Library officials and supporters made a pitch to the Genesee County Legislature on Monday to protect funding for books, materials and support for the county's six libraries.
Funding has decreased in recent years and as budgets continue to tighten, officials are concerned that one key source of funding is in jeopardy.
"You’re frugal and we are, too," said Anne Engel, director of the Haxton Memorial Library in Oakfield. "We use everything two or three times. But there's a study that shows that for every taxpayer dollar that is put into a library, more than $3 is returned to the economy."
In 2010, county aid to the library system was $57,351, down from $60,370 in 2009.
Libraries are funded through a combination of school taxes, grants and fees and fines as well as county aid.
Library officials spoke to the Public Services Committee, whose members offered no feedback on the request nor was there any pending item up for vote.
Esther Marone explained that prior to 1984, the county provided no aid to libraries, but when the Richmond Memorial Library expanded and began providing more services, its expenses went up.
Rather than seek funding for just the Richmond library, the county's librarians got together and worked for three years on a plan to present to the legislature to provide aid to all of the local libraries.
Part of the reason, said Diana Wyrwa, executive director of the Richmond Memorial Library, was that some communities in the county have no direct expense for libraries, but residents still use neighboring community libraries, so the aid helps cover the expense of serving those residents.
And the libraries remain popular.
In 2010, there were 472,991 books circulated.
"The new book area always has people hovering around like bees looking for the newest and the greatest releases," Engel said.
Libraries pay a particularly important role for people who can't afford computers and internet access, by not only providing easy access to books and periodicals, but also computers for personal use.
In tough times, funding a library system is particularly important, argued Thomas Bindeman, (pictured above) executive director of the Nioga Library System.
"Whenever there’s an economic downturn, people come to libraries," he said. "When times get tough, we’re used."
Public libraries are one of
Public libraries are one of our greatest resources and everything should be done to continue to fund them. Just hearing about the sheer numbers of patrons who visit our libraries is very telling of the role they play in each community.