The money, which represents about $5,000 more than the Maxton library received last year, will allow the branch to stay open from noon to 8 p.m. on weekdays and allow for Saturday morning hours. The library had been closing at 6 p.m. on weekdays with no Saturday hours.
Normally, this is where we would would commend the town board for its insight.
Too few municipalities seem to understand just how vital libraries — especially rural ones — are to communities. The trend is for cash-strapped governments to look for ways to slash budgets. More often than not, library branches serve as easy cost-cutting targets.
A few years ago, Jackson County, Oregon, closed its entire 15-branch library system for six months. Closer to home, Mecklenburg officials proposed closing half that county’s branches and laying off 140 employees to save money.
So it was refreshing to see Maxton increase its library's budget and not the reverse. That is not to say that everyone was onboard with the idea. There was talk earlier in the budget process of cutting library funding by some $2,000.
Commissioner Victor Womack had expressed concern that the library was serving a limited number of Maxton residents.
"The library wasn't programmed for everybody," Womack said. "It was designed for retirees. If you work 9 to 5 and the library closes at 6 o'clock and is closed on Saturday and Sunday, it's not being fair to everyone in Maxton."
He suggested that if the library cannot be made to serve the entire community, the funds that operate the facility could be used elsewhere.
We agree with Commissioner Womack that the library ought serve every segment of the community. We are less clear on how to increase library services while cutting funding.
Equally troubling would have been a $3 million budget that cut $2,000 for the library while adding a total of $8,000 in pay raises for the town board.
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