UPDATE (July 5, 2022; 10 am): This web report has been updated to include missing details about a 2020 PPP distribution, and correcting language around the current year's municipal funding and fundraising.

* * * * *

C.H. Booth Library, which has served the Newtown community and beyond for nearly 90 years, is apparently facing a dilemma after the Legislative Council maintained its funding for its 2022-23 municipal budget instead of granting a requested increase.

According to Library Executive Director Douglas Lord, for 2022-2023, the library asked for $1,457,160 from the town, but was only approved for $1,381,000 — $76,160 less than requested.

The town approved the same amount of $1,381,000 for the library in 2021-2022.

Board of Trustees President Michelle Brown estimates that the town typically funds around 85% to 90% of the library’s total budget and then they fund-raise the rest. Fundraising, though, is never guaranteed to be a success, according to Brown.

Some of the library’s many services and programs may be at risk due to the cut in funding. While the library serves the community and is located in a town-owned building, it is a private enterprise.

“It is a little anomalous in its makeup that way,” Brown said.

With the C.H. Booth Library not able to know just how much money they will receive any given year, there are certain precautions the organization must take.

“We are very frugal with our budget, because it is all grants from the town, from the Friends, and from fundraising. We don’t know from year to year exactly what our bottom line is going to be,” Brown said.

As a result, Brown says that the library does not have a maintenance person on staff or have the most lucrative salaries for its employees.

Library Board of Trustees Secretary Betsy Litt noted, “So many of the library’s wonderful staff members choose to stay despite higher salaries elsewhere.”

Brown believes the decision to not increase municipal funding came from a misunderstanding about how the money that the library currently has saved is used.

“We had built up some fundraising money, but once it comes in and the town money comes in, historically the library hadn’t really said here is the town money and here is the fundraising money and we are going to pick and choose which pile it spends from. It was conglomerated,” Brown explained.

Additionally, there is money the library receives that is considered restricted. Those donations are given to the library with the stipulation that it can only be used for a certain item or services, such as buying books.

For example, the Friends of the C.H. Booth Library’s Annual Book Sale is one of those restricted funds that is given to the library. The Friends’ website details that their donated funds can only be used for “books, CDs, DVDs, programs for children and adults, database and media streaming services, [and] special projects to enhance the patron experience.”

Much-needed building maintenance — such as repairing the library’s slate roof and its heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system — are not able to be paid for through the restricted donations.

Fund Balance Misunderstanding

“It seems that the fund balance was creating a false impression that the library was sitting on a lot of money that it should be spending to do things like repair its roof, yet it’s asking the taxpayers for more money,” Brown said.

Even though she says the library’s board of trustees faced a lot of pushbacks during their discussions at town meetings, they were ultimately able to come to an agreement pertaining to the roof issues.

“One of the things we were running into this year, and the town ultimately did work with us, was to ensure that we are able to replace the parts of the roof that are in trouble and even some shutters. We are getting the repairs that we need, so I want to be clear about that,” Brown said.

She emphasized that the Library Board of Trustees is learning from this experience and is working with their accountant to better set up their funds to help be more transparent.

Community Impact

When Brown moved to Newtown in 2018, she was eager to get involved in her new community.

She joined the library’s all-volunteer board in February 2020, just a month before the COVID-19 pandemic caused massive shutdowns. Even with such unprecedented times, she remained steadfast in continuing to work with the board and help the library persevere.

Throughout Brown’s time in town, she has seen how the library has gone above and beyond to serve the community when it is in need, including during Tropical Storm Isaias in August 2020 when it offered free Wi-Fi and charging stations to the public.

When the COVID-19 pandemic caused people to stay at home, the library was a bright spot in many people’s days to help break the monotony.

During that time, the library also applied for and received a Coronavirus-related PPP loan from the SBA of $172,600, which was secured through Newtown Savings Bank. The funds exclusively covered payroll according to the SBA, and that loan plus accrued interest was forgiven — so the money was fully retained by the library with no requirement for repayment.

Lord said, “We were the library that never closed during COVID, offering full access to the collection in so many ways. Streaming films, audiobooks, and TV shows for education and fun, programs outside the library like concerts at the bandshell and events on the library lawn, and hundreds of people using the best Wi-Fi in town both inside and outside the building.”

Brown added, “We tried to be responsive to people who were stuck at home and sick of what they had in their house, and maybe downloading wasn’t so great because they didn’t have the technology to do so, so we had people come to the patio where there would be a mini selection of books and things to take out.”

The library staff would take the time to select items for different themed to-go bags, such as all things beach-related, for people to take home and enjoy.

“We also abolished late fines,” Brown noted. “We really tried to step up and be a service to the community.”

The library has continued to be a social resource, too, by offering educational opportunities for a multitude of topics relating to Newtown and nationwide events.

“There is a lot of talk nationally about diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI); a lot of controversy and misunderstanding about critical race theory, which people are calling CRT; and the social reckoning since the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, and many other African Americans from white police officers,” Brown said.

“The library has been partnering with local organizations interested in normalizing and celebrating diversity, having conversations where people can ask what they think of as ‘stupid questions’ like what is race and what is racism … and they are open to the public,” she added.

In total, Lord estimates that it hosts upwards of 900 programs a year on all different topics and brings in about 6,500 visitors per month.

Nonprofit Council Launched

C.H. Booth Library even accomplished launching its Newtown Nonprofit Council initiative to facilitate partnerships with a variety of local groups. The council meets online monthly and has created a volunteer service hub called Get Connected, Newtown.

Brown said, “We sit in the center of town and when we have done focus groups with townsfolks about what the library means to you or what would you like it to be, we hear a lot that we are the heart of Newtown. We are trying to provide the kind of things they need in their lives and some things that they may not have originally thought of a library for, but once they start doing it, they get used to it and like it.”

The library is able to cover its expansive range of services thanks to the generosity bestowed on them through fundraising, as well as through the Town on Newtown’s financial support.

“During COVID, we couldn’t have in person events … and even the annual Thanksgiving Turkey Trot, we had to do it online,” Brown said.

The Turkey Trot is one of its major fundraisers and in 2020 it only made a fraction of what it usually brings in. In 2021, however, according to an organizer, the race took in over $40,000 — meeting or exceeding its projected fundraising goal.

While the library is dependent on the town, it also is greatly impacted by the generosity of its patrons and those who believe in the importance of the library’s role in town.

“There is a lot of volunteerism, goodwill, and love of community that keeps this organization running,” Brown said.

Litt added, “The C.H Booth Library is there for everyone in Newtown. At the grassroots level, this community has a gigantic commitment to their library. The people of Newtown know our library is terrific ... The library board appreciates the support of the town, the Friends, the staff, and all the residents of Newtown. We hope the town recognizes the importance of the library to the people of Newtown.”

For those who wish to directly support C.H. Booth Library, visit chboothlibrary.org/support-the-library/give.

=====

Reporter Alissa Silber can be reached at alissa@thebee.com.