Staff Photo/ANTHONY WEBER
Troy-Miami County Public Library Outreach Services coordinator Penny Marsh assists Michaela Frank, 12, and Makara Wenrick, 11, both of the Miami Montessori School, in finding a book on the bookmobile recently.
Troy, Tipp libraries restore services Others continue to struggle
By Nancy Bowman For the Miami Valley Sunday News
Already painfully aware of the effects of Troy-Miami County Public Library budget cuts in 2009, a little girl's protest pounded the message home for director Rachelle Miller.
"I had a child yell at me for closing the bookmobile," Miller recalled of the scolding from the child who liked visiting the library on wheels when it stopped by her day care.
The bookmobile along with library hours, magazine subscriptions and other materials and employee pay all fell victim last year to budget cuts forced by state funding reductions.
Lucky for the girl, and Miller, the bookmobile will be on the road again beginning Feb. 1, thanks to voter approval in November of the library's first operating levy.
The 0.6-mill, five-year levy will generate around $616,600 annually for operating the main library in Troy, a branch in Pleasant Hill and the local history library in downtown Troy.
Another library operating levy - at 0.75 mills for five years - approved by voters for the first time Nov. 4 will generate around $275,000 a year for the Tipp City Public Library.
To recognize the levy's passage and the return to regular hours on Jan. 4, the Tipp City library offered coffee and doughnuts in the morning followed by popcorn and balloons for children in the afternoon.
"We're back to normal," said Mark Mabelitini, director of the Tipp City library where staff took a 20-percent reduction in hours/pay and purchase of materials was limited mostly to those with donated dollars in 2009.
Although the library funding crisis led to a lot of public attention last year, challenges were mounting for almost a decade as state funding levels were frozen beginning in 2000, Mabelitini said.
"This levy will help us get materials, programs like we should be getting. This will help us make up for some of that lost ground," he said.
The Tipp City library, which has a budget of around $740,000 a year, has three positions open and possibly will fill one slot three days a week, depending on how state funding goes in coming months.
With the added dollars at the Troy-Miami County Public Library, library and employee hours have been restored, books and magazine again are being ordered.
In addition, some money is being placed in an anemic building and replacement fund, which will be drawn down further when a new $24,000 roof goes on the main library as soon as weather permits.
There's not enough money for any large projects, but the library is open more hours again and looking at expanding some services, Miller said. A recently installed self-check out offers an option to patrons.
About $1.78 million in spending is projected this year for the Troy library, compared to $1.45 million in 2009.
Even with the levies, money worries won't end. January funding from the state was down 15 percent from a year ago, Miller said.
"We still can't count on our funding being there are far as the state," she said. "The levy will allow us to continue operating. We asked for what we thought people could afford."
Other area libraries that have not requested levies may be on the ballot this year or beyond.
The Milton-Union Public Library in West Milton receives the bulk of its funding from the state with the balance coming from fines and donations. Appropriations for this year are about $675,000, fiscal officer Elizabeth Fessler said.
The library has dealt with state cuts with measures including freezing salaries, soliciting donated materials from patrons, letting the library Friends group handle program costs such as the summer reading program and delaying the hiring of replacement staff.
"Our library board has traditionally been frugal and tried to save for future building projects and emergencies,' said director Carol Netzley Coate. "We are cutting into that reserve, and the board may decide to cut days or ask for a levy once our surplus is insufficient for current operational levels."
The Piqua Public Library is working with a $1.059 million general fund this year, a decrease of about $200,000 from the previous year.
Director Jim Oda said the library, like others, has had to lay off staff, cut salaries and slash material budgets.
"Other sources of income obviously are a major discussion item," Oda said.
Sidebar:
Marsh joins library as outreach coordinator
TROY
Penny Marsh wants to help the Troy-Miami County Public Library reach out to the community she recently began to call home.
Marsh, who previously worked at libraries in Indiana, joined the local library staff Jan. 4 as outreach services coordinator.
Among her tasks is scheduling and working on the bookmobile, which will resume service Feb. 1 after being parked last year because of budget cuts and staff reductions.
Although she lived in Seattle and Indiana for a number of years, Marsh is no stranger to southwest Ohio.
She grew up in North Dayton. Her husband, John M. Klyce, is from Bellbrook and their twin sons, John W. and Jeff Klyce, live in Yellow Springs. Another son, Ted Klyce, lives in Minnesota.
"We are kind of more local than we look. We are coming home," Marsh said.
She was a home schooling mom for 19 years before returning to school at Indiana University to earn a master's in library science in 2008.
As she prepares the bookmobile schedule for its return to service, Marsh is contacting those in areas served in the past as well as outlying areas where it may be more difficult for people to travel regularly to the main library in Troy or the branch in Pleasant Hill.
"We are attempting to move the focus to the most underserved rather than the areas where we know people are coming to the library. It makes more sense," she said.
"We're really wanting to serve people who for whatever reason just aren't making it into town. Very often it is children, and very often it is older people, too," Marsh said. "Those are the people we really, really want to reach because it can mean so much to have that contact."
She and staff member Sarah Simon are revamping the some 2,000-item bookmobile collection.
"We are trying to get rid of the old stuff that isn't circulating and bring in fresh, new material, especially in the young adult area," Marsh said.
In the future, she'd like to expand personal delivery service for those unable to travel to the library and develop more programming such as story times for outlying areas.
Marsh invites people to ask about library services and materials. She 's also looking forward to her own first day on the bookmobile.
"Everybody says I have the best job in the library because everybody is happy to see me," she said.
