Library budget steady; server hosting and passport postage drive increases
The acting deputy library director reported modest budget changes: electricity and postage costs rose, children’s programming attendance increased and the library’s in‑house server that holds ~58,000 catalog volumes needs replacement (~$8–10k) or remote hosting (~$2k/year) to protect records.
The full story
Alise Keane, acting deputy director of the library, outlined the library’s fiscal 2026 snapshot during the council workshop, saying the library represents about 2.44% of the city’s budget. The department’s main cost increases were electric service and postage, the latter driven by passport processing that requires priority mail shipping. The library deferred a seasonal hire for children’s programming because of budget constraints, though attendance has grown and children's services remain busy.
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