Library checks out options for monetary assistance

The Longboat Library is used to operating on a tight budget.

The non-profit organization has a 10-year, $10-per-year lease on the property at 555 Bay Isles Road, which the Longboat Key Town Commission approved in 2006. It is staffed entirely by volunteers and has operating expenses of $28,000 per year, most of which is spent on maintenance and insurance, as well as books and CDs.

But, despite low overhead costs, the library often operates at a deficit. In 2010, the library broke even, but the year before that, when its building needed a new roof, the organization incurred a deficit of nearly $29,000.

Now, the library will approach the town to discuss the possibility of obtaining assistance in a presentation that board members will make at the Feb. 17 regular meeting workshop.

“Our main job is to buy books and tapes, and all those are going up in price,” said board member Hazel Steskal.

In 2006, board members told the Longboat Observer that the library purchased between 40 and 50 new books per month. Now that number ranges from 30 to 40, according to board members.

“Because of the increasing costs in books and because our ongoing costs keep going up, we have to buy fewer new books each year,” said library President Amy Roth. “Our shelves are getting pretty skimpy.”

The library currently has approximately 900 members. Currently the organization brings in approximately $12,000 through memberships each year. To raise more money, the library increased its membership costs by $5 to $30 for a yearly membership and $40 for a patron membership. The library raises another $4,000 through book sales and an additional $2,000 by charging $3 per half-hour for the use of two computers. The remainder of funds comes from private donations, and the library also receives gifts of gently used books and CDs.

In the past, the town generally has not contributed financially to the library’s operation, aside from a $4,411 grant the town received for upgrades of books on CDs in 2005.

But board members say the library enhances life in the town of Longboat Key.

“I think a library is an asset to any community,” Steskal said.

MEMBERSHIP MATTERS
The following membership options are available at the Longboat Library:
• Lifetime membership — For a one-time fee of $300, an individual or a married couple receives the same privileges as a patron member, along with a gold donor card. The donor’s name is also inscribed on a golden plaque.
• Patron membership — For $40 per year, the membership offers up to four seven-day books and eight 14-day books, CDs or tapes at a time.
• Regular membership — For $30 per year, the membership offers up to two seven-day books, four 14-day books, CDs or tapes at a time.

Contact Robin Hartill at [email protected]