By Amanda Travis
NOPL Director
On Oct. 10, Northern Onondaga Public Library (NOPL) taxpayers will have the opportunity to vote on the 2019 library budget and to vote for library trustee candidates. The tax request for 2019 is $2,517,148 and includes a small increase of 1.75 percent. In 2019, a family living in a $100,000 home in the NOPL district will see their annual library tax go up by approximately $1.15, to $69.94.
As the new director of the Northern Onondaga Public Library District, I would like to pose two questions to our communities. Are libraries even relevant anymore in this day and age? And are they worth the investment? Despite the many arguments (usually from those who haven’t stepped into a library in over a decade), it remains clear that public investments in libraries have a net economic benefit. Depending on the specific state, for every $1 of public revenue collected for libraries, between $4 and $8 in resources are returned to the community. Libraries have a large impact on the local economy and workforce development through the variety of classes and resources they offer.
As for relevancy, libraries are more relevant than ever. They are a place for personal growth and reinvention, a place for help in navigating the digital age, a gathering place for civic and cultural engagement and a trusted place for preserving culture. The mission of the Northern Onondaga Public Library District is to transform and enrich lives by connecting citizens to information, ideas and imagination. We are committed to the development and sustainability of an engaged, vibrant community.
All three of our branches offer free meeting room space for community groups and non-profit organizations. NOPL has over 60 public computers and wifi for patrons to access government services, research health information, enroll in distance-learning classes, check email and social media. The Preservation Studio at Brewerton provides digitization technology to convert VHS tapes to DVD and save photos, negatives and slides as digital copies. The LibraryFarm at Cicero allows people to check out a plot to grow vegetables and flowers with other members of the community. The Discovery Den at North Syracuse provides a fun learning space for children to be innovative and show off their creativity. Libraries are more than just books, but if you want those, we have them in abundance both in print and digital format. Not to mention the latest movies, music and audiobooks for those long commutes.
The vote will take place from noon to 7 p.m. Oct. 10 at each of the NOPL branches. Voters must go to the library in their district to vote. Each library has a large map on display to help district residents determine their voting location, and staff members are available to help. A PDF of the map can be found at nopl.org/budgetvote. Absentee ballots are also available. NOPL at Brewerton is located at 5437 Library St., Brewerton; NOPL at Cicero is located at 8686 Knowledge Lane, Cicero; and NOPL at North Syracuse is located at 100 Trolley Barn Lane, North Syracuse. Please contact Amanda Travis, NOPL director at (315) 699-2534 or [email protected] if you have any questions or concerns.
