BRATTLEBORO — Library Director Starr LaTronica brought good news to the Dec. 11 special Selectboard meeting. Her proposed Fiscal Year 2020 budget is down, and the services the Brooks Memorial Library brings to the public are up.
The library's expenses, at $613,608, are down by $4,437 to just under 1 percent lower than the FY19 budget. Revenue is also down, however, by $3,000 because earlier this year the library did away with overdue fines.
“We're partnering more and more with agencies to better serve our clientele and to provide programming,” which has helped keep the budget down, LaTronica said.
Some financial donations have also helped, she said, and noted the library's endowment is currently valued at $2 million.
Thanks to the endowment, “the town provides less than 20 percent of the amount we spend on adult books,” LaTronica said.
Selectboard member David Schoales noted the library's programming seems to have increased, and he and LaTronica praised the Vermont Humanities Council's First Wednesdays talks, which occur at libraries throughout the state, including at Brooks.
Board Chair Kate O'Connor asked LaTronica how doing away with late fees is going.
“It's going really well,” LaTronica reported. “People come in and they feel really good about it,” she said. Near the circulation desk, staff installed a donation box for patrons to make small cash gifts to the library.
LaTronica said that hasn't brought in as much as she had hoped, but she noted donations are steadily increasing.
Selectboard member Brandie Starr thanked LaTronica for making the library “a hub for the community.”
LaTronica replied, “We do as much as we can to bring people in for all kinds of reasons.”