LEWISTOWN - The Mifflin County Library Board recently adopted a 2011 budget that will keep the Allensville and Milroy branches of the library open, according to a press issued Friday by the Mifflin County Library.
"The Friends of the Mifflin County Library are working hard on fundraising." Library Director Carol Veitch said in the release. "One patron was able to get the Allensville Branch Library a $5,000 grant, and other patrons had made donations that will help sustain the library in 2011."
Library Board President Robert Long Jr. said board members and volunteers approached local municipalities for assistance in November.
"They explained that the new funding pattern has to rely less on state aid and more on county, municipal, and individual donations plus more direct fundraising," Long said in the release. "Local municipalities were very receptive, and almost every municipality has included a cash donation to the library in its 2011 budget. The exceptions are the municipalities in Wayne Township where residents use the Mount Union Branch of the Huntingdon County Library more than any of the Mifflin County libraries."
Long and Veitch said the budget remains ill-equipped to raise spending for new materials up to the 2009 level although that aspect of the budget was increased from 2010 spending, the release states.
"The library staff volunteered to keep wages at the 2010 level for 2011," Long said in the release. "I think this says a lot about their belief in the importance of quality library service in Mifflin County. It will be a sacrifice for many of them since prices of many everyday necessities continue to go up, especially gasoline for their vehicles."
The hours that were cut at the main library will be restored by the end of the February, the release indicates. In addition, some hours will be added to the Kish and Rothrock branch libraries in February.
