MHLS - Resources

Resources
Funding

Public Library funding in New York State is a patchwork of public and private funds.

Depending on the type of library budget strategies differ.

School and special district libraries, can have their budgets voted on annually by the public if they plan on a budget increase.
Municipal libraries contract with their municipality for funding and rely on a Friends Group and traditional fundraising to supplement their budget.
Association libraries often depend on Friends Groups, charitable donations and/or irregular annual allotments from municipalities.
These last two types (municipal and association) do have the opportunity to have the public vote on the funding level for the library from the municipality through a 414 vote, if successful, a 414 locks in an amount for the library agreed upon by the voters. If you are an association or municipal public library interested in conducting a 414 vote contact MHLS.

New resources for successful votes are coming soon through the MHLS LSTA Getting to Yes project - watch the MHLS Bulletin for more information or contact project coordinator Kirstin Litwin.

Resources to help you secure adequate funding for your library:

Marketing & PR
Knowing your community and providing what they need when they need it is a key component to funding for public libraries. This resource page gives you to the tools needed in the areas of marketing and public relations.

Advocacy
Regardless of type all libraries in New York must advocate on the local, state and federal level for stable funding. The MHLS Advocacy Resources section provides information such as legislators addresses, current legislation impacting public libraries and tools to be an effective public library advocate.

Fundraising
Most libraries do some form of fundraising, either directly or through a Friends Group. MHLS has collected a variety of fundraising resources for public libraries including information about book sales, grant writing, and capital campaigns.

Public Library funding in New York State is a patchwork of public and private funds.

Depending on the type of library budget strategies differ.

School and special district libraries, can have their budgets voted on annually by the public if they plan on a budget increase.

Municipal libraries contract with their municipality for funding and rely on a Friends Group and traditional fundraising to supplement their budget.

Association libraries often depend on Friends Groups, charitable donations and/or irregular annual allotments from municipalities.