Friday, June 26, 2009

Fall in love again

How glorious it must be to be a bookworm! Inching your way across an endless sea of books, taking in and savoring ever single word tucked into their pages.

At my core, I guess I am a bookworm. I devour the pages of novels every chance I get. In high school, I literally took advantage of every second, walking through the halls between classes, my nose was buried in the spine of a book. Teachers were amazed that I was able to maneuver the crowds without bumping in to anyone or anything.

My passion for reading was cultivated at the Stark County District Library’s North Branch. Regularly, my mom would take me there, letting me pluck from the shelf any book I wanted. My entire world was shaped by the complexity of stories and the sheer imagination shining through novels that challenged me to think outside the box and see new points of view.

Today, I don’t know what I do without my branch of the Akron Public Library. It’s a constant in an ever-changing, ever-evolving world.

Last week, Governor Ted Strickland announced a plan to save the state’s budget – which, believe me, needs saving like a sinking ship hauling concrete. He’s proposed a 30 percent cut in funding to Ohio’s public libraries, saving Ohio $113 million each of the next two years – about $227 million in all.

An editorial in Thursday’s Independent suggested that the libraries need to toughen up and count their losses. Because in the grand scheme of things, Ohio communities will be affected least of all by their losses.
I’m not sure which point hurts more. Expecting libraries to take the hit or the fact that, to many community members, the libraries are “irrelevant.”

Shame on us for letting our libraries become “irrelevant.” Shame on us for letting reading become passe.
In an effort to encourage reading this summer we plan to feature, on the Learning page, book reviews from well-known community members and educators. I’ve had a heckuva time lining them up. People just “don’t have time to read.” (And these are educators we are talking about. The same people who beg children to “put down video game controllers and – for goodness sake – pick up a book.” )

Library patronage is sky-rocketing, but we aren’t checking out books. We’re getting movies for free or looking for a CD download to our iPods.

What happened to our love of books? What happened to the days when kids walked out with armloads of books instead of the films based on them?

If, 30 years ago, the announcement had been made that libraries’ state funding would be cut in half, would we have noticed, then? How great would the repercussions have been if libraries lost half of their state funds in 1989, 1979 or 1969?

Why is it OK to slash the budgets in 2009?

Numbers surrounding the propsed cuts can be confusing. So here it is, the truth about Strickland’s announcement: Ohio libraries are looking at losing an additional 30 percent of their state funds this fiscal year.

Libraries were set to lose 20 percent of their state funds this year and they planned accordingly, cutting staff, freezing wages, cutting materials budgets. Last week’s announcement means that libraries are being asked to shoulder a 50 percent total loss – the original 20 percent, plus another 30 percent.

For the Stark County District library, it’s a $4.2 million loss each year.

Keep in mind, the SCDL already cut $1.68 million from the budget. Asking it to take another $2.52 million blow because the general public won’t notice is ludicrous.

The Massillon Public Library is set to lose $500,000 this and next year – $1 million in all – if the cuts are approved. For director Camille Leslie and her staff, $500,000 is more than it costs to operate the entire library system – main library, Bookmobile and both branches each year.

Now, more than ever, it’s time to make our libraries relevant again. It’s time to look at them as more than some kind of archaic Napster.

It’s time to fall in love with books.

But as any prince charming, white knight or tragic hero knows, you have to fight for what you love.
So to bookworms and librarians across the state I say, make noise. Go down swinging. Fight as loud and as long as you possibly can to preserve as many of the dollars your libraries have been alloted. If nothing else, know that your services are critical. They are valued by myself, my husband and our families. It breaks our hearts to think of what could be in store for you if these cuts are approved by the general assembly on Tuesday.

We’ll notice if you have to cut staff, close doors or stop buying new materials. It will matter to us.

For crying out loud, do not go quietly.

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