Dear Mrs. Binder:
Thank you for your e-mail of July 27th in which you shared with us a letter you wrote to the local newspapers regarding three issues that are of concern to you. I know that as a former Llbrary trustee you understand the problems we, as a board, face and you also know how valuable input from concerned citizens such as yourself can be.
We agree that the condition of Main is deteriorating but we disagree that the work of the Building Advisory Committee is moving at a snail’s pace. In the seven months that the committee has been meeting, we have made extraordinary progress. I invite you to read the minutes of the meetings that are available online at http://www.greatnecklibrary.org/libinfo/libreno.php
I’d also like to give you a few highlights.
The committee members crafted a vision statement and continue to use that statement as a set of guiding principles. In it, we see the library as an educational and cultural resource and envision a building that is flexible, welcoming and comfortable.
We have engaged members of the community and volunteer experts to give us the benefit of their background and share their vision for a library. We believe their participation will enable us to develop plans that have a more universal appeal, and that this will be a significant factor in gaining community support.
As Chair, Marietta DiCamillo has assigned tasks to the committee for their thoughts on how the space should be used and where we can better use space that may be wasted at this time. The Director has compiled use statistics and collection statistics in order for the committee to understand present and future trends.
We have taken advantage of the expertise of staff members who are also on the committee in order for the committee to understand how the staff works and to explore ways to make our service to the public more efficient.
We have reached out to Dattner Architects, who designed our expanded building, to help us with the process of revising the space program, and a sub-committee went to the Dattner offices in April and May to confirm that their ideas are realistic. Concurrently, we have reviewed our individual collections and adjusted their size to reflect the continuing trend for digital media alternatives.
We now have a space program, area by area and department by department that future plans can use and that can fit within the current footprint of the library.
We have sent out requests for proposal (RFP) to architects for a design proposal for a renovated, but not expanded, building and have made it clear to all candidates that our site plans, traffic studies, environmental studies, engineering reports will all be available to them and they should use and take advantage of the information we already have.
We reached out to LIPA and NYPA, and representatives of LIPA and NYPA have spoken to the committee about an energy resources plan and opportunities for low-interest financing.
We will be moving swiftly in August, usually a very quiet month, to interview the architects who have sent in proposals by the August 1st deadline These meetings, too, are public, and we urge you to attend. All meetings are posted on our website. Since architects’ appointments often change in the last minute, please feel free to call the library to confirm.
Although you are correct that we have spent money on past projects and past professionals, we still have nearly $1 million in our Main Building and Special Services Fund.
We value our excellent and long-term staff as much as you do, and we struggle every day with ways to combat our ever rising personnel related costs. 75% of our budget is spent on staff payroll and benefits which includes costs attributable to retirement and health-care which the Library has no control over. In order to offset some of the affects of these costs in the aggregate, the Board has asked the Director to institute a hiring freeze as well as to make some cuts in redundant or unnecessary part-time hours. We believe that because of our technology, improvements and changes in the way our patrons use the library, these staff cuts will not impact the level of service our community expects and deserves.
We share your concern for our future which is why we put the Building Advisory Committee together. I am thrilled with the work it has done under the capable leadership of Trustee DiCamillo and the excellent work of all of its members.
Varda Solomon,
President
Great Neck Library
Board of Trustees
