Library advocates want IT funding to be full time; Council to discuss budget Thursday
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IT powers public access computers and the library catalog.
That鈥檚 not a typo. information technology, or IT, is critical to the operation of Albuquerque鈥檚 19 libraries, said Kathleen Raskob, the vice president of the Albuquerque Public Library Foundation.
鈥淚t鈥檚 something that the library has to have in order to operate,鈥� Raskob said. 鈥淚f you go online and look at the catalog, it鈥檚 amazing 鈥� but it鈥檚 also very sophisticated.鈥�
For the past five years, advocates have been asking for IT services funding to be included as recurring funding in the city鈥檚 budget, after the line item was first appropriated in fiscal year 2020 to be nonrecurring 鈥� making it 鈥渙ne time funding that is evaluated annually,鈥� city spokesperson Staci Drangmeister said in an email to the Journal.
Currently, budget staff are deciding if the line item will be included in the final budget, Drangmeister continued. Most department budgets include a mix of recurring and nonrecurring funding, Drangmeister said, with those one-time dollars receiving 鈥渕ore scrutiny鈥� to decide if they should be added to the budget multiple years in a row.
There will be a deeper dive into the Department of Arts & Culture鈥檚 budget this week, which the library falls under, Drangmeister said.
The proposed library budget for fiscal year 2025 is $16.4 million.
Since 2020, the funding has been filled every year; but because of it鈥檚 nonrecurring status, 鈥渟omebody has to make sure it鈥檚 in there,鈥� Raskob said.
Stephanie Telles, the interim co-chair for the Library Advisory Board, said the funding is not currently included in the proposed budget. Telles said she鈥檇 like to see the funding placed in this year鈥檚 budget; later on, she鈥檇 like it to become recurring funding.
Telles said if the funding is not provided, it would likely be made up by cutting more than a dozen temporary staff 鈥攚ho cost about $29,000 per year each to employ 鈥� to upkeep IT maintenance and licenses. The $400,000 is 鈥渂asic, minimal funding鈥�; for the past four years, the library has spent an average $564,000 on IT, Telles added.
The Albuquerque library budget is 鈥渓ean,鈥� Raskob said. Services like staff training and the summer reading program are supported by the foundation and book sales held by the Friends of the Public Library, she said.
鈥淭he money will have to come from somewhere,鈥� Telles said. 鈥淥ftentimes, that鈥檚 where those first sort of cuts come from.鈥�
Telles said temporary staff help with programming, stack books and answer the phones, among other things. Without them, she said, library hours might be cut.
鈥淲ith the summer coming, could you imagine having reduced hours when you have children at home?鈥� Telles said. 鈥淭he library offers a lot of free programming. So it would just be really detrimental 鈥� to have reduced hours.鈥�
Last month, Mayor Tim Keller introduced a $1.4 billion budget for the upcoming fiscal year. The budget will be discussed and potentially tweaked by City Council at three meetings of the Committee of the Whole, which includes all nine councilors. The first will be at 5 p.m. Thursday. The next two will be May 9 and May 16.
Council has until May 31 to finalize the city鈥檚 budget.
