Via Community News Service, a University of Vermont journalism internship
Sen. Ruth Hardy, D-Addison, is a self-proclaimed “huge fan of libraries.” She hopes S.232, the third public libraries bill she has sponsored, would help them make incremental improvements.
The bill would clarify what program funding public libraries are eligible for and name the third Monday in October “Vermont Libraries Day.”
“(Libraries) are really important institutions of gathering and knowledge and support for our towns, especially people in really rural places,” Hardy said in an interview with Community News Service. “Often, the library is the only resource in the entire town.”
Hardy said Vermont Libraries Day would be an opportunity for libraries to have simultaneous programming, events and speakers to promote and celebrate their spaces.
S.232 would also allocate a portion of the state’s sales tax on cannabis to public library programs. Margaret Woodruff, director of the Charlotte Public Library and chair of the Vermont Libraries Association’s government relations committee, said librarians are looking for help – mostly in the form of money.
“Many Vermont libraries face huge capital needs to offer spaces that are safe and accessible to everybody who wants to come there,” she said, citing state data showing that library buildings have $260 million of deferred maintenance.
Woodruff cited her own library as an example of what proper funding could do. After receiving funding from the Vermont Bond Bank, which provides loans for construction projects, the space underwent a metamorphosis.
“We completed a much-needed expansion renovation project in 2020 that has transformed our space into a community hub,” she said. “Story times, cooking lessons, book discussions, health consultations.”
S.232 would enable libraries to receive guidance from the Vermont Bond Bank about municipal bonds they are eligible for, a step that Hardy said is important.
Afterschool and summer programs are integral to children’s literacy and overall development, according to Hardy, and municipal bonds can help libraries build new space to accommodate them.
Hardy said the passage of S.232 would not result in new taxes or appropriations.
Because the bill has eight additional sponsors and support from librarians across the state, Hardy said she has high hopes that S.232 will pass.
“Public libraries have a really important role to play to help young kids learn how to read, and this bill helps to further that goal,” she said.
Suzanne Krohn, director of Richmond Free Library, said library directors around the state have been briefed on the bill and what it could mean for them, sparking conversations about Vermont Library Day and future programs throughout Vermont.
Already, her library is involved in programming that goes beyond reading, like crafting events, collaborations with the local senior center, flood resilience education and mahjong.
S.232 aims to protect one of the last remaining third spaces in Vermont, a concept that Krohn believes is important now more than ever.
“We are really one of the last places people can exist in public for free,” she said. “You don’t have to buy a coffee to hang out here.”