Posts tagged Public library
Save The Buffalo & Erie County Public Library
Nov 15th
From Save the BECPL Facebook campaign:
http://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=100001743521599
BECPL Fast Facts
* SITUATION: The Buffalo & Erie County Public Library faces a $6.8 million shortfall for 2011 if the budget proposed by County Executive Chris Collins stands. Library hours will be reduced from 332 to 205.
* COST: Buffalo/Erie County library services cost $28.64 per capita while comparably sized cities pay $43 and up per capita.
* VALUE: If you take out just 2 books and 10 movies a month, that is $74 value in a month and close to $900 value in one year.
* INCREASING IMPORTANCE OF LIBRARIES: In tough economic times, especially with high unemployment, people need libraries.
o Circulation of library materials continues to trend at over 6 million items per year.
o People depend so much on the libraries’ Internet connection that many people drive closed libraries, sit in their cars and connect on laptops through the libraries’ wifi.
o Bookstores and high speed Internet are not available in some of the small communities B&ECPL serves so these residents rely on the reading material and high-speed Internet that their local libraries provide.
o Economically challenged households in Buffalo and across Erie County can’t support the purchase of books, CDs or DVDs, let alone have a computer with Internet access.
* LIBRARY USE INCREASE: Computer usage in Buffalo & Erie County Libraries has always been high but it has increased 25% since 2008—the beginning of the economic downturn.
QUALITY OF LIFE: Libraries contribute to the community’s quality of life economically, equal access to information resources; children’s introductions to libraries; the future role of libraries; the impact of physical development on the sense of community; life skills, including accountability and responsibility; and career paths
**There’s also an online petition and blog at http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/savebecpl/**
Opportunity and Access: The Power of Today’s Public Libraries
Jun 28th
“169 million (69%) Americans 14 years of age or older visited a public library in the last year.
Moreover, one out of three Americans 14 years or older visit once a week or more often. Library visits are highest among: the working poor; people of mixed race; 14-18, 35-44, and 65-74 year olds; women; and people with educational attainment beyond high school.”
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!
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.
Recent Comments