Despite hard times, Darby vows to save library

In Darby Borough, where the number of families living below the poverty line is twice the national average, a few dollars mean a lot.

Yet Darby officials, facing the possible closing of the historic library founded in 1743, say they are committed to keeping it open, even if taxes go up.

"The residents said that if we had to raise taxes, they would appreciate that we do," Mayor Helen Thomas said. "Everybody wants to save the library."

Still, in a community where industry crumbled long ago, officials aren't sure how they'll find the money. Library director Susan Borders said she hoped the township would fund the library with $50,000, about $5 per person, almost double the $2.70 per person it receives now through a dedicated real estate tax.

Borough Council President Janice Davis isn't sure residents can afford that.

"If our taxes and the school taxes go up, [residents] will be in a terrible position," Davis said. "We really have to work on this budget. Five dollars a person . . . is going to be an awful burden on the taxpayer."

Borough officials plan to begin budget discussions this week.

At a time when libraries in Philadelphia and across the state are cutting hours and staff, Darby, one of the poorest communities in Delaware County, hopes to patch the library's $30,000 budget deficit, which was widened by a 20.8 percent cut in state funding this year.

For some in Darby, the idea of higher taxes isn't as painful as the thought of losing the library.

"It's worth it," said Malachi Rayfield, 41, a chef who stops in daily to check his e-mail and who takes his 11-year-old son to the library each Saturday morning. "Some things you really don't want to lose. It's a good way to keep kids off the street."

Though officials plan to open a recreation center soon, the library remains an after-school haven for children. On a recent Friday afternoon, youngsters played with large stuffed alligators in a back corner of the tiny, one-room library while a boy still wearing his coat and backpack read a graphic novel. All five computers were occupied.

The library is crucial in a borough where many lack access to a home computer or car. Some patrons wait up to two hours to get online, Borders said. Some file online for unemployment or other financial assistance.

"In the job market currently, everything is done online," Borders said. "Imagine if they had to walk over to Sharon Hill or Lansdowne and stand in line."

The library, considered the longest continuously operating public library in the nation, has been dipping into the principal of its endowment for the last three years to make ends meet. The endowment, once $120,000, has been cut in half, Borders said.

She raised a distress signal at the beginning of the year, announcing at a board meeting that the library would shut at year's end if it didn't cobble together $30,000.

Donations from across the country poured in, knocking $10,000 off the top. The library saved $10,000 more by trimming staff hours, forgoing book purchases, and eliminating arts-and-crafts supplies for children's story time.

Borders seems optimistic that with more money from the borough, the state cuts won't hurt much.

"With the borough stepping up, we'll actually have a better budget in 2010 than we have in years," she said.

As borough officials begin to hash out the budget, Davis said she hoped they would find a way to balance the needs of the library and those of beleaguered taxpayers.

But no matter what, the library will be funded, she said.

"People were hollering about [the library]," Davis said. "We'll have to find a way to fund this library."