Libraries in the budget crosshairs again? A plea for help

Got this from West Seattleite Beth Martin Quittman with Friends of the Seattle Public Library, which is asking again for support to beat back the budget ax:

The Friends of the SPL have an urgent request for support for the library. The library’s collections budget has been severely cut in the Mayor’s most recent budget. There is a 2.2 million dollar shortfall – this in the face of registrations that are up and a growing city population. The library’s collection budget is still at less than 2002 levels.

The collections budget is what is used for putting materials on the shelves. When it takes six months to get a book that you are waiting for, the shortfall in the collections budget is the reason why!

The Friends are asking for support from the public to let City Council members know how important the library is. People can write letters, send e-mails, or best of all attend the Council meetings …

There’s lots more information about this at the Friends’ blog, friendsofspl.wordpress.com – including specifics on hearings tonight and later this month, and how to send e-mail that would be considered “official testimony” if it’s received at a certain time (more on that here).

datamuse October 8, 2008 (10:58 am)

This is probably a good time to point out that public library use goes up during tough economic times for obvious reasons (people can’t buy as many books, CDs, DVDs, etc. and turn to borrowing from the library instead; it’s a source of information on finding work, managing money, and of course tons of other relevant topics) and it’s a safe bet that’s going to be the case in Seattle.

Also, I don’t know that such a study has been done in Seattle specifically, but I’ve read studies measuring economic impact of public libraries in other cities showing that they bring a direct monetary benefit to communities. Worth considering.

old timer October 8, 2008 (12:27 pm)

I can not understand how our city ‘leaders’ can be so stupidly myopic.
Even robber baron Carnegie saw the value of libraries but our folks only see shiny empty street cars, and perform useless dithering while they waste park levy funds, neglect basic street maintenance while they ponder a redo of Mercer street, and avoid replacing even lowly streetlamps.
(I Gave up counting the number of dead lights on the Spokane Hi-level bridge when I hit 37 the other night.)

Now, they want to balance their fantasy budget on the back of the library system, which, next to City Light, is probably the best service we get for our tax money.
What a sad collection of no-loads we’ve elected.

Forest October 8, 2008 (1:44 pm)

Based on past experience working in public library systems, I can say that visiting and checking out materials is by far the best way to advocate for system funding. Assuming there’s money in the treasury, city agencies are funded, or at least need to justify their new budget proposals, based on how many people/voters they’ve served in the current year.

In other words, use the public library this year or else you’ll be effectively advocating for a cut in the library budget next year.

datamuse October 8, 2008 (2:01 pm)

That’s a good point, Forest. I do use my public library, often; it has a lot of things that my university library, awesome as it is, does not.

Last I looked (which was awhile, but with all the new branches recently I doubt it’s changed), SPL usage is up. That’s good news. But when money’s tight, libraries often come under the axe even when they’re getting a lot of traffic.

Beth Quittman October 8, 2008 (5:06 pm)

I just called in to the City Council Meeting – if you call before 5:30 it is considered official testimony – please call them and tell them the library budget is important! It’s 206 684-0481.

Andra Addison, Communications Director, The Seattle Public Library October 9, 2008 (3:15 pm)

The Seattle Public Library appreciates the role of the volunteer Friends of The Seattle Public Library in helping raise community awareness about important Library resources. The Library certainly supports a strong collections budget, which is also a priority for Mayor Nickels, who proposed adding $500,000 to the Library budget specifically for collections. He did not propose cutting the budget. In fact, despite these difficult times, Mayor Nickels added a total of $800,000 to the Library budget, which is good news for Library patrons. Just wanted to make this correction. You can view the entire budget by visiting the city Web site: http://www.seattle.gov/financedepartment/0910ProposedBudget/default.htm