Saugus Blog

Libraries matter to everyone in the community.

• It matters to the patron who visits the library to read a daily newspaper, catch up on the latest magazines, or sign up to use one of our public access computers.
• It matters to anyone who wants to find or apply for a job online.
• It matters to our youngest citizens who attend story times and see the Library as their first school and the Children’s Librarian as their first teacher.
• It matters to the school children of Saugus who spend their after school hours in the Children’s, Reference, and Young Adult Rooms and Homework Center doing homework, researching papers, working on group projects, and checking out books. For most of them, the Saugus Public Library is their only Library.
• It matters to our business community. The Library provides access to a whole host of databases and other online resources that are accessible from the Library, from home, and from work.
• It matters to our parents, to our coaches, to our community organizations, and anyone else looking for information on how to help our children in school or how to coach youth soccer, where to find meeting space or programs that address issues and concerns we all face.
• It matters to our Senior Citizens who borrow from our large print and books on tape collection, who attend our computer training classes and who receive delivery of materials from us through the Senior Center volunteers.

Libraries matter to everyone, from the youngest to the oldest in our community. The Library is a public service that touches everyone.

The Town of Saugus has a financial obligation to support the Library under the General Laws of Massachusetts. Minimum standards are established by the Board of Library Commissioners to provide a basis for libraries to share resources. When a Town cuts the Library budget and fails to meet the minimum standards as defined by State Law, the library looses more than town money. Cuts in the town budget cause the library to be ineligible for grants and funding from outside sources. Cities and towns that do support their libraries will refuse services to the residents from the community that does not appropriately fund its Library.

The Library has raised funds, solicited donations, received gifts, and accepted bequests. However, these monies cannot be substituted for the Town’s financial obligation to support Library services.

Because the Library does not meet State funding requirements:

• The Library has been decertified by the Board of Library Commissioners and will be ineligible for State Aid to update and purchase new equipment and books.
• Saugus residents have lost borrowing privileges in libraries throughout the State.
• Research databases have been eliminated and use of the several online reference resources available through the network, region, and State could be jeopardized as well.
• The annual funding for the Pace Genealogy Center is in jeopardy.
• Summer reading books that are part of the school curriculum will have to be purchased by families rather than borrowed for the students.
• It will take two years to be recertified once the Library is reopened and many more years to return to even our current reduced level of service.

Mark Mallory, Ohio State Senator and winner of the 2003 Carnegie Award stated, “In times of dire straits, the worst thing you can do is cut public libraries. We have a responsibility to invest in the things that we know grow our future”.

The American Library Association also promised, “Libraries will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no libraries.” Please help us stay open. We are a valuable piece of the fabric that makes up the Saugus community.