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GLOVERSVILLE - Gloversville Public Library officials hope to open for an additional day beginning this summer and will seek an increase in its tax levy this May to help pay for it.

Library Director Barbara Madonna said she was unsure what the tax rate per $1,000 of assessed value would be after the increase, but she said for a home assessed at $100,000, the new rate would be around 50 cents a month, or about $6 a year. She said the current rate is about 30 cents a month for a home assessed at $100,000.

Madonna said the increase, if it is approved by voters in May, will help enable the library to open for five hours on Mondays. The library has been closed on Mondays since 1982, she said. That would expand the library's hours to 45 hours a week, Monday through Saturday.

Library Board of Trustees member Jay Ephraims said in surveys of library users, one of the most common suggestions about how to make the library better was to expand its hours, Ephraims said.

"Loud and clear people said they want the library to remain where it is, as an icon in the city," he said. "The other big request was to increase the hours for people who can't make it during the hours we already have."

Madonna said the library's budget, which was approved by board members earlier this month, will increase from $380,000 last year to about $405,000 for the library's next fiscal year, which will begin in July. She said this year's budget was abnormally low compared to past years and the 2010-11 budget is closer to the library's average budget compared to past years.

Madonna said the library has not asked taxpayers for an increase in its levy since 2005, when the levy was first approved.

"We haven't asked for anything in the last six years," she said. "The cost of inflation is going up, in addition to covering just the rising costs of everything else, and we'll be offering another day."

Ephraims said he is hopeful the taxpayers of the Gloversville Enlarged School District will realize the benefits of what he called a relatively small tax-rate increase.

"At six dollars, I think it would be hard to say no to that," he said. "I'm certainly hopeful. I think people should understand that when people look to move to a city, they want to see the schools and the hospital and the library. We have such an icon in this city with the library and to not promote it and keep it going, even if you're not a library user, could hurt the city in the long run."

Board of Trustees member David Heacock agreed. He said all the money that goes into the library goes back to the community in the form of programming, periodicals, books and other offerings.

"There are a lot of people who rely on the library for the services it offers, especially in this economy," he said.

Madonna said the library also is expanding its periodical offerings to include the lending of about 20 magazines, something it has not done in the past. She said the library is expanding its DVD offerings through a discount program that allows the library to choose 10 DVDs a month and either purchase them at a discounted rate or return them for another.

Madonna said the DVD program will cost $3,000 and the Friends of the Gloversville Public Library donated $1,500 toward the cost. She said in addition to voting on the tax levy increase May 4, taxpayers also will elect two new board members, as the terms for two members will expire.

Kayleigh Karutis covers Gloversville news. She can be reached at gloversville@leaderherald.com.