Bryant Library budget includes programming increase, salary decrease

Amelia Camurati
Roslyn's Bryant Library has had more than 170,000 visits and nearly 190,000 item check-outs this past year. (Photo courtesy of Google Maps)

Roslyn residents will vote for two budgets on May 15: one for the school district and one for Bryant Library.

The proposed $5,101,979 budget for the library is a 1.16 percent increase over the current year’s $5,094,809 budget.

The budget includes a small increase in program funding, up to $63,500 from $56,200, as well as $2,795,720 for salaries — down from $2,898,653 in the current plan.

Director Victor Caputo said the salary decrease is due to employees retiring and being replaced with new hires with lower salaries.

Caputo also said he has combined some departments, such as the circulation department and the technological services department, to cut down on staffing costs.

The program increase, he said, is to help the library diversify its programming for all Roslyn residents.

“The library over the years has become more of a community center, and we’re trying to offer programs for everyone from millennial, teens, children and older adults,” Caputo said.

The budget also includes an increase in capital projects, from $84,000 this year to $163,445 in the proposed budget.

Caputo said the increase is to continue renovating the bathrooms, including a men’s and women’s restroom on the third floor as well as an ADA-compliant restroom on the main floor as well as the staff bathroom on the main floor.

Caputo said this year, two other bathrooms on the main floor were renovated.

A few weeks ago, a sewer line backed up into the library’s children’s room but has since been fixed, Caputo said.

Across the board, Caputo said the library is working to reduce its paper usage, which will  be environmentally friendly and reduce operations costs.

“The Bryant Library Board of Trustees continues to strive to balance the exceptional service you know and expect from the Library with a challenging economic climate,” the board said in a statement. “As trustees and community members, we consistently seek cost saving measures that will keep The Bryant Library as a strong community center without detracting from our mission. The building is not without its fair share of challenges and we continue to meet these challenges within this current proposed budget.”

Roslyn residents can vote for the library budget as well as the Roslyn school district’s budget and Board of Education members from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. at Roslyn High School. The library budget will be listed as Proposition No. 2.

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