By DAN TOMASELLO
LYNNFIELD — The Lynnfield Public Library will lose two-thirds of its staff as well as its state certification if voters do not approve the $4.65 million Proposition 2 ½ override later this spring, Director Abigail Porter said during the Select Board’s April 8 meeting.
The Select Board unanimously voted last week to bring a $4.65 million Proposition 2 ½ override to Spring Town Meeting on Tuesday, April 29. If Spring Town Meeting approves sending the override to a town-wide ballot vote, a Special Town Election will take place on Wednesday, June 4.
If voters approve the override, it would restore $261,318 that would be cut from the Lynnfield Public Library’s budget if the override gets nixed.
“The library is the only place in town you are welcome any time we are open and not have to spend money,” said Porter. “It doesn’t matter what age you are or what your interests are. We have something for everyone, whether it be help tracking down a last minute copy of a book needed for a school assignment, assistance with attaching a PDF, learning how to use your iPhone or streaming movies, TV and even exercise videos. I have even noticed a few couples coming in lately to pick out a movie for a date night, which is really cute. The best part is all of this is free with your library card.”
Similar to the School Department, Porter said the library will have massive layoffs if the override does not get approved.
“We currently have nine full-time and 15 part-time wonderful staff members,” said Porter. “We will have to layoff two-thirds of them that will be a mix of full-time and part-time employees. We will be left with nine people.”
Porter also said the library would be forced to reduce its hours of operation if the override fails.
“We are currently open 64 hours spread over six days a week, including Saturdays,” said Porter. “If the override does not pass, we will only be able to be open for 40 hours a week with one evening and no Saturdays. We will most likely not be able to do any programming at all, as programming staff will either be cut or will be busy doing the myriad of tasks we have to perform every day.”
Porter also said the library will lose its technology support that is offered through its consortium.
“I don’t know how we will pay for that,” said Porter. “Many of our databases such as Kanopy and Hoopla are very, very heavily used.”
Porter said the library is certified through the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC), which she said, “Takes into account a number of factors.”
“The first is the Municipal Appropriation Requirement or the MAR,” said Porter. “This is found by averaging the MAR from the last three years and adding 2.5 percent to that. Our MAR this year is $995,822. The most important part to staying certified is hitting that number.”
Porter also said the MBLC requires public libraries to have a Material Appropriation Requirement (MER).
“That is based on population size,” said Porter. “It has to be 16 percent of whatever the town appropriates to us. If the MAR is $995,822, our MER for next year will be $157,000. If we hit the MAR though, we can apply for flexibility based on the hours we are open. With our population size, we are allowed to be open for 40 hours per week, but we are currently open for 64. That would allow us to drop our materials requirement to 13 percent or $127,904. If we do not hit our MAR, we cannot apply for flexibility on the MER. We have to hit one or the other.”
Porter said the library will be decertified if the override does not get approved. If the override does not pass, she said residents will lose access to “over two million items through the NOBLE catalog and almost 96 million throughout the commonwealth.”
“This would include the reciprocal lending agreement that we have through Libby, our eBook database, which allows us to borrow from every library network in the state from home,” said Porter. “We would have access to only our physical collection and a few digital resources.”
Porter also said the library would be “ineligible for state aid” if it is decertified.
“This year, we received $31,000,” said Porter. “And we will no longer be eligible to apply for grants and other MBLC services. We hope to apply for an accessibility grant for technology next year as well as a grant for a native plant garden, which would allow us to do some programming around climate and with kids. I have a lot of ideas around that, and I am hoping to apply for it. Last year, we received $6,000 towards a preservation assessment for our genealogy collection. We have already benefited from these grants.”
Porter said the library is “disproportionally affected compared to other town departments.”
“We will essentially be a building that we all know is in trouble,” said Porter.
Porter said the library’s materials budget will be cut regardless of whether the override is approved.
“Luckily, some materials can be purchased using donations and other funds, so we should be able to hit both if the override passes,” said Porter.
Town Administrator Rob Dolan said during a budget forum at the Lynnfield Middle School auditorium on April 10 that the current vacant assistant library director position will not be filled.
Porter also gave an overview of the services that the library provides to the community. She said 44,956 digital items were checked out in fiscal year 2024, which she said was 18 percent higher than FY23. She said there were 6,210 library cardholders in FY24, which she said was a 9 percent increase from FY23.
“We are being used more than ever,” said Porter. “We have also added the ability to sign up for a card by using digital services from home if you can’t make it into the building for whatever reason. This has been a big help for students studying abroad and the homebound. We have also provided over 4,000 Wi-Fi sessions and our computers were used nearly 8,000 times. This does not include the Wi-Fi hotspots and Chromebooks available to check out from our Library of Things.”
Porter also noted that 26,783 items were checked out “through inner library loans or by visiting neighboring libraries.”
“That is 29 percent of our yearly checkouts,” said Porter.
Porter said the library saved Lynnfield residents an estimated $2,273,880.73 in FY24.
“That is calculated using a value calculator developed by the Massachusetts Library Association,” said Porter.
Porter said the library’s current FY25 budget totals $1,063,442.
“For every $1 spent investing in the Lynnfield Public Library, users get back an estimated $2.13 in services,” said Porter. “This does not include use of the Internet, our Library of Things, printing, notary services, proctoring services, etc. Our actual return on investment is higher than that.”
Select Board Vice Chair Phil Crawford thanked Porter for giving a thorough presentation.
“It does indicate to everybody how it would affect you not having the override this year,” said Crawford.
Select Board member Alexis Leahy agreed.
“It is very helpful to understand the certification process and the MARs and MERs,” said Leahy. “It makes a lot more sense as to why things are recommended the way they are. That was really helpful, so thank you.”
Select Board Chair Dick Dalton asked Porter what she attributed to the “significant increases” for checkouts.
“Similar to 2008 when the economy started not doing so great, library usage went up as library budgets got cut,” said Porter. “It is a thing we always face. We are used more when the economy is not great. We are always doing more with less. I also think Hoopla is a really fun service and Libby has become more and more accessible.”
Dalton encouraged townspeople to join the Friends of the Lynnfield Library.
“That is an important part of supporting the service that you provide,” said Dalton.
Porter said the Friends of the Lynnfield Library “will be funding our programming either way.” She also said that the Lynnfield Library Foundation provides “great support.”