HOT, NEW AND TIMELY

These are hard times, and public libraries are feeling the pinch, too. The Public Library Fund for the State of Ohio has seen a 16.5% reduction, year-to-date. Further cuts are looming. With the most recent reduction, the Grandview Library receives the same funding from the state as it did in 1993. Consequently, the Library must cut expenses and increase income. 

In recent months, the Library has decreased its spending for printing, supplies, speakers, online resources, training & travel, postage, and consortium fees. Service contracts are being renegotiated, and personnel costs are being reduced. 

But budget cuts alone are not enough. The Library must also find ways to increase Library revenue. 

The Library Board of Trustees approved a plan to increase overdue fines and copier & computer printout fees:

Utilizing an outside collection agency, the Library will begin asking our patrons to bring their accounts up-to-date by bringing back overdue items and paying fines. 

• In an effort to ease the pain, the Board agreed to decrease the processing fee for lost materials from $10 to $5.
• By the end of the year, the Library will also have a new, better, easier-to-use integrated library system (catalog and checkout), paid for with consortium funds.

We ask for your understanding as the Library works through these difficult economic times. With your support, the Grandview Library can continue to provide the very best programs and services possible, at a time when they are most needed.