GUILDERLAND — Joe Burke, who directs the Altamont Free Library, made a passionate pitch about the library’s worth to the Guilderland Town Board at its Jan. 21 meeting.

“At a time when literacy rates are steadily decreasing, misinformation and disinformation is steadily increasing, and incidents of people reporting feelings of loneliness and isolation have never been higher,” he said, “the libraries of our community have never been more important because we are working to combat all of those conditions, and your support has never been more welcome.”

Unlike the Guilderland Public Library, which follows Guilderland school-district lines, including Altamont, and has taxing power, the Altamont Free Library is an association library, which depends on town and village as well as state funds to run.

The library’s long-range plan for 2023-26 says its catchment area has about 5,000 residents, including the rural town of Knox, which has no library of its own, as well as the densely populated village of Altamont. Knox and Altamont as well as Guilderland contribute to the library.

The library’s budget for 2024 totaled $208,120, Burke told The Enterprise. The town of Guilderland contributed $71,000; the village of Altamont contributed $61,000; and the town of Knox contributed $9,000, he said.

The 2025 budget is $218,550, Burke said.

The now-retired State Senator Neil Breslin secured a $25,000 grant from the State Education Department for the Altamont library before leaving office, Burke said.

For a small library, he said, those funds will be “transformative.”

Parceled out over five years, the $25,000 will be used to augment the children’s collection, making it as “cutting-edge as possible,” said Burke.

The library currently has about 4,120 children’s books, which includes classics as well as new books.

“Just yesterday,” Burke said on Jan. 23, “I noticed one of our book easels was empty.” He placed “Little House in the Big Woods,” the Laura Ingalls Wilder classic, on the easily and it was gone within the hour.

He then placed the next Wilder book in the series, “Little House on the Prairie,” on the easel.  “Not an hour later, somebody checked it out,” he said.

Library staff will study the collection and talk to experts “to find the right balance” for children, he said.

Burke highlighted for the town board some of the advantages of Altamont’s library for Guilderland, including 49 hours of weekly service; “extraordinary programs like our award-winning oral history collection”; summer concerts in Orsini Park; “a meticulously maintained and beautiful historic building … which provides a bulwark for local property values”; an organization dedicated to building community; and “a nationally recognized library whose primary mission is to educate, entertain, enrich and empower the people of Guilderland.”

The library is located next to the village green in a restored Victorian train station.

Burke reported that, in the last two years, Altamont has circulated more items annually than in any previous years in its 108-year history.

“And it’s not just digital stuff …,” he said. “It’s actual paper books in people’s hands.”

In August 2023, Burke had reported to the Guilderland board about its current long-range plan, which runs through 2026, and will shortly be gearing up for the library’s next long-range plan.

Good progress has been made on the current plan, he said, focusing on communications, community engagement, and financial sustainability.

Burke highlighted two examples of fostering deeper community connections.

The first is a program where elementary students struggling with reading are paired over the summer with Guilderland High School students who serve as mentors. 

The program started two years ago with six tutors and12 Altamont Elementary students and has now grown to include 44 students, across all five district elementary schools, and 24 tutors.

Reading scores for the participating children, Burke said, were “demonstrably higher” and the high school students learned teaching and mentoring skills.

The second project was the inaugural Charlie Brown Friendsgiving Food Raiser, held just before the holiday.

The library partnered with the Reformed and Lutheran churches in the village, with Altamont Community Tradition, with the local PTA, and with the Masonic Lodge where the event was held.

“At the end of a long and tumultuous election season, when nerves were strained and people were maybe feeling less connected to the people that they live around,” said Burke, “we wanted to bring people together to talk about what we share in common.”

Participants brought items for the Guilderland Food Pantry, with over 300 pounds donated.

“We served jelly beans and popcorn and toast and pretzels, the canonical Charlie Brown Thanksgiving dinner,” said Burke. We listened to melancholy piano jazz; we made crafts; we had a fantastic time.”

Burke concluded by describing the library’s mission: “Building and fostering community; enriching people; [preserving a] sense of place; and making people feel like, if there’s no place else in the community, if there’s no place else in the world that accepts them, then they have a home in the library and, because they have a home in the library, they have a home in the community.”

“I want to thank you for your enthusiasm and your passion,” said Supervisor Peter Barber, noting Burke’s 10-year tenure as director of the Altamont Free Library.

“You have the same drive that you had your first year,” said Barber.

“It’s a labor of love,” Burke responded.

“You are one of the unofficial mayors of Altamont,” said Councilwoman Amanda Beedle, a former trustee of the Altamont library. “I know you truly try to stretch every dollar that is allocated to you ….

“The programming that you have been able to provide hit so many different areas of towns and communities … You are the heart of the library and just thank you for all the hard work and dedication that you do.”