Bad news re: local public libraries (Arlington, Alexandria: renting, how much, home)

[GreenGene]

Local public libraries continue to take it on the chin in this economy. From today's Washington Post - Budget woes put Fairfax library services on the line

Fairfax's library system, the sixth largest in the country, will have absorbed a budget cut of 33 percent over two years if the county executive's proposal for the coming year is approved. Hours have been reduced, fees have been increased and hundreds of employees have been laid off. A third of its work force, mostly administrative assistants and pages, were let go during the last budget go-around.

In Fairfax, the cuts have become especially noticeable. On magazine racks, yellow paper signs note that subscriptions have been canceled because of budget constraints. Officials say Fairfax is ranked last in the Washington area in library spending per capita, a level roughly half that of libraries in Arlington County and Alexandria.

And Fairfax isn't alone.

In Loudoun County, officials have proposed closing all library branches on Fridays and Sundays and instituting a 10-cents-a-day overdue-book fee. Twenty-five library positions are also likely to be cut. On Tuesday, the Prince William county executive proposed cutting $855,000 from the library budget, a measure that would include closing the two least-used branches and eliminating 14 positions.

It's ironic that bad economic times simultaneously mean increased library usage and decreased library budgets.

Part of the increase - and this happens with every economic downturn - is obvious: people turn to libraries for entertainment and information as they stop buying books and CDs, stop renting DVDs, cancel magazine subscriptions, and so on.

And part of the increase is a relatively new phenomenon - people without Internet access at home, or canceling their home Internet access - depend on the Internet access available at their local public library.

But the part of the increase that seems to escape the bean counters are those people who use the resources of their local public library - both online and the physical collections - to find jobs, and information regarding training/re-training, and other resources crucial to surviving the bad times.

I know the money has to come from somewhere, and if the budget has to be cut, it's tough to make the case that public libraries are as essential as police, fire fighters, and EMTs. But libraries are important, and they are most important when the economy is bad ... just as their funding is cut.

[Houston3]

Libraries will go the way news papers are headed, the internet will kill them off..

[CAVA1990]

Originally Posted by Houston3

Libraries will go the way news papers are headed, the internet will kill them off..

Only if they change the copyright laws.

[Ashburnite]

Originally Posted by Houston3

Libraries will go the way news papers are headed, the internet will kill them off..

Not as long as people keep having kids. It seems like a large amount of library users are families. And at the Cascades library I always see the internet kiosks full when I go.

[Caladium]

Cascades library is the most amazing library I've ever seen. Damn shame to see a cut in the service there.

I asked a few of the librarians about these cuts. They doubt the fines will be instituted. Frankly, it will cost more money to collect the fines than they'd make from charging 10 cents a day.

As for cutting two days... well, sadly that seems more likely. I hate the idea of losing two days' service. Not only do you lose the library services, but the library meeting rooms serve as a facility for hundreds of organizations. As it is, you have to book rooms several months in advance. I can't imagine how much worse it will be without Sundays and Fridays.

Still, we really can't complain. Cities all over the country are closing libraries entirely, turning off street lights, cancelling garbage pick ups--all sorts of drastic measures.

[CAVA1990]

Originally Posted by Caladium

Still, we really can't complain. Cities all over the country are closing libraries entirely, turning off street lights, cancelling garbage pick ups--all sorts of drastic measures.

Local governments do that on purpose. They're not laying off the loads of faceless bureaucrats in the county administration buildings. They go for the most visible and painful first so you'll beg them to raise your taxes. There's a method to their madness.

[Caladium]

Originally Posted by CAVA1990

Local governments do that on purpose. They're not laying off the loads of faceless bureaucrats in the county administration buildings. They go for the most visible and painful first so you'll beg them to raise your taxes. There's a method to their madness.

LOL, so true. My old church used to use that tactic, too. Whenever they started talking about needing to tighten the budget, they'd bring up the popular Christmas manger display. It was always "...and if we can't raise some more money, this year we'll have to sell the Baby Jesus!"

[michgc]

I bet if they did a fund drive, they would collect lots of money. I'd be happy to donate to keep the library's hours.

[CAVA1990]

Aren't the libraries funded by property taxes like the schools? Does that mean we're all paying a lot less of those? I haven't noticed.

[DCNY]

That is bad if we loose library on Saturday and Sunday. I take my kids on weekend activities most of the time. Why don't they take like $10 increase on property tax and give to library? Library are such an important part of a growing kid's life. They learn so much from going to library .. its very sad..