Library Programs To Suffer As State Cuts Funding
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Library Cuts
Library usage is up, but programs will continue to suffer in the wake of state budget cuts.COLUMBUS, Ohio —This is the first summer kids visiting the Columbus Metropolitan Library can get a free lunch. For many it is quite possibly their only meal of the day.
Daycare owner Earlena Aunouviet says since the recession, she has lost several kids. Job loss and salary reductions mean fewer dollars in her pockets. So she brings her four or five young charges to the Karl Road branch.
“It is pretty hard when my income goes down and I still have my family to feed plus five or six kids,“ Earlena explains during lunchtime.
Library systems across Ohio are bracing for what could be the worst two-year budget belt-tightening ever.
Gov. Ted Strickland proposes cutting the Ohio Library Fund at 50 percent, some $227 million dollars to balance the state budget.
For about 70 percent of library systems, that is virtual death sentence.
The Pickerington Public Library gets 97 percent of its funds from the state. Now, programs like the Summer Reading Program for kids face certain doom next year, even though the Friends of the Library paid the costs this year.
“Next year we won’t be able to do the program because I’ll need to ask them for those monies to keep the doors open,“ said library Director Suellen Goldsberry.
The cuts couldn’t come at a worse time for the Columbus Metropolitan Library, where attendance is at an all-time high.
In fact, since the recession was formally recognized in December 2008, visits are up and branches are at capacity.
So what was Strickland thinking when he made the cuts? A statement from his office says, “This is not a matter of the worthiness of programs. It is a matter of not having the funds. Nearly every state government program and line item will absorb a cut to balance the budget and direct limited resources to protect the most vulnerable, especially children, the elder and the disabled.“
But it is a savings library supporters say isn’t worth the sacrifice.
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Reader Reactions
Why is the dept of parks and recreation giving out lunches?
Just another fine example of stupid Govt. waste!!
Haven’t you ever heard that there is no such thing as a free lunch!
IM paying for it and so are all the other working people who continue to allow the Govt. to rape us for freebies.
Put the books on the shelf and toss the other programs.Why does the Govt. have to have all these programs ?They do not work.
The libraries offer free education at many levels. Southwest Public Library will close completely as they are the only branch without local funding support. This truly is wrong and it is the only library in Grove City. We don’t even have a book store. We must fight this.
Please note that the free lunches being served are a part of the Columbus Parks & Recreation program. It is the same program that supplies free lunches to the Columbus City Schools. Library funds are not used in purchasing this food. The library’s role is one of a community space for all types of need withing the neighborhood—literature, film, music, job help, community meeting space, role models…the list goes on and on. It will be a sad day should this change for the worse.
OK you Muses .The libraries should provide books not social programs.If someone needs a job point them in the direction of a book that tells them how to find one.Hungry? Get a book on hunting and fishing.
If any of these social programs worked we wouldnt need them anymore would we?
The more the Govt. wastes on these programs the more the needy grow in numbers.All the laws we pass to stop crime seem to always result in prison overpopulation.
CHANGE GOD IT IS BEAUTIFUL!!!!
All of you library defenders have been reading the wrong books it seems.
Try some history,
One of the first moves a Govt. takes to push a socialist,communist or facist agenda is to destroy and censor all history and written material it disagrees with.
Funny isnt it.Lets cry funding issues close the libraries and switch the books while the doors are closed .
I know that there are not many books worthy of buying these days but there is the half price bookstore and really the only book anyone needs to own is Animal Farm but it is a little late for that now.
Libraries are not just buildings that house rows of beaten old books. A public library is, to the best of its ability, whatever the public needs it to be. If taxpayers need a hub where they can search for careers and utilize resume software, then the library serves as a job help center. If families have to cut back on their spending, library programs provide free, educational entertainment for their children. If “just being a library” was only about loaning books and shushing people, libraries would have ceased to exist a long time ago, and Ohioans will find their cities to be very lonely places without them.
The negativity in this community is astounding.
You actually think closing libraries is going to improve the community - how, exactly? The so-called gang members will be back on the streets, books won’t be available, and the services like free lunches and classes won’t be around any longer. The way I see it, all of these are GOOD things. Would you rather these people hang out on the street, scrounge for food, and not have the opportunity to learn? How does that help anyone?
Get over yourself - the services they provide aren’t tailored to just your needs and wants. Libraries provide valuable resources and all you folks seem to care about is the extras they provide. Libraries haven’t been “just books” for many decades now and it’s funny how they’ve never been a “problem” until now.
It really is scary reading the negative commits about the libraries. I have to believe that those who make these commits never use the library nor do they realize all the public services they provide. I wonder if they don’t spend all their time in front of the tube watching silly reality shows. At least watching these show involve no need to think. If Strickland really wants to reduce the budget defect he should look at the bloated public service budget. The real question should be why do we need so many prisons? Why is our prison population so huge?
Am I to understand that the library serves free lunch? So is it getting inspected like the restaurants? I agree with others that it should be just a library. Also many should be asking why our state and city governments made a contract with cowic jobleaders when we already have businesses that can help folks get jobs. And then… the library decided to get onboard and spend money for it. That’s two ways the gov. is paying to help folks get jobs. Sooo Gov. Strickland why did your contracting people make a contract with cowic jobleaders? It’s too costly!
What purpose do films serve anyway?
Film is the lowest forum of art next to rap, so let it go.
I read all the time,my children read all the time but that is an oddity.I very seldom come across many people who do read.
Look at our illiteracy rate in this country its sick.
I am dismayed and disheartened by the narrow-minded views concerning what a library entails. A library is the heart of its community and works hard to serve the needs and desires of its community.
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