With the six positions lost in the proposed budget for FY2009/2010 and the two positions lost in March of this year, the Haverhill Library will have sustained a 50% reduction in staff since 2002, despite increased circulation and attendance. The magnitude of this cut will dramatically impact the citizens of Haverhill. The lost positions will make it impossible to safely staff all three floors of the library. Access to the upper floors of the building will be restricted.
We anticipate the following service cuts:
- The library will be closed on Saturdays.
- The Children’s Department will open limited hours each week. Bilingual story hours, outreach services, and the Summer Reading Program will be restricted or eliminated altogether.
- Special Collections will close indefinitely, resulting in no access to local history and genealogy.
- Public computers will be available limited hours.
- Long lines and delays will take place at the checkout desks as staff cover other areas.
- Delays may occur in getting new books, dvds, cds and audiobooks to the shelves.
The library fully understands the severity of the economic downturn and the need to be good stewards of public money. We object to the disproportionate cut we will be sustaining in the proposed budget. We are doing our part to manage resources effectively while still providing the level of library service you expect. The library currently has more than forty volunteers who do everything from shelving materials to pulling interlibrary loan requests. Volunteers make an enormous difference in the operation of the library, but our greatest need is for trained professional and paraprofessional staff to deliver library services.
We encourage you to voice your support of the library by signing the Friends of the Library petition, available at all service desks in the Library, in order to restore funding for fiscal year 2009/2010. Call or email the Mayor’s office, City Council, and state and local officials to voice your objection to these reductions. We appreciate your support and advocacy of the library as we attempt to remain your community center of lifelong learning.
