Libraries Break Out: line item shows small cost for big service

A March 31, 2011 editorial in the Bergen Record comments that "PROPERTY TAX bills will have a new line item, and, in this case, it’s a good thing. Towns will now break out the amount paid toward their municipal or joint public libraries in the same way other towns provide a separate line for their contributions to county libraries. The law was signed by Governor Christie last week.

Library funding is a very small part of a municipal tax bill. Residents will see this clearly with the new layout. But local libraries’ diminutive cost relative to schools, police and the rest, belies their outsized contribution to their communities. They are community center, coffee klatch, job center, classroom and newsstand rolled into one. They provide a safe place for children after school, and a space for adults to relax during the day. Some host free tax preparers for older adults. Others host English classes for their newest residents. A public library is a concrete expression of civic values. And separating its cost from the general tax levy will drive home its bang for the buck."

Read the entire editorial