The Howland Public Library’s 2022 budget and Trustee vote is happening today, Thursday, April 28, 2022 from 12pm-8pm in the Community Room in the back of the library. This year, there is an unprecedented number of candidates on the ballot: 9 people running for 3 open seats. You can read all about each candidate here. The library is located at 313 Main Street, Beacon, NY.

The proposed 5% increase is 1% more than last year’s approved budget, but lower than the 2020 and 2019 approved budgets, said the Howland Public Library Director Kristen Salierno in the library’s newsletter highlighting the details of the election. “If the budget passes,” she said, “it will enable the library to increase the number of E-books available to patrons, which are always in demand. It will also allow for a small staff and department expansion aimed at continuing to better address user experiences and services as well as forge even deeper connections to the community and community groups.”

The 9 Trustee candidates are listed below. “We have an unprecedented number of candidates this year,” Kristen said. Read all about them here.

Marguerite (Greta) Byrum
Yvonne Caruthers
Pattiann LaVeglia
Elaine Leinung
Erin Mack
Mark Roland
Brooke Simmons
Emilia Sweeney
Jeffrey Young (Yang)

The Howland Public Library offers a comprehensive programming schedule with a variety of online options, including learning a language, so many youth services, the Library of Things, so many movies to stream on Hoopla, and more. Read the details of the proposed budget here.