Menlo Park looks set to increase the programs it offers to children at the library.
An extra $23,000 given tentative approval by the City Council will allow the library to provide more programs for children, and to continue to reach out to young teens through the popular “teen night” program that began in fall 2008, according to Library Director Susan Holmer.
“Right now, what our community is telling us is that we need more and more programming for children,” Ms. Holmer said in an interview, citing community members’ responses in library surveys.
The increase in library funding is an anomaly in a year when the city has strained to cut its expenditures as it tries to weather the recession. The city has slashed funding for departments across the board, and is holding off on filling several vacant staff positions — with the prospect of more dramatic spending cuts on the horizon.
The $23,000 was originally earmarked for two 10-hour-per-week page positions at the library. When those positions went vacant in 2008, Ms. Holmer “temporarily” redirected the money to hire staffers to help with children’s programs.
Those staffers made it possible for the library to offer more events for children, including “teen night” — an event held one Friday a month, when middle school and early high school students hang out at the library, playing games and listening to music. It’s gotten so popular that the library requires teens to sign up early.
City Manager Glen Rojas proposed cutting funding for the page positions from the library’s budget.
But council members, wary of eliminating programs that people have come to rely on, decided to restore it to continue funding the children’s programs staffers.
The net outcome, at least for now, is a reallocation of library funds to its children’s programs.
Why isn’t the money going toward other projects, such as improving the library’s Web site to better accommodate Spanish speakers, or spreading awareness about water conservation — two programs with an estimated combined cost of $13,500 that the city has held off on?
According to Ms. Holmer, the money is budgeted only for hiring staff members. She can’t use it to purchase materials or equipment, or to pay for contract work.
The library expects to begin a long-anticipated renovation of the children’s area in the fall, according to Ms. Holmer. The renovation is being largely funded through donations.
She attributed the delay to the fact that making custom shelving has taken longer than expected.
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