Library to close for repairs; layoffs eyed

The Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Library features cheerfully decorated displays and a popular slate of community programs.

But the decrepit library is in such bad shape it will close this fall for about 1 1/2 years for necessary renovations, according to library officials.

The building has serious flaws: an overloaded electrical system, faltering boilers and exploding light fixtures, officials say.

"At this point we need to repair it, and repairing it will require leaving the facility," said library director Kerri Rosalia, adding the closing will take place no earlier than October.

"There's a definite safety concern with our patrons and employees," said Joe Maiorana, president of the library board.

The staff will be reduced to about a quarter of its current 200 employees -- most layoffs will affect part-time employees, Rosalia said. About 50 or 60 full-time staffers will remain.

A small portion of the library collection will be moved to a still-undetermined location, where patrons can request additional materials through the county interlibrary loan system. Many programs already occur off-site, Rosalia said.

The board can't afford to renovate and run the library at the same time, and is paying for the estimated $5 million in repairs with money from the $9-million operating budget.

In 2006, voters rejected a $34-million bond proposal to repair and expand the library, Rosalia said. In the past two years, the board considered proposing another bond for repairs but the timing never seemed right during the recession.

"We're still faced with the same thing . . . and five years later those situations are only more dismal," she said. "In lieu of the current economy, it was the board's decision at this time the repairs couldn't be deferred any longer."

Residents in the local William Floyd school district were walloped with a 12.47 percent tax increase this year.

"We're not going to ask the community for any more money. We just can't add to that, the general misery," Rosalia said.

A recent tour of the library revealed dingy carpet, dangling strips of ceiling panels, exposed wires hanging over the reference section, and an electrical closet jammed full of wires.

A building analysis found that at times the electrical load levels exceeded the capacity of the electrical service, said assistant library director Tara D'Amato.

"We've had light fixtures exploding," she said.

An ancient boiler was located next to a basement theater playing "True Grit" to a handful of viewers last week. "This winter we had to close the children's section for three days because the old boiler had no heat," D'Amato said.

The three-decade-old library saw more than 400,000 visits in 2009, according to state statistics, down about 90,000 from each of the three previous years.

Rosalia said that despite the building closure, patrons will appreciate the renovated library. "The community is going to benefit tremendously from it," she said.