PUTNEY — The Putney Public Library had some good news for the Selectboard at its Jan. 2 meeting.
“We've got a great budget here,” Library Director Steve Coronella told the board. “We're only asking for a 1 percent increase.”
Coronella said the library is level-funding its budget. He explained the requested amount from the town came in at $11,039, and that is down $1,011 from last year due to several staffers' family members electing to go with alternative insurance options.
Coronella noted that the library earned roughly $1,000 in profit last year, much of that due to the copy machine that the library owns.
“That's due to people printing off of the Internet,” he said, adding that the copy machine brought in approximately $2,500 last year in dimes and quarters.
Coronella noted that the library's ongoing annual appeal has brought in some $12,000 so far, and the trustees of the library have pledged $14,000 to the operating account.
The big news, he said, is that Sovernet has told him they expect to have a high-speed fiber-optic connection to the library up and running within the next few months.
“We'll have really fast Internet at the library that would be capable of video conferencing, or really fast searches on the Internet,” Coronella said.
He noted that, with the federal stimulus money that is being used for the project, the library will be contracted for five years to Sovernet at approximately $200 a month. “We have free Internet now,” he said, “but this will be a lot faster and be great for the patrons.”
Coronella wanted to let the board know how much he appreciates the new sidewalk. “I used to see people leave the library with kids and walk into the road to get to their cars,” he said. “It's great to have the sidewalk there.”
The board asked him if he would write a letter of support for the Transportation Alternatives Grant application for funding further sidewalk construction, and he said he would be happy to.