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The shortsighted strategy of slashing libraries for savings
Published on Thursday, Jun 25, 2009
To help balance the next two-year budget, Ted Strickland's has proposed slashing $227 million in state funding for public libraries. The cut would amount to a loss of roughly half of the Public Library Fund, which offers a reliable source of revenue for library services across the state.
It is evident enough that Ohio's declining revenue makes it necessary to pare down expenses. The libraries are by no means the only targets, either, for dramatic budget cuts in the governor's framework. All the same, the size of the hit Strickland proposes that the libraries absorb is one more example of the bane of long-term development in the state: Legislators find it all too easy to whittle away investments in those elements that do not have high visibility but yield dividends over the long term, providing a crucial base for progress (for instance, early childhood education or preventive health care). Public libraries and the free and varied services they offer present all residents avenues to educate or entertain themselves in a way that few if any other institution can match.
For decades, state funding has ensured a basic revenue stream that Ohio's 750 or so main and branch libraries can rely on to maintain up-to-date collections and provide services relevant to the needs of local users. For about 70 percent of public libraries, especially those in rural counties, the library fund represents a major source of income. As library officials across the state are warning, the steep cut in state funding would mean dozens of libraries may have to close or drastically reduce staff, hours and services. Libraries already are struggling to cope with a 20 percent budget cut this year alone.
Library usage has increased the past decade. Low-income families, students and the unemployed especially benefit from the access to computers and information that otherwise would be out of their reach. Starving libraries of funds — and potentially narrowing access to many residents — is a penny-wise strategy in a severe economic downturn such as this.
Get the full article here.
Comments
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Stow, OH
Posted 10:35 AM, 06/25/2009
This editorial begs the question: If not libraries, what? As a former public school teacher, I can fill pages with reasons to keep libraries open. I also know that the budget gap must be closed.
