As we head into a new fiscal year (FY17), I want to take this opportunity to thank you, our customers; County Executive Leggett; and the County Council for the support of Public Libraries. I would also like to thank the Library Board; Library Advisory Committees; and the Friends of the Library, Montgomery County and its chapters for their continued advocacy on behalf of MCPL.
The County Council approved the County Executive's FY17 Recommendation for the Montgomery County Public Libraries (MCPL) Operating Budget, as well as his Recommended Amendment to the Capital Improvements Program to fund the lease for the Wheaton Interim Library.
MCPL’s FY17 Operating Budget is $41.7M, with 424 positions (386.6 full-time equivalents). This represents a 2.3% increase from the FY16 approved budget, fully restoring and exceeding our pre-recession funding levels. This Operating Budget includes funding for:
- A substantial enhancement to MCPL’s Library Programming team, to better support and coordinate programming efforts for workforce and economic development; computer coding; Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM); civic engagement and participation; Seniors; and New Americans. This will add a coordinator for programming and approximately double the time available for outreach and programming from MCPL’s award-winning Outreach Team.
- An expansion of the successful weekend evening hours during the summer at the Rockville Memorial branch to four more urban anchor destination libraries: Silver Spring, Bethesda, Gaithersburg, and Germantown.
- A $726,600 increase to the library materials budget to enhance our collection to better meet emerging customer needs and demands. Some of these include: new formats such as "language kits" that support language learning; Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM); new formats that support early literacy; career, test preparation, skills development, and other workforce development tools; the ability to earn an online high school diploma; and a "Library of Things" collection supporting the makerspace at the Rockville Memorial branch (tools related to making objects, and content creation). This increase brings the library materials budget to $6.7 million, a 12% increase, and the highest library materials budget since at least FY2001.
We are strategically moving forward to provide you with a positive library experience in our branches, online and in the community.
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| B. Parker Hamilton, Director |
Labels: From the Director, June 2016
