Carroll County's library board would like to open the central Westminster branch on Sunday afternoons and expand hours on Fridays and Saturdays. That would be a welcome addition to the county's civic life.
But the board also believes that increasing the library system's budget for books and materials is a more urgent priority. Considering the squeeze on all county departments for the next fiscal year, it is possible nei ther desire will be fulfilled.
The chronic insufficient funding of the county library system is impeding its mission to serve the public.
With the exception of the road system, the libraries are probably the most widely used service county government provides. About 75 percent of the population has library cards, and the volume of borrowing is the highest per-capita in Maryland and has been for the past three years. The branches are always busy.
Heavy usage has its down side. Books, magazines and materials such as videos, compact discs and cassettes wear out more quickly and need to be replaced. Under ideal circumstances, librarians like to spend about 20 percent of their annual operating budget on purchases. In good years, the proportion that Carroll's library system spent on materials was 17 or 18 percent. Since the 1990 budget crunch, the size of the acquisitions budget has dropped to 14 percent.
In its $4.4 million budget request for the 1996 fiscal year, the library board asked for a $155,000 increase for books and materials.
Budget officials took an immediate ax to this request. It is a mistake that should be corrected before the budget is adopted.
The cumulative effects of systematic starvation are already showing up. Periodical collections have large gaps. Library rTC patrons find there aren't enough copies of popular books. Well-used books are falling apart. Reference materials are becoming out of date. If the public can't find what it wants on the library shelves, there won't be a reason to keep branches open additional hours.
Carroll has developed a first-rate library system. To maintain this level of excellence, sufficient government support is a necessity. Now is the time to spend the money. This is an investment that pays off long into the future.