In the latest issue of the Village of Manorhaven newsletter, Mayor Nicholas B. Capozzi compares the village budget of 3 million dollars to the library budget of over 6 million. While this is a fallacious comparison (it would have been more appropriate to compare the village's budget to the budget of other villages of similar size and composition), the mayor has opened the door for further comparison.

That said, the Village of Manorhaven serves slightly over 6,000 people. The library, in contrast, serves the entire school district of Port Washington - over 30,000 people. They are staffed an average of 70 hours per week by professionals with advanced degrees and offer a wide variety of programs and services for all. Even when the physical building is closed, all cardholders have access to Library databases 24 hours per day, 7 days per week.

If the mayor does the math, he'll see that the library is one of the best tax bargains around.

Elizabeth Olesh