By Ivan Pereira
Two Queens city councilmen are hard at work coming up with a new way to fund the city’s libraries after the borough’s branches have gotten short shrift over the years.
During her State of the Borough address last week, Borough President Helen Marshall said Councilmen Leroy Comrie (D-St. Albans) and Jimmy Van Bramer (D-Sunnyside) are coming up with legislation that would update the city’s budget process for funding libraries. Marshall said the city’s formula resulted in every Queens branch receiving $77,0000 less than branches in Brooklyn.
“My office has proven that Queens libraries do not receive their fair share of funding,” she said.
For the 2011 fiscal year, the Queens Library system was given $79.6 million from the city compared to the $81.3 million that was given to the Brooklyn system and $109.1 million that was awarded to the New York Public Library system, which serves Manhattan, the Bronx and Staten Island, according to the city Office of Management and Budget.
The New York Public Library had a material circulation of roughly 24 million, Queens had a circulation of approximately 23 million and Brooklyn had a circulation of approximately 19 million, the budget office said.
Comrie said the formula used to determine the funding is more than 30 years old and only looks at the data on how many people visit the branches on a yearly basis, not on how many items are taken out.
“Formula was based per capita and per usage. We have been working with our finance people to see how we can come up with a better template,” he said.
The councilman said the city does not take into account the amount of expansion that library branches have gone through over the years. In the 30 years since the formula was created, the Queens Library has added dozens of branches and renovated many facilities, including the Flushing branch, to offer new services such as computer training and international material.
Comrie acknowledged the city has made changes to the budget process to counter the out-of-date formula, but it comes at a cost. The city has added a couple of million dollars to the Queens libraries late in the budget process when it saw the circulation numbers, according to the councilman.
“The city has recognized and made adjustments, but we need to make this permanent,” he said.
In the meantime, the Queens library has gone to its members for help. In December, it launched a new campaign asking users to donate money for new books to counteract the smaller budget.
Reach reporter Ivan Pereira by e-mail at ipereira@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4546.
