Mt. Lebanon plans to close Sundays next year while Peters Township will be closed on Sundays next summer. Both lib-raries, along with Upper St. Clair, plan to increase fees.

When the Pennsylvania General Appropriations Act of 2009 was signed into law this past October, it included $3 million in funding for Library Access Appropriation, down 72 percent from last year's $10,542,000. Funding for POWER Library was cut 58 percent, the Electronic Library Catalog (including Access PA) was cut 53 percent, and the Statewide Library Card was cut 100 percent.

When Cynthia K. Richey, director of Mt. Lebanon Public Library was asked about the budget cuts, her reply was simple: "It's awful. The loss of funding for public libraries is catastrophic."

Richey was especially concerned about the 58 percent reduction from $1,683,000 to $700,000 to the POWER Lib-rary, which provides access to thousands of full-text journals, online dictionaries, encyclopedias, periodical and reference databases to all Pennsylvanians through public and school lib-raries and remotely from home.

"It is impossible for individual libraries to make up the loss of funding for the Power Library," said Richey.

The subscriptions to the databases are too expensive. And for business and the health-related information, there is no print version, so there is no alternative, he added.

Richey also said that between the loss of revenue from the state and Allegheny Regional Asset District (RAD) funds distributed via the Allegheny County Library Association's revised formula, the Mt. Lebanon Public Library's budget has been cut 10 percent, forcing trustees of the Mt. Lebanon Public Lib-rary to close the library on Sundays in 2010.

"We reached the decision to close Sundays after surveying our library patrons and carefully considering many options," said Board President Christopher W. Cahillane.

The library faces budget reductions in 2010 of 33 percent from the state and nearly 14 percent from the Allegheny Regional Asset District.

The municipality of Mt. Leba-non, which provides approximately 57 percent of the lib-rary's operating budget, will increase the library's appropriation by 8.5 percent to partially lessen the impact of the losses.

The decision to close on Sundays followed a detailed analysis of daily patron usage patterns and represents an optimum level of service to patrons, providing 64 hours from Monday through Saturday. The library has offered Sunday hours between Labor Day and Memorial Day for the past 26 years.

Under the current budget constraints, the library also must reduce staffing by 72 hours per week and freeze staff salaries and wages at 2009 levels.

Additionally, the library has reduced staffing by 11 percent, which will result in longer waiting times for patrons. The library is the third busiest in Allegheny County, checking out nearly 600,000 items annually.

The trustees also approved increases to the library's late fees, based on public suggestions, the first increase in six years. Adult print and audio materials will increase from 25 to 30 cents per day; children's print and audio materials from 10 to 20 cents a day; DVDs and videos will remain at 50 cents per day. Copier and printer charges for black and white will increase from 20 to 25 cents per copy; color copies remain at $1.

"Our commitment is to serve Mt. Lebanon residents in the best way possible," Cahillane said. "If our funding is increased in 2011, we will re-consider reopening on Sundays."

Richey said that because of the poor economy, the use of libraries has increased as funding is decreasing. She said more and more people are using the library as a resource for new jobs or career changes. "It's such poor timing."

Also impacted by cuts

In Upper St. Clair, Helen Pal-ascak, director of the Upper St. Clair Township Public Library, said they have also been affected by the funding cuts, which has their 2010 budget down about $60,000 from last year.

"We knew our RAD funding would be reduced," said Palascak, "so, we've been making adjustments throughout the year to try to avoid reducing services. When three of our part-time staff left, we did not replace them; instead we reassigned their work."

Additionally, Palascak said they have had volunteers pick up some work as well.

Palascak said she made a recommendation to the Upper St. Clair Commissioners that the library's fines for late adult books be raised from 15 cents to 25 cents per day, with a 10 cent per day fine for juvenile material. The changes would put the library in line with other south region libraries.

She expects the board to approve the recommendation at its next regular meeting.

"We're really disappointed at how much the state cut," said Palascak, "especially the electronic resources."

Just as every library director interviewed, Palascak was especially concerned about the cuts to the POWER Library and the effect it would have not only on community residents, but on school districts.

The 2009-2010 budget completely cuts funding to the Statewide Library Card Program, which is a reciprocal borrowing program of all state aided libraries to residents of all municipalities that support their local public library.

Funding compensated public libraries for a portion of the cost of serving non-residents.

The law requires all public libraries to participate in the Library Card Program, so in addition to losing the funding from the state, each library will have to find money in their existing budget to provide the service. It's an unfunded mandate, said Palascak.

Fewer amenities

Christine McIntosh, director of the Bethel Park Public Library, said they have made some changes, like cutting back on some of the staff hours and some of the amenities they normally offer.

"For example," said McIntosh, "We used to offer free coffee to our patrons. Coffee will still be available at the library, but patrons will have to pay for it."

McIntosh said their late fine structure is the same as other south region libraries: 25 cents per day for adult and young adult material, and 10 cents per day for children's material. The late fee for DVDs is 50 cents per day.

"We're OK this year," said McIntosh, "but funding has to increase."

Terri Bonow, the director of the South Fayette Township Public Library, said they have made some reductions in the amount of hours individual staff members work, but the library is still open the same number of hours. She is also watching what materials they are purchasing for their collection.

Bonow said they saw a cut of 20.1 percent from the state, and are waiting to see if the South Fayette commissioners vote to make up some of the difference in the library's budget.

South Fayette Township Public Library is part of the west library region, and Bonow said their fee structure, which has been the same since 2007, is in line with the standardized west region structure: 25 cents per day for both adult and juvenile books and magazines, 50 cents per day for audio and CDs, as well as games and puzzles, and $1 per day for DVD and VHS.

In Washington County, patrons of the Peters Township Public Library will experience some changes in the library's operations in 2010 due to cuts in state funding.

Beth Burr of North Strabane, and a patron of the Peters Township Public Library, said she was "appalled" at the cuts in library funding. Libraries are the one thing everyone can use she said. There are a lot of programs that politicians spend money on said Burr, but libraries are a public service for the elderly and for children. They should be a primary focus.

Pier Lee, director of the Peters Township Public Library, recently learned that in addition to an anticipated 20 cut in state funding, she would not be receiving an anticipated check for $26, 912 from the state for funds generated through Access Pennsylvania. The library board and Lee reviewed their options to cut operating costs and generate additional revenue, while maintaining the same level of service to library patrons.

To address this deficit, on Jan. 2, 2010, the daily fine for overdue adult materials will increase from 10 cents to 25 cents per day. The fine for overdue children's materials will remain at 10 cents per day.

To decrease operating costs, the board unanimously voted that the library will not offer Sunday hours during the summer months in 2010 from Sunday, May 30 through Sunday, Sept. 5. Outside of this period, the library will continue to offer Sunday hours from noon until 4 p.m.

To help prevent further reductions in service in 2010, the library is seeking pledges from the community in any amount to the Friends of the Peters Township Public Library. A form to submit a tax-deductible donation is available at the library or on the library's web site at www.ptlibrary.org and can be returned to the library by mail or in person.

The budget cuts hurt quite a bit, said Lee, but she is convinced that the library will still be able to provide the services their residents want. She said many people have volunteered to help, and Lee is thankful for the support of the local government and the patrons.

"They trust me and I trust them," said Lee. "I never lose confidence in our community."