Collar City voters will vote tomorrow on a proposed Troy Public Library budget and elect new members to the board of trustees.
The 2016 budget includes a 1.9 percent increase in the tax levy. Paul Hicok is director of the Troy Public Library. "Our budget is not really large to begin with. The tax levy itself, the total tax levy for the library for 2016 would be $973,960 and the total budget for the library would be $1,690,760. We don't anticipate at this point any significant changes in what we're doing."
Hicok names four candidates running for three openings on the Board of Trustees. "One of those candidates is an incumbent, Evelyn Greenstein. And then we have three other candidates who would be new to our board, Ira Marcks, Michael Oliver and Barb Urban."
The vote comes at a time when many are trying to decide what the future of libraries should be. Some critics argue libraries have evolved into video stores and internet cafes. Jeremy Johannesen, Executive Director with the New York Library Association, clarifies the library's role in today's digital world, citing their importance as early adapters of computer technology. "The library serves as a primary source of internet access for a large segment of the population, as that is becoming a necessity of participation in modern society, people are needing that as a critical link to bridge the digital divide."
Hicok notes the library is experiencing an increased interest in e-books and downloadable audio books. "The circulation of those for us is up 30 percent, which is a pretty big jump. The initial cost of some digital format materials are cheaper, but then they expire, so we have to, in many cases, renew them, so by the time we get done, you know I don't think they're considerably cheaper. But patrons are demanding that kind of service. It doesn’t really take away the interest in print materials, people are still interested in print materials as well. It isn't replacing print."
Hicok says despite the availability of periodicals online, patrons still flock to the library in search of paper. "The online versions of a lot of newspapers, well, you have to wind up subscribing anyway to get the full thing, so that actually the print edition is still something that people are interested in."
Johannesen adds: "The library has always been about open and free access to information. And the computer terminals and access to the internet really is just a change in format, allowing your local library to connect you with information from across the world as opposed to just what's available in the encyclopedia or the remainder of the stack."
And, Johannesen says, libraries continue to serve prominent roles as pillars of community involvement. "Usage is up, as is participation in programming and visits to the library, in all of those benchmarks there's a showing of increased participation and visits to the local library."
A Siena College Research Institute poll conducted in January found that local public library use is up 10 percent statewide over the last three years, with use by young women and communities of color up nearly 15 percent, and up nearly 20 percent among those households making less than $50,000 annually. The poll demonstrated that respondents want increased library funding, with nearly 45 percent advocating for library aid to increase in proportion with overall education funding, and 30 percent saying library aid should be fully funded under the law.
But it's not always smooth-sailing for libraries: Last week, voters in Galway in Saratoga County nixed a referendum to build a new $1.8 million library that would have been four times the size of the existing one, and would have raised property taxes in that community. The proposal went down 449 to 396. Library trustees are strategizing about what to do next.
Voting in Troy will run from noon to 8 p.m. Tuesday at the library's main branch, 100 Second Street and at the Lansingburgh branch, 114th St. and 4th Avenue.
