Even though library budget votes usually don't receive as much notice as those for school budgets, passage of the Bryant Library 2002-2003 budget represented a victory for that institution as it enters an important new era in its history. The budget, which totaled $3,713,630 in expenditures, was approved by an overwhelming 1,025 to 463 margin. The vote took place at the same time Roslyn area voters approved the school budget.

The 2002/2003 budget contained a 3.93 percent increase in expenditures over the 2001/2002 budget. Library officials said changes in the book and audiovisual lines, plus operating expenses for additional programming and professional fees for planning for future library growth were main factors in the slight increase in overall spending. The loss of interest revenue was cited as the main reason for the even smaller increase in revenue. According to library officials, it will cost $1.87 more per month for the homeowner with an average assessment of $11,700 for all the services provided by the library.

Library officials added that they had looked for savings opportunities in numerous places, including joining an energy cooperative, participating in telecommunication discount programs, partnering with businesses to provide special programs, buying cooperatively with the other Nassau libraries, purchasing an insurance package specially written for libraries, and seeking the help of the Friends of Bryant Library to purchase items that fell outside the library budget.

The telecommunication discount programs helped the library achieve 40 percent savings in telephone and computer costs. In addition, the Friends provided the support for the purchase of a modern Reference Desk for the library. The estate of Peggy Gerry donated her paintings to the library. Library officials said the funds from the sale of those paintings would be reserved for capital improvement.

The vote came at a time when local residents are using the library more than ever before. Library officials claim that circulation is at its highest levels yet, totaling over 300,000 in the last fiscal year. In addition, participation in the children's Winter Reading Club reached record numbers, while the Local History Room has responded to more than 5,000 questions about Roslyn and its past.

The vote also took place only a few months after the current library board declared the library itself to be at a crossroads in its history. In short, the library has a space problem, and currently has "no room for growth," as a recent statement by the board maintained. The library's Site Committee has studied several locations in the Roslyn area as places where a new library might be housed. After being frustrated elsewhere, the committee, for now, is looking at the Frick Estate on the Nassau County Museum site, and continued expansion at the current site on East Broadway as the two most realistic scenarios.