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After years of renovations, library construction across Onondaga, Madison and Oneida Counties has officially been completed after New York Democratic State Senator Rachel May secured over $700,000 in grant funding for the projects.

The funding, which May announced in October 2020, was allocated to 14 libraries across the three counties she represents. The construction projects included improvements to lighting and ventilation systems and renovations for children’s facilities and restrooms.

Sen. May, whose district includes Syracuse University and the city of Syracuse, said the project was essential to her after seeing the resilience libraries showed during the COVID-19 pandemic. She said libraries needed the financial support to reinvent current spaces.

“Libraries serve all kinds of purposes that they weren’t necessarily built to serve,” May said. “They’ve been reinventing themselves, so this kind of funding really is important to allow them to do the work that they’re being called on to do in the 21st century.”

Each of the libraries requested the grant, with some being accepted as recently as this year. Libraries from the Onondaga Country system, like Salina Free Library, received funding, as well as Madison and Oneida County libraries such as Canastota Public Library, according to May’s website.

Liz Metzger, director of Canastota Public Library, said her library put the funding toward a new roof. Although the library received tax revenue funding because it’s a public school district library, the grant allowed the library to create a safer space for its community, Metzger said.

“We’ve been very fortunate to have been set up (as a school district public library), and so we have a steady stream of money coming in every year. But of course, our total annual budget is just over $300,000, and if we had to pay $72,000 for a roof, it wouldn’t leave a whole bunch left for other things,” she said.

Metzger also explained the process of receiving a grant from May’s office, which included an application and approval process. Canastota Public Library applied in 2021 but didn’t receive the funding until May, Metzger said.

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Jeannine Chubon, director of Salina Free Library, said the library used the funding for various plumbing projects, including a new water bottle fountain for children, improved public restrooms and new concrete front steps.

“These are all things that are very much needed, but that we can’t always accommodate these things in our operating budget, so to have this extra state funding is really essential for us to be able to complete these projects,” Chubon said.

Canastota Public Library, like the Salina Free Library, focused on construction to create a more modern environment for its patrons.

Metzger said the library has a rich history going back to its founding in 1896, which they hope to preserve for generations to come with help from the funding.

With recent legislation focusing on book bans and restricted curriculum for K-12 students, May said libraries often are a place where people can get information about questions they may have.

May confirmed her opposition to book bans because of the danger of restricting people from information that may help them understand the world around them.

“(People) may include kids who have questions about their gender identity or people who are experiencing trauma of various kinds,” She said. “That’s one of the reasons why some of the bans that people are talking about are not just counterproductive and kind of an expression of intolerance, but they may also be dangerous.”

May said she sees many reasons to support libraries, from her time as a student and as a teacher, and that it was the pandemic that pushed her to implement these grants.

“In the first year or two of the pandemic, we saw just how crucial libraries are in maintaining a public sphere in our society,” May said. “The last really public space where people can gather or use computers or get assistance in various issues. It’s the amazing institutions that really need our support.”

Published on September 20, 2023 at 11:33 pm

Contact Faith: flbolduc@syr.edu