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Harpers Ferry Library seeks both operating and expanded programming funds, asks council for $12,122 total
Summary
Library Director Sarah Curling requested $5,000 for operations (including ebooks, streaming and hotspots) and $7,122 for expanded arts-and-humanities programming; the library said it will return to Budget & Finance with final plans and that prior-year allocations were smaller.
Harpers Ferry Library Director Sarah Curling presented the library’s fiscal 2026 funding request to the council on Feb. 20, asking the town for two separate allocations: $5,000 to support the library’s operating needs (digital subscriptions, e‑books/audiobooks, streaming services and hotspot inventory) and $7,122 to restore and expand arts-and-humanities programming that the library has previously run under outside grant support.
Curling said the library’s annual operating budget is modest and that digital resources in particular are rising in cost; she cited single-title e-book and audiobook prices and an annual hotspot service cost of roughly $2,160. Programming ask items include hands-on arts classes (pottery, music and adult programming) that the library has run in past years when outside arts-and-humanities funds were available. Curling told council members that some of those programs fill quickly when offered.
Council members and staff discussed prior-year allocations and the town’s reimbursement and budgeting process. Budget staff reiterated the town’s typical practice of approving provisional funding in April and then asking recipients to return to Budget & Finance with refined, vendor-specific plans or invoices before council final approval and reimbursement. Curling said the library expects other revenue and grants (state library aid, county or private donors) and listed anticipated partners; staff asked the library to return with the final project list if council provides provisional funding.
No allocation was decided at the Feb. 20 meeting; library staff said they would refine program plans and seek final approval through Budget & Finance and council later in the spring.
