Amanda Bonner from the Hoover Public Library has an article in the Hoover edition of today's Birmingham News persuading people to make good use of their local library. "Many of you, just like me, are probably looking for ways to cut back on spending. A library card is your ticket," she tells readers.
Many people around the country have the same train of thought. The public library is the place to go during difficult economic times. In the last month alone, countless newspapers around the country have reported the same thing. Library usage is up, way up.
From the March 13 New York Times: "Indeed, the bad news on the economy is good news for libraries across the New York region, so long as they can escape the budget ax that is falling on many municipal services as cities and towns struggle with declining revenue."
The March 10th edition of the Iowa City Press Citizen reported: "Libraries across the state reported circulation up by 5.9 percent and Internet usage up by 7.6 percent from July to December of 2008 compared with the same period in 2007."
The Garden City News Online (March 13): "With the nation facing tough economic times, people are visiting the Garden City Public Library more often and checking out items with greater frequency. In February, the Library logged more than 17,800 visits, or an average of 75 people per hour."
Wilson City News, Texas (March 17): "Before September, Clarke said she would see an average of 40 to 50 visitors per day. Now, that number sometimes reaches 80."
In my own neck of the woods, on March 15th, Tiffany Green of the Cullman Times wrote "The library reported usage is up 25 percent from one year ago. Hand believes usage is up due to the economy and many people are coming in to use the Internet for job searches and resume writing."
In today's South Bergenite (NJ), Ed Flynn cites the National Endowment for the Arts recent study on the increase in readership. "...At least that’s one conclusion that can be drawn from a recently released study by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) which reports that for the first time in 25 years the number of adults reading books has increased, reversing the steady downward trend found in previous studies. For the record, the NEA doesn’t attribute the improvement to the recession. Rather, it sees what it terms "a dramatic turn-around" in the nation’s reading habits as evidence that its own programs to promote reading are working."
Oh yes, but there is that problem of budget cuts, as Flynn notes in his article.
From today's New York Daily News: "'Huge budget cuts could force the Brooklyn Public Library to drastically cut hours at branches across the borough to the lowest level in decades. A proposed $14 million, 17% budget cut would mean the library could only afford to keep six-day service at 15 of its 60 branches,' said BPL Executive Director Dionne Mack-Harvin."
Today's Baltimore Sun reports: "Three city swimming pools and three community centers would close and all Baltimore libraries would be shuttered on Sundays under a budget proposal unveiled by Mayor Sheila Dixon today that would lay off as many as 153 city workers."
In March 16th Boston Globe: "At a time when libraries are more popular than ever, residents in cities and towns across Massachusetts risk losing many of their borrowing rights as communities consider cutting library budgets below minimum levels set by the state. That would jeopardize their certification with the Board of Library Commissioners, triggering a double penalty: They would no longer be eligible for the state grants that round out local library budgets, and their residents would be deprived of the ability to borrow from most other public libraries."
On March 5th, Melissa Hayes from the Burlington County Times reported: "Local officials have come out against a bill in the state Assembly that could cut funding for public libraries by 50 percent. The Willingboro Township Council passed a resolution Tuesday night that protests the legislation, which was fueled by the New Jersey League of Municipalities."
To sum it up, take a look at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's March 14th article. The headline?
What's How? A Library Card: Facilities Busy Even as They Face Cuts
I live in Pittsburgh, our Carnegie Library system has 19 neighborhood branches. These were built by industrialist Andrew Carnegie, but he did not endow them, so operating expenses are covered by various sources. Last week the library system announced they will close a number of neighborhood branches, including mine, the Lawrenceville branch built in 1898, which houses the first Children's Library in the nation.
One source of library funding is the "RAD" tax, it gives $17 million/yr. to the libraries and $13 million to our professional baseball & football teams' arenas/fields.
Our libraries are free, have 19 locations and over 2 million visitors/year.
Our baseball & football teams' tickets cost big $$, have only 2 locations and less than 2 million visitors/year.
Posted by: Gloria Forouzan | October 12, 2009 at 09:28 AM