The Trustees of the Canton Free Library have placed a ballot measure on the May 15 Canton Central School Ballot. Proposition # 3, separate from all other items on the school ballot, would provide an additional $2,000 in funding for a total of $77,000 for the Canton Free Library, Morley Library, and Rensselaer Falls Library.

The $2,000 funding authorization comes to 1/2 cent per $1,000 assessed value. This increase is within the Governor’s 2 percent property cap. For the average household, this represents an increase of 49 cents per year on the current levy, or a total levy of $18.75 per year.

In other words, the total levy is around the cost of one DVD or 1-2 paperback books. The increase is less than a quarter of the price of one DVD rented from Redbox, or half the cost of a single cup of coffee

The small funding increase is intended to help maintain hours of service at the CFL and its branch libraries, maintain classes and other programs for children and other special CFL-sponsored activities, maintain and update computer resources, purchase materials in a variety of formats, including books, CDs, and DVDs, and to enable the library to offer resources in new and emerging formats such as e-books and circulating e-readers.

To minimize the need for additional tax support, the library has eliminated staff positions and has implemented ways to maintain hours of service while reducing staffing hours. The library staff and the library board have scrutinized the budget and identified ways to significantly reduce operating expenses.

There have been sustained efforts to raise funds, including bake and book sales, raffles, magazine subscription drives, donation and bequest campaigns, and grant proposals.

We understand that these times are tough. In tough times, people turn to their libraries. This is evident as visitation, computer usage, program participation, and circulation continue to rise.

We greatly appreciate the tremendous support the government and the citizens of the Town and Village of Canton have provided the Canton Free Library, Morley Library, and Rensselaer Falls Library during the libraries’ long history of service to the community. We hope that you will support your library by voting on Proposition #3 in the upcoming May 15th ballot.

Tom Langen, president, Canton Free Library Board of Trustees