Friends of the Beardsley and Memorial Library celebrate successful year

WINSTED — It was a short but sweet meeting for members of the Friends of the Beardsley and Memorial Library at their annual meeting on Saturday, July 28.The group is a nonprofit organization that provides supplemental funding to the library in order for it to provide programs and activities. Treasurer Lyda Scudder reported that, between membership dues, donations and fundraising, the group raised $9,531.90 during the past fiscal year, which is $504.35 more than in the prior year.Scudder added that the group spent $3,490.68 for library programs and $3,999.09 for library purchases during this past fiscal year.President stepping downVirginia Shultz-Charette stepped down as president of the organization after serving in the role for six years.“When I first started we only had 30 members,” Shultz-Charette said. “Now our membership has grown to 100 members. Everyone in our group works together nicely. It’s a lot of work, but it has been fun. We need to have as strong a group as possible because we have a lot of challenges in the days ahead.”One of the challenges Shultz-Charette is referring to is the potential funding cuts to the library in the town’s fiscal 2012-2013 budget.In the past two proposed town budgets, both defeated by residents at budget referendums, the town budgeted $196,082 in funding for The Beardsley and Memorial Library.However, in recent interviews, Mayor Maryann Welcome said the town would have to look into cutting that amount in order to get to a budget that would have a zero percent tax rate increase from the previous fiscal year.Mayor Welcome would not say by how much the town would cut its funding to the library.Shultz-Charette said she did not know how any funding cuts would impact the library.“I do know that it will not impact our fall programs because that has already been set,” she said. “As long as the library is open, we will all be there.”Shultz-Charette will stay on as a trustee of the organization.Members of the group elected David Woodworth to be the new president.Woodworth, who works in the community resource unit of Prime Time House in Torrington, said that the library is one of the most important resources in town.“What I plan on doing as president is to engage as many members to participate and get involved with what the library is doing,” Woodworth said. “Fundraising is very important, and I think we should look into different ideas on how to do that. It’s important to keep the library around because it brings people together.”For more information about the Friends of the Beardsley and Memorial Library, including upcoming programs and events the group is sponsoring, visit their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/pages/Friends-of-Beardsley-Memorial-Library/17644651236....

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