Pavilion voters to decide May 18 if Hollwedel should become school district public library
Above, Adeline Offhaus enjoys a book she found at the Hollwedel Memorial Library about wearing a mask during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Submitted photos and press release:
A proposition to transition Hollwedel Memorial Library, currently chartered to serve the Town of Pavilion, to a Pavilion Central School District public library will be put to a vote May 18.
An online presentation by the Hollwedel Memorial Library Board of Trustees with details about the proposition has been available and can be viewed at www.HollwedelLibrary.org/vote. The slides used in this presentation can also be picked up at the library.
An informational flier with details about the vote was mailed to Pavilion Central School District residents in early April.
The Hollwedel Memorial Library Board of Trustees also hosted two small group sessions at the library for residents on April 24 and 26. At these meetings, Joan Gray, president, and Stephen Gould, vice president, shared information about the proposition to transition the library to a school district public library.
Voting will take place from noon to 9 p.m. Tuesday, May 18 at Pavilion High School.
If approved, the library’s service area would expand to serve the residents of the Pavilion Central School District. Currently, the library is chartered to serve the Town of Pavilion.
Stabilizes Funding & Provides Elected Representation
The library would remain housed in the same building with the same staff. The school district would have no direct control of the library but would collect funds for the library. This transition to a School District Public Library would stabilize the funding needed to operate the library, and provide elected representation to the taxpayers as library trustees will be elected rather than appointed.
According to Board President Gray, “We hope that residents remember to vote on May 18. At our meetings and online, we have explained that library usage has increased steadily while our funding has not. With this vote, the proposed level of community-based funding would amount to 44 cents per $1,000 of assessed values on properties in the Pavilion School District.
"Without this transition, the future of the library is uncertain. We have been encouraged by the positive comments we have received from the community who believe that the library is important to all of us.”
The slide presentation along with additional information about the upcoming library vote are available online at the library’s website at www.HollwedelMemorialLibrary.org/vote. Residents with questions can also contact the library at (585) 584-8843.
Current library hours are: Monday and Wednesday 2 to 7 p.m. / Friday 1 to 5 p.m. / Saturday 10 a.m. to noon / Closed Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays.
Below, Harper Offhaus and her mom, Danielle, often enjoy a book together in the Children’s Reading area at the Hollwedel Memorial Library. Danielle currently serves on the library's Board of Trustees.
Below, grandmother Lisa Schiske shows Chase Radesi, left, and Ari Schiske how to read one of their favorite children’s books online at the library.
Below, Oscar Staba uses the Hollwedel library’s computers to get his homework done, and he enjoys the free WiFi for use on his phone.
