Library Advocates Teen Position

Staff and supporters of the Canton Public Library are once again hoping the town is willing to fund a teen librarian.

For the 2011-2012 budget cycle Director Robert Simon requested a 19 hour-a-week position at a cost of $25,688.

Chief Administrative Officer Robert Skinner did not include the position in his budget proposal due to financial constraints.

“Due to budget limitations, this position was not supported by the CAO,” the proposed budget states.

Library officials, however, are still fighting for the position.

“The library board and staff have considered upgraded service to Canton teenagers to be a very high priority for the past few years,” Simon said. “The goal of having a teen services librarian to develop and guide our teen services and programs was made a prominent part of our 5-year plan (2009-2013).”

At a recent Board of Selectmen meeting some supporters of the library also made their case to selectmen.

Library employee Susan Crawford briefly spoke on the growth of the library’s teen section.

While teens once simply had a small selection of materials in the children’s section, the library, with the help of the state and Friends of the Library, has worked hard to create a separate area for them, now located near the reference section.

Some limited programs, such as a successful book club, have been offered but the library doesn’t have the resources to offer needed programs and other teen initiatives, Crawford said.

“There is a definite need and demand for it,” she said.

Last year, the town allotted $3,500 for teen materials. The friends group then matched that. Additionally, the library used a $15,000 state grant to create its “Teen Zone,” Simon said.

“We expanded its area by stealing some square footage from the reference book area; we installed additional shelving, and we bought more comfortable and attractive furniture to make them feel welcome,” he told Patch.

At the recent meeting Lee Foley, who chairs the library Board of Trustees, said the results have been positive.

“We’ve seen great results from what we’ve done so far,” Foley said.  

Selectman Steve Roberto said he talked to Simon about trying to figure out a way to get the proposed position to an amount less than $25,688, which would represent a 5-percent increase in the library’s portion of the budget, which is proposed at $539,870.

He told his fellow selectmen that he wanted to bring the increase down to 2.5 percent of the library’s budget and talked to Simon about a 10-hour position, which the library felt would not be enough to make a positive impact.

“I wanted Rob to present a position that’s effective,” Roberto said, adding that a 12-hour per-work position for 50 weeks of the year would cost the town $15,600, a little less than a three-percent increase.

First Selectman Richard Barlow asked Simon if the library could possibly come up with a way to increase revenue.

“As a rule libraries never charge for programs,” Simon said, adding jokingly that fines are even down due to e-mail reminders.

Barlow later told Patch that he does not think the library should charge for books and other materials but maybe could consider $1 or $2 admission charges to some activities, such as movies.

Barlow said he does support the idea of a teen librarian but wants to consider the entire town portion of the budget before making a decision.

Some of the other selectmen, including Bruce Lockwood, the sole Democrat on the board, expressed similar sentiments at the meeting. He also said he supports it “conceptually” but wants to look at the Board of Selectmen’s budget as a whole.

Selectmen plan to hold at least one more budget workshop before passing the spending plan on to the Board of Finance. Selectmen will meet Wednesday, Feb. 23 at 5 p.m. to continue the budget review. 

The proposed 2011-2012 town budget is $9,314,628, a 2.8-percent increase over the 2010-2011 plan.

Superintendent Kevin Case meanwhile is now slated to present a spending plan for the schools Thursday, Feb. 24 at 7 p.m. in the Canton High School Library Media Center.