As the US economy continues to spiral downward, there is one business that is improving even as others close their doors: the public library. Yet in spite of increased usage nationwide, libraries across the country are cutting both jobs and hours, an unfortunate victim of across the board budget cuts in most cities.
People are using the library more these days for everything from saving money by borrowing books rather than buying them to the free use of computers for job searches and resume writing. But local budget shortfalls have libraries in the cross hairs, even in regions that have not been hit as hard by the recession.
North Texas is a perfect example of this. Texas is one of a handful of states that is not yet running a budget deficit and still has low unemployment, but many North Texas cities are not as fortunate. In 2008 Dallas began cutting hours at the city library system. And WFAA-TV reported that the issue in the normally affluent city of Plano might even be more critical; the city is looking to cut $1 million from the library's budget this year.
According to the story, Plano city leaders hope to avoid job cuts and reduced hours by not filling vacant job openings, but there is no guarantee that this will be enough. And cutting costs in this way will inevitably lead to longer waits for citizens even as the number of people waiting goes up.
The situation appeared even more dire late last year in Philadelphia, PA, where Mayor Michael Nutter had announced that 11 of 54 library branches would be permanently closed as part of an effort to address a $1 billion budget shortfall. According to a story on the American Library Association (ALA) website, the move was especially surprising because while still a city councilman in 2005, Nutter was instrumental in preventing the Free Library of Philadelphia from reducing branch hours and laying off staff during a similar budget crunch. However, just before the end of 2008, a federal judge blocked the closings because the move had been made without the approval of the City Council.
People are using the library more these days for everything from saving money by borrowing books rather than buying them to the free use of computers for job searches and resume writing. But local budget shortfalls have libraries in the cross hairs, even in regions that have not been hit as hard by the recession.
North Texas is a perfect example of this. Texas is one of a handful of states that is not yet running a budget deficit and still has low unemployment, but many North Texas cities are not as fortunate. In 2008 Dallas began cutting hours at the city library system. And WFAA-TV reported that the issue in the normally affluent city of Plano might even be more critical; the city is looking to cut $1 million from the library's budget this year.
According to the story, Plano city leaders hope to avoid job cuts and reduced hours by not filling vacant job openings, but there is no guarantee that this will be enough. And cutting costs in this way will inevitably lead to longer waits for citizens even as the number of people waiting goes up.
The situation appeared even more dire late last year in Philadelphia, PA, where Mayor Michael Nutter had announced that 11 of 54 library branches would be permanently closed as part of an effort to address a $1 billion budget shortfall. According to a story on the American Library Association (ALA) website, the move was especially surprising because while still a city councilman in 2005, Nutter was instrumental in preventing the Free Library of Philadelphia from reducing branch hours and laying off staff during a similar budget crunch. However, just before the end of 2008, a federal judge blocked the closings because the move had been made without the approval of the City Council.
Comments
Now if there is one place bailout funds could be put to good use, keeping public libraries open would have to be near the top of the list.
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