Seymour/Cassadaga and Sinclairville Libraries Proposal for Sustainability Funding

The Cassadaga Valley Central School District will include a proposal on the May 21, 2024 school budget ballot. The Mary E. Seymour Memorial Library (Stockton), Cassadaga Branch Library (Cassadaga), and Sinclairville Free Library (Sinclairville) are seeking funds that will keep them open in the eight townships they serve. Rising cost for staffing, library expenditures, and building maintenance continue to challenge these rural libraries. Although the libraries receive some support from local municipalities, these funds cover only 30 - 35% of their annual budgets. Library staff and Board of Directors scramble each year to secure other funds from grants, fund-raisers, and donations.

These three libraries provide valuable and exclusive services to the communities they serve including storytimes, book clubs, open access to technology, knitting groups writing clubs, fly-tying club, and chess club, to name a few. Additionally, the three libraries offer meeting places for community groups as well as preservation of historical artifacts from the area. A library card at any of these libraries gives the owner access to materials in 38 libraries in the Chautauqua Cattaraugus Library System.