MILFORD - One entity in Milford that is experiencing a budget cut is the town library.
The position of children's librarian, currently held by Pam Long, will be eliminated due to budget constraints by the end of the year.This affects preschool through fifth-grade programs. Long has held this position since April 2000.
"We're hoping with the staff that we have left, we'll be able to continue to provide the programming that we've had in the past," said Library Director Julie Frew. "It's going to be a challenge to do it that way, but the library just got to the point where we had some serious decisions to make about our finances."
With reduced appropriations for this year, the library's budget had been reduced to $207,000, from a filed request for $251,000 from the state.
"We're making the cuts on the local level before we have to do it on the state level," Frew said. "We know where we can handle the cuts better."
Besides the loss of the children's librarian position, materials acquisition budget has been reduced, and one part-time position has been eliminated as well.
"This was a difficult decision to have to make," Frew said. "With the economy the way it is now, people understand we have to make the cuts to live within our income. This is going to be an ongoing process across the state. We just want to keep the Milford Library here in Milford and keep it independent."
Frew stated that some of the expensive reference material that some patrons request is no longer affordable for the library.
She also said that in spite of budget constraints, the Milford Library has recently experienced the best circulation it has ever had in its 100 years. Current hours are Monday and Thursday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m; and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
"I hope that when the state considered library consolidations," Frew said in closing, "... that they keep in mind just how important small libraries are to these communities, and can support them somehow."
