Lacking Library, Union Vale Residents Can Now Borrow More From Neighbors

The Town of Union Vale has no chartered public library.

“The MHLS Board of Trustees is very pleased to reach agreement with the Union Vale Town Board for providing public library services to Town residents,” stated Camilla von Bergen, MHLS board president.

A restriction on loaning non-print library materials to Union Vale residents was implemented on Aug 3, 2015., based on the MHLS Board accepting the official claims of serious inequities and hardships, as authorized in the state approved MHLS Direct Access Plan, from the public library boards of the Beekman Library, the LaGrange Library and the Millbrook Library. 

The claims were based on the Town of Union Vale providing less than median or average funding for public library services, and town residents use of neighboring libraries representing 5 percent or more of the libraries’ total circulation of materials.

For 2014, the average local funding per capita for the Beekman Library, the LaGrange Library, and the Millbrook Library to provide public library services was $30.16, whereas, the Town of Union Vale funded public library services at $6.15 per capita.

“We commend the members of the Union Vale Town Board for providing Town residents with a wide range of public library services,” stated Tom Sloan, MHLS executive director. “Our area libraries provide access to more than 2 million resources, including eBooks, eAudiobooks and eMagazines,” said Sloan.

For more information, contact Tom Sloan, MHLS executive director at tsloan@midhudson.org or call 845-240-8142.

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