To the Editor:

I was pleased to see Ms. Moore’s article, “Budget cuts shorten library hours,” on the front page of last Saturday’s paper. I very much appreciate your paper’s efforts to focus on local news and to bring a local perspective to regional and national issues that impact your readers here in Beaufort County. However, the errors of fact and omission in this article undermined your readers’ ability to obtain an accurate understanding of who funds our Beaufort-Hyde-Martin Regional libraries.

The article indicated that in addition to funding from Beaufort, Hyde and Martin counties, several municipalities also provide financial support through their budgets. Among those listed was Swan Quarter, which is a wonderful place; however, it is not a municipality and does not budget for support of the BHM Regional Library.

The list of supporting municipalities failed to include the Town of Belhaven. Belhaven has one of the nicest library facilities in the region, a dedicated hard-working librarian and staff and the wonderful support of the citizens of Belhaven and the surrounding areas of eastern Beaufort and western Hyde counties. For many years, these people have individually given generously of their time, shared their talents and provided supplies and monetary donations to build and keep the library operating. Additionally, under the prudent stewardship of the Town Council, the citizens of Belhaven have provided an annual appropriation in their budget to support both the BHM Regional Library system and Belhaven facility. This has been a heavy financial burden for a small town. The Town of Belhaven’s ongoing commitment to providing library services to our community deserves accurate reporting in your article.

BILL SCHAEFER
Treasurer, Belhaven Public Library