The circulation and reference desk at the James Prendergast Library. Submitted photo

Editor’s Note: Look for this monthly column about the Prendergast Library, to learn more about what goes on behind the scenes and to understand how the library is evolving to meet the diverse needs of our community.

While growing our role in the community, the Prendergast Library has adopted a collaborative customer service style to continue serving patrons with a dramatically reduced staff.

At the beginning of this year, when the library lost an additional $50,000 in city funding, our 2018 budget fell to a new low of $818,477. The library currently has nine full-time and seven part-time employees. In comparison, the library’s budget in 2012 was over $1.2 million, and there was a staff of 36 — more than double the staff working at the library today.

In 2017 the Prendergast Library logged over 150,000 visits, over 40,000 computer sessions and provided space for 1,634 meetings — and that was when our staff numbered 21. Currently, the library continues to provide those services but with 5 fewer staff than last year.

The NYS Education Dept. requires us to be open 55 hours per week to serve a community the size of Jamestown, so we had to do something drastically different to continue serving our patrons, while also allowing librarians and managers to do the behind-the-scenes work. Along with managing staff, volunteers and patrons, working with vendors, outside organizations, planning and running the library’s programs and caring for the library’s extensive collection, the library has been ramping up fundraising to help with the budget gap.

Because even though we are underfunded and understaffed – we refuse to do anything but rise up to the meet the changing and growing needs of our community. We have more kids and teenagers coming to the library after school than ever before. Our teen room is regularly packed, and every day, there is a waiting list for the dozen computers available in the Children’s Room.

If you’ve been in the library lately, you may have noticed the new layout. Rather than separate our limited staff throughout the library, we now man one central information desk at the front of the library. Our circulation staff still works at the traditional front desk, with reference and children’s staff on either side. But now, all staff have been cross trained and share similar duties. This allows us to run the library with less staff members out at the information desk. We’re continuing to meet the diverse needs of our patrons, while expanding our role in the community.

Because this library is changing — when 3 p.m. rolls around, it’s busier than ever, with more activity and a higher volume than in years past. However, all those voices are from the kids seeking a safe place, and the library welcomes them. We’re proud that Prendergast is catching up with the future of libraries as a community space — where we balance a love of books and information with our dedication to the community and its underserved populations.

With all this change and the many roles that we take on as a library, this progress requires a fully dedicated staff — a staff of individuals willing to take on additional responsibilities beyond their typical roles. Because even with less than half the staff of years past, we’re taking on more projects — creating and running our Makerspace, keeping our extensive collection up to date and organized, revamping the reference collection with a focus on local history, keeping up with social media, working with organizations that use our meeting rooms and delivering all the services the community has asked for. Despite our lack of funding, the remaining staff are constantly adapting to new roles and challenges. The library isn’t just surviving, but thriving. Come see our progress.