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Albany Library Board urges council to restore dedicated materials line in city budget
Summary
Amy Roberts, chair of the Albany Library Board, asked council to add a dedicated 'library materials' line in the city budget after state and federal funding uncertainty and the 2020 removal of the prior materials allocation. The board warned that current reliance on Friends, the foundation and an endowment leaves purchasing unpredictable.
Amy Roberts, chair of the Albany Library Board, told Albany City Council on May 15 that the library currently lacks a guaranteed city budget line for materials purchases and asked the council to consider restoring a dedicated library materials appropriation.
Roberts said two recent developments prompted the appeal: funding shifts at the federal level that have significantly reduced support for the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), which supplies about 25% of the State Library of Oregon’s budget and which serves as a funding conduit and grant source for local libraries; and a local budget decision in the 2019–2021 biennium that removed a small materials line item to preserve staffing levels. Roberts said the library has relied on the Friends of the Library, the Albany Public Library Foundation and an endowment to purchase materials, but those sources are variable and not guaranteed year to year.
The Library Board requested that the council add a dedicated materials line in the city’s budget to provide stable funding for books and other resources. Roberts asked the council to consider the library’s role in education, community services and meeting needs across a broad population.
Councilors thanked Roberts for bringing the request forward and said they would consider it as they work on upcoming budget discussions.
