Sunday, September 27, 2009
Budget cuts affecting local library
Here is some information about how the economy is affecting a local library here in southeast Michigan. It was recently announced that the City of Livonia has proposed to cut $450,000 in funding to its libraries for the city's 2010 budget. This would result in the closing of two of the branches on alternating days and would likely result in layoffs of library employees. The proposed cuts are already being challenged by members of the Livonia Library Commission. They bring up points like the fact that more and more people are using the libraries because of the economic troubles. Therefore, the library should not receive such a big cut. I think this is a valid point. However, cities are being forced to make budget cuts. Why is it that libraries seem to be one of the first things to be affected concerning budget cuts? Is it out of necessity or do city planners value libraries less than other services? How important are libraries to a city or community? I feel that these are the types of questions that more and more cities will have to address during the economic crisis.
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Perhaps Libraries everywhere should see this as a warning. I think libraries should try to cut down hours now. Maybe they should only be open 5 or 6 days a week. Hopefully they will be able to cut some expenses now, so that they will not be forced to close completely. NO, I dont like the fact that some libraries would have to cut down hours, but its better than losing the entire branch.
ReplyDeleteThe Plymouth District Library where I work has been fortunate so far during the economic crisis. But with falling property values and state budget cuts it would be difficult not to hear how it will be affecting the library in 2010. I know that by losing state funding we will be making drastic cuts in the number of databases we currently provide. While we are fortunate that all staff positions and hours are secure next year, there will not be any pay raises. And while I don’t know what our technology budget is for next year, I’m concerned about what cuts will be made regarding technology and how it will impact our patrons.
ReplyDeleteI recently spoke with the woman who teaches many of our computer classes. She told me most of the patrons taking her MS Office classes (Word, PowerPoint, Excel) are unemployed, wanting to educate themselves in basic computer skills to become more marketable. Unfortunately we are still running MS Office 2003 on all our computers and I don’t see us upgrading to MS Office 2007 anytime soon. I think that is a real shame because they are learning how to use older software while I would think most businesses are actually using the newer version.
Kristine Towne