Posts tagged libraries
IT Changes Everything
Apr 23rd
Here’s a great 31-second commercial that shows how libraries can help people.
A Double Whammy for NJ Librarians
Mar 30th
Guest post from Kim, author of Kim’s This ‘n That blog. Post originally appeared on Kim’s blog on March 29, 2010.
As if the Governor’s proposed budget cuts to libraries weren’t enough; Assemblyman John Dimaio has introduced an elimination of the required appropriation for the funding of free municipal libraries. Instead library appropriations would be the amount deemed necessary for the proper maintenance of the library by the municipal governing body. I fear the lawmakers in Trenton do not value libraries.
Libraries are the cornerstones of our towns. They house the past, present and future of our communities. They provide the resources for all of the community to grow and achieve their potential. In these economic hard times Libraries and their resources are needed even more.
While the budget crisis requires cutbacks in all areas, the proposed cuts along with A2555 will cripple municipal libraries across the state.
Please click on the link http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/SelectRep.asp and send an e-mail to your state representatives in the 25th district in support of your library.
Ask your senators to support library funding!
Mar 29th
From the American Libraries Association Office:
Please call your U.S. senators in Washington, D.C., today and ask them to sign onto a “Dear Appropriator” letter that is circulating around the Senate. This letter will be sent to the Senate Appropriations Committee and will be asking the committee to support the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) and the Improving Literacy Through School Libraries (ILTSL) program in its FY2011 budget.
BACKGROUND ON THE PROGRAMS AND WHAT WE ARE ASKING FOR
LSTA
Congress is currently drafting the federal budget for fiscal year 2011. It has never been more important than now that Congress fully funds the LSTA, the only annual source for federal funding to libraries. As Congress writes next year’s budget they need to understand that dollars from the state and local levels are at an all-time low, and libraries can not continue to do their important work without this funding.
In this “Dear Appropriator” letter that is circulating around in the Senate, the signatures are urging the Appropriations Committee to include $300 million in funding through LSTA in the FY2011 budget. Please contact your two senators’ offices and tell them about the work your library does in the state and community. It is always a good idea to stress what programs and resources your library provides to help build the local economy, help kids with their homework, and so much more. After you have explained how libraries are an incredibly valuable investment, please ask your senator to sign onto the “Dear Appropriator” letter supporting LSTA and Improving Literacy Through School Libraries (ILTSL).
School Libraries
In his FY2011 budget request, President Obama consolidated Improving Literacy Through School Libraries with five other literacy programs. This would mean that school libraries will have to directly compete with other dissimilar programs to receive federal dollars under the President’s plan. However, Congress is drafting their own budget for FY2011 right now, and there is no word yet if they will go along with President Obama’s recommendation of consolidation. Congress needs to hear from you NOW about the important role that school libraries play in today’s schools.
Right now there is a letter circulating around the Senate urging the Appropriations Committee to specifically appropriate $100 million for the ILTSL program. This amount would make money available to every state, rather than the current competitive grant program. Please contact your two senators’ offices explaining to them how important having a school library can be in a child’s education. Please ask them to sign on to the ILTSL and LSTA “Dear Appropriator” by customizing the letter below.
The deadline for the “Dear Appropriator” letter is April 14, so please contact your senators today and urge them to sign on! Also, please ask your friends and library supporters to contact their senators as well – we need to keep the pressure on our elected officials so these programs receive the funding they need.
To take action, please take the following steps:
- Please go to http://capwiz.com/ala.
- Customize the sample letter as you see fit – remember, a personal story on how your library benefits your community matters the most!
- Enter your contact information.
- Press Send.
- If you would prefer to call your representative, feel free to dial the Capitol switchboard at 202.224.3121 and ask for your representative. The switchboard will transfer you to their office. If you need to locate your members of Congress, please go to http://capwiz.com/ala/.
- Please ask your friends and supporters to call. We need as many signatures as possible on these letters and your grassroots efforts could make the difference.
Kristen Murphy
American Library Association
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Save Libraries Photos
Mar 25th
Heather Braum and I are working diligently to get Save Libraries up and running. We’ve added a photo page pulling in all the Flickr photos tagged “savelibraries.”
Take a look at the images, let us know what you think, and volunteer to help the cause by tagging related photos with “savelibraries.”
We Need Testimonials!
Mar 23rd
One of the most important pieces for library advocacy is testimonials from library customers. Do you love your library? Do your patrons love your library? We are collecting letters, video, photos – testimonials on the value of libraries.
You can email us the items at savelibs@gmail.com or upload items to flickr, YouTube, etc and tag with savelibraries.
Thank you for your support!
Save Our Libraries!
Mar 21st
First of all thank you to Blake Carver and LISHost.org for donating hosting for this site and getting WordPress up and running within minutes. This site is dedicated to advocacy for libraries–getting the message out about why libraries are important.
It’s important for us to remember that when one library closes, it sets a precedent for others.
We’re looking for advocacy information, testimonials from patrons and staff, photos, videos, anything to help save our libraries.
Please use the tag savelibraries or #savelibraries on Twitter. If you would like to contribute to this site please email savelibs@gmail.com.
One Week – $2 Million Dollars: A Call to Action!
Mar 18th
I’m sure you’ve heard the news:
On Thursday, March 18, the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library Board of Trustees approved a plan to lay off 148 employees and close 12 library branches in order to absorb a $2 million reduction in funding from Mecklenburg County.
The branches that will close under the plan are:
- Beatties Ford Road
- Belmont Center
- Carmel
- Checkit Outlet
- Cornelius
- Hickory Grove
- Independence Regional
- Mint Hill
- Morrison Regional
- Myers Park
- Scaleybark
- Sugar Creek
It will take approximately two weeks to complete the closings, with the selected branches closing their doors at the end of the business day on Saturday, April 3.
Director Charles Brown make the recommendation to the Board his voice full of emotion. Brown said this was the lowest point in his 40-year career in libraries. It was a solemn moment as the room fell silent.
After the recommendation from Brown and discussion among the Board, members of the community were invited to speak.
Dr. Susan Harden spoke passionately as an avid library user and former staff member, “Research is clear that societies are advanced by citizens having access to public libraries and the materials in them and the technologies in them.”
Bill Brawley, a library user from the Matthews community, vehemently said, “All of the wisdom of man is in books and you can get them in the library for free. Why would you not support a library?”
Harriet Smith from the Friends of the Library challenged the community to both volunteer in our libraries and to help raise the money to save our libraries.
You can see a 2-minute video with highlights from the meeting here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/420/index.html?media_id=11731321. If you’ve ever wondered why libraries are so important to the community, watch the clip!
As Dr. Harden, Brawley, and Smith spoke the energy in the room changed and a call to action became clear. We need a grassroots effort to raise $2 million dollars to save our libraries and we need it fast.
Staff immediately mobilized. Before the meeting was over one staff member who had been watching events unfold via Twitter created the Facebook Event $2 million in one week.
How can you help?
Donate now: www.cmlibrary.org/DonateNow
Contributions received by March 31, 2010, will help lessen the severity of immediate library service reductions, and even after March 31 all contributions will continue to help us provide the best possible library services to the more than 17,000 adults and children we serve each day.
Advocate:
Share this link with your friends and neighbors. www.cmlibrary.org/DonateNow.
The Library receives more than 90% of its funding from Mecklenburg County. Let your elected officials know what libraries mean to you. You can contact any and all of the Mecklenburg County Commissioners here: http://www.charmeck.org/Departments/BOCC/Meet+The+Board/home.htm
I’m calling on you to donate if you can. If you can’t donate, please help advocate for us. My heart aches for the community who will lose access to the tremendous amount of free resources and programs the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library has to offer. Unemployment is more than 11% in Mecklenburg County. The community needs us more than ever.
This quote from my long-time hero Carl Sagan eloquently sums up my thoughts:
The library connects us with the insight and knowledge, painfully extracted from Nature, of the greatest minds that ever were, with the best teachers, drawn from the entire planet and from all our history, to instruct us without tiring, and to inspire us to make our own contribution to the collective knowledge of the human species. I think the health of our civilization, the depth of our awareness about the underpinnings of our culture and our concern for the future can all be tested by how well we support our libraries. ~Carl Sagan, Cosmos
Are you willing to support your library?
To stay up-to-date on our budget situation sign up for updates from the budget info page: http://plcmc.org/about_us/librarybudgetinfo.asp and follow @cmlibrary on Twitter.
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