OPINION: JONES LIBRARY BUDGET IS THREADBARE

I was disappointed that I was unable to attend the Jones Library budget meeting last Monday. I was hoping to learn more about the viability of the Jones 2020 budget estimates.  I also wanted to know if the Trustees would discuss the effect of the plunging stock market on the Jones endowment which is critical to the library’s operating budget. 

The current state of  Jones’ finances is dismal and everything a resident needs to know about the Library’s finances is apparent in the Jones’s Proposed 2020 Budget. A list of limitations on page 30 is particularly significant.  The Jones Library System has been running on a shoestring for decades.  The financial structure is a crazy quilt of threadbare funding. 

Most patrons agree that they love the Jones Library services and admire the hardworking staff. At the same time, patrons realize that the Jones is in dire need of refurbishment. Some of us wonder why the moldy rugs have not been replaced, why there is sometimes trash on floors and why there is constantly dust on surfaces and smudges on windows.  And these issues are only daily maintenance concerns. I doubt the Jones can maintain a bigger building as they have not been able to maintain the current facility at a minimal level.  

Why Is The Library’s Income So Inadequate?
The Jones Library is a “hybrid library,” supported by a combination of private and public funding. The Town of Amherst pays an annual municipal allocation that can only increase 2.5% yearly and is currently set at $2,043,302. This pays for salaries but not staff benefits and makes up about 77% of the library’s income. 

The rest of the budget is the responsibility of the Jones which is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization. It owns the building, land and the endowment and is responsible for about 23% of the library’s budget. In the last six years or so, the Jones has taken about 4 to 5% out of the endowment annually. This pays for maintenance, utilities, operations, CW MARS interlibrary loan system and some materials.  The library also receives state aid and relies heavily on fundraising, grants and an allotment from the Woodbury Endowment for programming (managed by the Friends of the Jones Library).

The largest Jones’ Library expense is staff benefits costing $346,000 which is 56% of the total Jones’ expenses of $612,397. This includes health insurance, sick/personal leave, and longevity for those fortunate to work more than 20 hours a week. The library has about 60 workers yet half are in the “under 20’s” category.  These workers have no benefits other than sick leave. About six of these 30 workers are kept at 19.5 hours weekly so they do not trigger the health insurance requirement. 

The 2020 Library budget states that two full time library techs who retired in 2019 will not be replaced. This is because there is no money to pay for health insurance of any future full time staff. The corollary is that most staff hired in the future must be under 20 hours a week.  Programming will be reduced by 50%.  

Can the Trustees Maintain a Larger Building? Probably Not
Director Sharon Sharry has frequently stated at Trustee meetings that the renovation/expansion will create larger spaces with clear sight lines so that not as many staff will be needed, even with a building increase of 18,800 sq. ft.  However, George Hicks, Maintenance Supervisor, recently declared that more maintenance positions will be required for the new building.

The Director has also stated that an automatic radio frequency identification system (RFID) included in the pending state grant, will mean less staff positions in the circulation department. This machine, priced at $400,000, sorts materials by a radio frequency tag on each material. Materials will then be delivered throughout the library with conveyor belts.  Sharry admits that these machines break down and that a maintenance contract will be needed. However, she has never presented a plan with specific costs of staffing and the Trustees have not yet asked her to do so, at least in public meetings. Shelvers are usually part time and start at minimum wage.  It’s hard to think that saving two to three circulation positions could offset the huge cost of this machine. After all, staff still need to place the material in the correct location. 

And need I say that we are not the Boston, New York or Los Angeles Public Library. No other libraries in our area have this extravagance. 

What are the alternatives? 
The Trustees hope to solve decades of deferred maintenance with a proposed $35.8 million dollar (not including interest) demolition/expansion. If the proposal is accepted by the Town Council, the Trustees will destroy the entire 1993 accessible addition (40% of the current building), creating over 1660 tons of landfill waste.  That square footage will be replaced with an additional 18,800 sq. ft. for a total of over 35,000 sq. ft. of new construction. The library will then be 65,000 sq. ft. Most of the 1928 historic property will be gutted with walls rearranged and most historic staircases demolished.  

Since the library has not been able to deal with maintenance in the past, the Trustees will not be able to maintain an expanded building with their current financial structure.  If the stock market continues to decline, the Jones will have to deplete its already limited endowment, cut more staff, and slice more programming. The Trustees need to acknowledge that their proposal is based on a wish list and not on basic needs. In order for the Town Council and the public to believe that the Trustees could maintain a bigger library, the Trustees ought to consider one or more of the following alternatives:

1)  Increase the Endowment through a fundraising campaign – Treasurer Bob Pam stated at the monthly June 5, 2019 Trustees Meeting that the endowment needs to be at least $10,000,000 to continue a 5% draw. Before the ongoing stock market crash, the endowment was at $8,000,000, and the market has shed more than 20% of its value in the last month. 

2) Renegotiate the municipal allocation with the Town.

3) Collaborate with other town agencies and organizations so that library programs can be offered at other sites without requiring an increase of space at the Jones.  For example, the Amherst Boys and Girls Club just moved into a large space that might be ideal for some young adult library programming. 

4) Rescind the grant application – Four other towns who received provisional state grants in 2017 have already done this.  The Jones could then apply for a more modest application (not based on demolition) in the next grant round.  

5)  Develop a plan that uses the library’s current 48,000 sq. ft. more efficiently. E-content is rising so space needed for stacks is diminishing. Let’s hire a library space consultant.  

The proposed demolition/expansion project will not be the magic wand that solves the Library’s fiscal problems. The Trustees must work towards a predictable and sustainable financial footing if they want the support of the Town Council and the public to borrow up to $22,000,000 to pay for the proposed project. 

Terry S. Johnson has lived in Amherst since 1980 and taught fifth and sixth grade at Mark’s Meadow Elementary School for over twenty years. She began attending Jones Library Trustee meetings in 2016, while preparing to run for a seat on the Library Board of Trustees. Currently, Terry chairs Save Our Library, a grassroots group opposed to the proposed Jones Library demolition/expansion project.