[jsfg_cinti] IMMEDIATE ACTION NEEDED; JSFGer's & All Citizens

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http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20090623/EDIT02/906240308
 
 
'Where will you go when your library closes?'
By Kimber L. Fender . Guest columnist . June 23, 2009

Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland's proposal to permit slot machines covered the
front pages of Ohio's newspapers over this past weekend. However, the
real gamble he's taking is his proposal that would cut funding to Ohio
public libraries by nearly 50 percent, forcing the closure of many of
Ohio's 750 public libraries and branches found in neighborhoods and
communities in every county in the state.
Advertisement


"Where will you go when your library closes?" is a question Ohioans have
to ask themselves. Where will your teens go when the safe and
constructive places they visit after school are gone? Unemployed, 'Where
will you go when your library closes?'
By Kimber L. Fender . Guest columnist . June 23, 2009

 
Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland's proposal to permit slot machines covered the
front pages of Ohio's newspapers over this past weekend. 
 
However, the real gamble he's taking is his proposal that would cut
funding to Ohio public libraries by nearly 50 percent, forcing the
closure of many of Ohio's 750 public libraries and branches found in
neighborhoods and communities in every county in the state.
Advertisement


"Where will you go when your library closes?" is a question Ohioans have
to ask themselves. 
Where will your teens go when the safe and constructive places they
visit after school are gone? 
 
Unemployed, underemployed and at risk employees trying to hone their
skills, seek out new employers and update resumes will find computers
turned off and doors closed. 
 
Parents and caregivers wanting to ensure young children are ready for
kindergarten will be left to their own devices and their children will
be left behind. 
 
Children who use public libraries for school support and homework help -
often because school libraries have been eliminated - will have no other
option. Statewide summer reading programs that help kids retain
essential reading and learning skills will no longer be available. This
is not rhetoric. This is not hyperbole.
If enacted, Strickland's late hour proposal to cut $227.3 million in
funding to Ohio's public library will be devastating. This move could
not come at a worse time when libraries have been stressed by nearly a
decade of funding freezes and cuts. What has been remarkable has been
that while public libraries have been making the tough choices required
to balance budgets, they have been keeping their doors wide open, making
a difference in the lives of record numbers of users.
Ohio public libraries are funded by 2.22 percent of total state General
Revenues Fund tax receipts. Everyone understood that when the economy
contracted, public libraries would see less funding. And in the last
decade libraries have lost nearly a quarter of that funding with most of
the decline coming in recent months. It has been painful but public
libraries have been willing to endure their fair share. The Governor's
proposal is an additional 30% cut on top of the 20% reduction libraries
have already experienced this year.
(2 of 2) 
 
Libraries have always been a refuge for those who seek self-improvement.
For the last 15 years they have also been the place for those who cannot
afford Internet access. For many Ohioans, libraries may be the only way
to participate in the information economy. In today's world public
libraries have never been needed more. And while we represent the
interests of the state's metropolitan libraries, small town and rural
libraries are just as critical in providing information, materials and
programs necessary to survive in this economy.
Advertisement

Closing public libraries will send a message to young people, "Go
elsewhere." Strickland's proposal contributes to a downward spiral from
which Ohio will never recover.
The Budget Conference Committee needs to make difficult decisions within
the next several days. They cannot gamble with Ohio's future and take
all of us down the road of decline. Ohioans cannot let this happen. We
urge the Conference Committee to balance the needs of all constituents
and to share reductions with agencies who have not felt any reductions
in the current biennium.
Kimber L. Fender is Executive Director of The Public Library of
Cincinnati and Hamilton County.
 
 
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. Parents and caregivers wanting to ensure young children are ready for
kindergarten will be left to their own devices and their children will
be left behind. Children who use public libraries for school support and
homework help - often because school libraries have been eliminated -
will have no other option. Statewide summer reading programs that help
kids retain essential reading and learning skills will no longer be
available. This is not rhetoric. This is not hyperbole.
If enacted, Strickland's late hour proposal to cut $227.3 million in
funding to Ohio's public library will be devastating. This move could
not come at a worse time when libraries have been stressed by nearly a
decade of funding freezes and cuts. What has been remarkable has been
that while public libraries have been making the tough choices required
to balance budgets, they have been keeping their doors wide open, making
a difference in the lives of record numbers of users.
Ohio public libraries are funded by 2.22 percent of total state General
Revenues Fund tax receipts. Everyone understood that when the economy
contracted, public libraries would see less funding. And in the last
decade libraries have lost nearly a quarter of that funding with most of
the decline coming in recent months. It has been painful but public
libraries have been willing to endure their fair share. The Governor's
proposal is an additional 30% cut on top of the 20% reduction libraries
have already experienced this year.
(2 of 2) 
 
Libraries have always been a refuge for those who seek self-improvement.
For the last 15 years they have also been the place for those who cannot
afford Internet access. For many Ohioans, libraries may be the only way
to participate in the information economy. In today's world public
libraries have never been needed more. And while we represent the
interests of the state's metropolitan libraries, small town and rural
libraries are just as critical in providing information, materials and
programs necessary to survive in this economy.
Advertisement

Closing public libraries will send a message to young people, "Go
elsewhere." Strickland's proposal contributes to a downward spiral from
which Ohio will never recover.
The Budget Conference Committee needs to make difficult decisions within
the next several days. They cannot gamble with Ohio's future and take
all of us down the road of decline. Ohioans cannot let this happen. We
urge the Conference Committee to balance the needs of all constituents
and to share reductions with agencies who have not felt any reductions
in the current biennium.
Kimber L. Fender is Executive Director of The Public Library of
Cincinnati and Hamilton County.
 
 
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