My budget (in USD) for this year is $1,500,000 (rounded). Of that, $1,100,000 is for salaries, benefits, and other personnel costs. That leaves $400,000 for materials ($150,000), utilities (electricity and stuff), repairs and maintenance, supplies, gas for the Subaru wagon that pulls the Book Wagon and does outreach to those at home, and to generally run the place.

As I mentioned, I've spent about $20,000 (over two years) for security television cameras. That money had to come from somewhere in the budget. I need auto-opening doors (about $17,000), better roof insulation and a new roof fabric ($50,000), to replace all of the lighting with new, more energy efficient units ($20,000), and looming ahead in the next few years are new furnaces and air conditioning ($150,000). And that's just the start.

We operate on a knife edge of money and the City Council only reluctantly gives us an increase from year to year. Next year I don't expect any, possibly even a small cut.

It's all well and good to say "Watch them and use CCTV" but until I get the $$$$ to install more cameras and to hire more staff (did I mention the City's hiring freeze?) we have to do the best we can with what we have.

Over 325,000 people used the Library last year. Some were ex-convicts, some pedophiles, some packing concealed weapons, some under the influence of drugs -- we have NO way of knowing unless they call attention to themselves in some way and then we can address it.

And yes, the staff is very much aware of the Sexual Offender Registry.

What I want to do is to reduce not only the risk to the children (and even adults), but also to give my staff time to better watch for problems.

When I said that librarians don't often talk about these problems I should have added "in public." We do talk about them amongst ourselves and even let other libraries in the area know of particularly egregious people.

Oh yes -- there was the drunk who was laying on the front lawn peeing up in the air, claiming to be a fountain. We called the cops, who took this particular piece of "public art" away.