To the Editor:

Presently I serve on the Board of Trustees for the Massena Public Library.  The library is asking voters to approve the library’s transition from a municipal library, funded by taxpayers of the Town of Massena to a School District Library which would be funded by the taxpayers of the entire school district.

We are grateful to the taxpayers who have funded the library since its beginning and to the Town for being our sponsoring agency.  However, status as a District Library is the only path provided by NYS for libraries to achieve stable funding. Funding is now at the 2001 level and services and hours have had to be reduced.

District Libraries are independent of both the Town and the School District in which they are located and are governed by an elected Board of Trustees, managed by a qualified Librarian with the State Department of Education as overseer. Supporting taxes are collected by the School District and distributed to the library.

There are legitimate concerns about the addition of a library tax, any tax. We are fortunate to live in a country where we can collectively decide, and see how our taxes are used.  I would ask you to consider the value which the library tax would give in service to the whole Community.  

The Library is so much more than books.  Computers, Wi-Fi and tech support are available; copies can be made and faxes sent; sewing, knitting and book and other groups meet.  Magazines and newspapers are available to be read in the library’s friendly space or to be checked out. Entertainment is offered. Art shows, author visits and informational speakers are hosted. Early literacy programs are offered for the young, an exercise class for the more mature, and a book group & activities for the Tweens.  

Old home movies can be transferred to digital format in the Memory Center and Zoom meetings held in the Business Center.

A tax of less than $200 on a home assessed at $200,000 is less than a dollar a day. Again, consider the lifelong value that the library offers.  As a reader I know that books average $25, it’s easy for me to see that I may read $200 worth in a month’s time.

Like our schools, libraries provide educational opportunities!  The vote is scheduled for May 21st.

Patty Ryan

Massena