Representative Mark Falzone announced the good news that the Saugus Public Library was approved yesterday by the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners for certification to receive funding from the State Aid to Public Libraries Program. Access to this regular funding will come to the town nearly a year ahead of schedule through an important change added to the Fiscal Year 2011 Budget by Representative Falzone.

“The great news of this approval is a huge, positive step for Saugus,” said Representative Falzone. “Now that we will be re-certified, we in Saugus can use this State money to improve the resources available to all of our residents at the library. This helps students, families, and in particular those seeking jobs.”

The Saugus Public Library will officially become re-certified next week, after demonstrating that it will be open for 59 hours per week as required by the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners. At that time vital resources, such as inter-library loan services, the ability to borrow from other libraries, and access to online databases will be restored. The library will also need to spend 13% of its budget on books to maintain certification. To retain this early certification, the Library will need to meet the full requirements in the coming years.

“I sincerely appreciate Representative Falzone’s leadership throughout this process,” said Pamela Gill, Chairwoman of the Saugus Board of Library Trustees. “The great improvements our residents will see in the coming months would not have happened without his efforts.”

It usually takes over a year of steady funding from a town for a library to be re-certified, making it difficult for struggling libraries to meet the strict state standards, because they need to do it without the usual assistance from the state. The provision that Representative Falzone put in the Budget allows Saugus to get early access to the funding by meeting just a few basic requirements in this first year.

“Representative Falzone was the driving force behind this provision and the Library’s early certification,” said Rob Maier, Executive Director of the Board of Library Commissioners. “He has been a steady advocate for the Saugus Public Library and for libraries across the state.” Representative Falzone is also the Founding Chairman of the Legislative Library Caucus.

Representative Falzone noted, “I would like to thank Senator Thomas McGee, Senator Sal DiDomenico, and Representative Kathi-Anne Reinstein for their help on this issue and commitment to our town. This would not have been possible without the work of the entire Saugus Delegation, the Library’s Board of Trustees, and our Town Meeting Members.”