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By BERNIE WEISENFELD
Courier-Post Staff
A year of independence brought more visitors and no regrets at McCowan Memorial Library.
The municipal library for Pitman left the Gloucester County library system in 2002 after borough voters in 1999 overwhelmingly approved the withdrawal.
"It's been a wonderful year for us," said McCowan trustee chairwoman Judith Lohmann. "We're now in the stages of planning an addition to our library."
Visits to the library, in Ballard Park at Pitman Avenue and Broadway, totaled 73,884 last year in the town of 9,300. That's up 2,300 from a year earlier, Lohmann said, attributing the increase, in part, to more computer users. With about 34,000 books, the library circulated 68,588 volumes to borrowers last year, about the same as in 2001.
"We have brought our technology up in the library," Lohmann said. "Our card catalog has been put on computer. Everything is going along very well."
Diane Burrough, arriving with her year-old grandson for a toddlers' program, said "Patti (Forte, children's librarian) does an absolutely fabulous job with the kids. He loves it."
Christopher Cullen, 31, researching a vacation on one of the library's five Internet-connected computers, said, "I think it's a great little library. I'm here quite often, doing a little reading. It's nice, quiet, clean."
But things weren't going well financially when the library was part of the county system, McCowan officials felt. As an affiliate, it received partial funding from the county, while all residents paid a library tax.
According to McCowan board of trustee figures, local taxpayers were assessed $148,823 in county library taxes in 1998 but received just $64,145 in goods and services, mainly the salaries of three employees.
County library officials campaigned with letters to borough residents to keep McCowan in the system, saying benefits to McCowan were underestimated. They contended the sharing of resources among all libraries was best for all.
In a 1999 referendum, borough voters disagreed.
"It was a tough time," said Lohmann. "We just wanted out." A two-year waiting period was mandated after the vote to withdraw.
McCowan is now funded by the borough and state library subsidies.
"We're getting a lot more for our library now and not spending that much money," said Lohmann. Taxpayers "are getting a lot more for their dollar," she added.
McCowan's municipal budget for 2003 is $165,000 for salaries and $52,000 for other expenses, about the same as last year. The borough has also budgeted $600,000 for expansion of the library, built in 1961 and named for Pitman's first mayor, Joseph McCowan.
"It's in the plans right now to put on a community room and a history room and to enlarge the office areas," said Lohmann.
Reach Bernie Weisenfeld at (856) 845-6533 or bweisenfeld@courierpostonline.com