every day,² she said.
The library has six full-time professional staff members, two full-time clerical workers, 12 part-time staffers and eight student workers. ³Almost all of the staff is local, so they are a little more invested in the running of the library,² Eng said.
Eng and Sheffield agree that most patrons are not yet aware of the push for consolidation. Eng said that even those who are not viewing it as a serious problem because of the way the Waldinger Library is structured. ³We¹re really looked upon as a department of the village,² she said.
Comments about this story? AHackmack@ liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 265.
