Area libraries receive funding

Several area libraries will be the beneficiaries of funding secured by Assembly Republican Leader Charles H. Nesbitt (139th District). The public libraries in the district will receive $1,000, and the Nioga Library System will receive $20,000.

Libraries are cornerstones of solid communities," Nesbitt said. "As a public official, it is my responsibility to ensure that those cornerstones remain in place. I am proud to have been able to provide these funds that will allow our libraries not only to survive, but to thrive."

Libraries across New York state have been threatened this year by budget cuts brought about, in large part, by the inability of counties to meet the rising costs of Medicaid.

"We cannot afford to let state mandates take funding away from vital community resources," Nesbitt said. "This money will help our libraries provide expected services this year, but it is essential that a solution to the Medicaid crisis is reached soon, before the costs escalate even more."

The funding secured by Nesbitt will be dispersed locally as follows: Byron-Bergen Library & Gillam-Grant Community Center Library - $1,000; Community Free Library - $1,000; Hamlin Public Library - $1,000; Parma Public Library - $1,000.