In October of 2008, the Lancaster Public Library’s board of trustees voted 6-2 to cancel plans for a $2.3 million renovation project for which $600,000 had already been spent. Leadership at the library has shifted since that time—particularly with the recruiting of Herb Landau to serve as executive director. In 2010, at the board’s January 26 meeting, NewsLanc asked the board to elaborate on any plans they now have to arrange new sources of operational funding, to expand public services, and to reboot the renovation process.
Landau said that the pursuit of new funding streams is exactly “the charge that the board has given me.” Landau continued, “I can say that we’re working on a strategic plan now to develop new funding sources, to bring new money in, to eliminate the deficit, and then, ultimately, to look again at the expansion plan.”
In the coming year, Landau said that the library plans to increase programs and services, even in the midst of budget reductions. This will be accomplished largely through collaboration with partnering organizations from the surrounding community, such as Saint James Episcopal Church on North Duke Street.
Landau refrained from projecting any sort of timeline for the possibility of future capital improvements: “I can’t say now,” Landau said, “The immediate objective is to eliminate the deficit and obtain funds to continue programs in light of the state cuts.”
Regarding the 2008 project cancellation, board member and former president John McGrann said that the board had “made a prudent decision by not committing ourselves to a project that we didn’t have secure funding in place for, and without a good plan for operating the expanded facility.”
McGrann stressed that revisiting renovation plans is not an immediate priority for the board: “Right now we are really focused on just strengthening our role in the community and building our presence and building our image in the community so that, at the right time, we can pursue that.” McGrann continued, “But, I think, in terms of approaching that from a standpoint of building awareness of a potential capital campaign, that’s premature.”
The libraries might have enough funding if the Library System of Lancaster County didn’t waste such a large proportion of State funds on needless overhead. If the Library System were stripped down to its bare essentials – information technology and the bookmobile, working out of a low-rent ware house – large sums of money would be immediately available to the local libraries.