franklin township public library somerset nj

More staff space is also needed, Adams said. They are “looking for small spaces for privacy to do their work.”Īdams said the library’s reference staff needs to be consolidated “so they’re not so far-flung throughout the building.” “We have patrons who have their own devices who use our WiFi to print,” she said. “People want help with their devices, and less help with references,” Adams said. The reference area should also be changed in response to the changing ways in which the public sues it, she said. The Mettler Historical Room should be enlarged, she said and the gallery should be rearranged. “On Sunny days in the Spring, Summer, and Fall it gets really hot there,” she said.Īdams said a couple of years ago she received a “very informal” price quote of $1 million to replace the work.Īdams said she’d also like to do some reconfiguration of the library’s space. The roof, she said, has been out of warranty for six years, and it periodically leaks.Īlso, she said, the roof’s design makes it uncomfortably hot for library patrons in that part of the building. Adams said she did not yet have prices on replacing the smaller units, but it’s important to set aside money for that “because they’re all going to go.” One unit has already been replaced, at a cost of $27,000, she said. Two of the main issues, she said, are replacement of the library’s HVAC units and the roof over the gallery.

That’s good, she said, because there are a few things that are going to need attending to. Library Director January Adams told the Trustees that there should be a budget surplus of about $574,065 by the end of June 2023. “This looks like a well-thought-out budget,” Trustees chairman Nick Ciampa said.

The budget allocates $468,000 to library materials, $35,000 to library programs and $92,000 to building maintenance. The Franklin Township Library Board of Trustees approved a $3.8 million 2022-2023 library budget and heard of some maintenance and other big-ticket projects in the offing at its May 25 meeting.Ībout 70 percent of the budget, or $2.7 million, is targeted for employee-related costs, including salaries, benefits and pensions. The Library Board of Trustees heard about a number of projects proposed by Library Director January Adams.

Franklin township public library somerset nj