At tonite’s Budget Hearing, Friends of The Seattle Public Library board member, Tony Provine, noted that “In many parts of Seattle, libraries serve as community centers, meeting places, job resources, social service centers, public education facilities, and much more. They provide safe havens for at risk youth and offer homework assistance for students. They provide shelter and internet communications for the impoverished. They are anchors in each of their communities.” He told Council that the rise in use, over the last 8 years, contrasts with a comparatively stagnant budget. The current operating hours, such as Mondays and Tuesdays opening at 1 pm, are a result of reductions in 2002. “The proposed cuts would reduce (current) service hours by 23% overall and would result in reductions of 37% at several branches. With 21 branches limiting access to 35 hours a week, residents who rely on the Library in these communites would be affected disproportionately. The effect of these cuts will undermine our neighborhoods, communities and the entire City of Seattle,” he said. “The Friends of The Seattle Public Library urge you to restore $1.2 million to the Library’s budget to allow the Library to continute to operate all of its branches at their current service hours.”
“Think outside the box” to fund libraries October 27, 2009
Josephine waited 2 1/2 hours tonite for an opportunity to ask council to “think outside the box” to find some way to keep our libraries open. She suggested that The Seattle Public Library try to fund itself like King County Library. Weeks ago, during the Library’s Budget Presentation, Councilmember Conlin wondered if there were some way to change the library’s funding structure. Right now, the library is classified as a “non-taxing authority” and, as such, can’t levy for operational money. All operational money must come from the City of Seattle’s General Fund. Capital maintanence, funds which are also deeply impacted by the budget crunch, must come from the City’s REET (Real Estate Excise Tax). Because The Library is bound to get funds from these sources it is always in competition with other essential services during tough economic times. Changing the funding structure, however, may be a difficult task.
Vice President of Friends of The Seattle Public Library presents 2000 petition signatures October 27, 2009
Johnson-Fong sorts the petitions
Jennifer Johnson-Fong presented 2000 petition signatures gathered on Facebook and from The Friends of The Seattle Public Library petitioning drive at branch libraries. She said, “Tonite I’ve brought you petitions from: Northeast, Ballard, West Seattle, Wallingford, Greenwood, and Broadview libraries. My experience while collecting signatures has been consistent. I speak to people who use their neighborhood branch for a variety of reasons and I speak to people who depend on their neighborhood branch either for access to public computers that they can get no where else or for access to the free WiFi. Out of 26 branches and Central 21 neighborhood libraries are proposed to be closed Fridays and Sundays and only open 35 hours a week.” Johnson-Fong closed by asking Council to help all the branch libraries that would be impacted by restoring library hours.
Seattle Free School classes take place during the very hours that may be cut October 27, 2009
Clare Cronkleton, a facilitator at Seattle Free School and organizer of “It’s Sew Fun” at the Ballard library, spoke to Council asking them to reconsider cuts to The Seattle Public Library. “As community members that promote the sharing of information and resources, we are proponents of the same principles guiding the mission of libraries,” she said.”Free school is able to exist because of accessible resources like The Seattle Public Libraries. Our classes, which now range in size from 5 to 120 students, take place during the very hours that are now under consideration for being cut.” She told Council that the library is, “a symbol of resourcefullness, creativity, and ingenuity–the very traits that should be encouraged in times of shortfall.” On behalf of the thousands of Seattle Community members who have participated in some way or another with the Free School she asked Council to reconsider cuts to library hours.
A city in which you cannot go to the library is no city at all October 27, 2009
Susan Adkins, Seattle Public Library Foundation president, relayed the words of Sue Nevler, Executive Director, E.B. Dunn Historic Garden Trust, who wrote, “As an active and committed library patron I am compelled to plead that you do not make these most damaging cuts of funds to our Seattle Library system. Just last year my husband, George Nevler, was honored posthumously for his participation in the Libraries for All campaign. An ardent reader, he visited all branch libraries, save one, before he died unexpectedly at age 50. Our two boys, one with a diagnosis of autism, are both avid readers. My hope is that their futures, though now diminished by the absence of their father, will continue to be shaped by the wealth of knowledge available to them in the sacred space of their library. I ask you to please reflect and do not make these severe cuts which will have a profound impact on the many citizens of Seattle who have their own unique stories tied to their library.”
She also quoted award winning author, Richard Farr, “every citizen needs libraries. More important still: every child who grows up in a great and (even today) wealthy city deserves a community that would simply be too ashamed to consider library closures as a budget fixing option.”
“Please,” he wrote, “for the sake of the city itself, let’s be too ashamed to do this. Do not cut the library’s budget. That Seattle “aspires” to be a “world-class city” is very nice, but the stark reality is this: as everyone has known since the Babylonians, a city in which you cannot go to the library is no city at all.”
The Cuts to branch libraries are too severe October 27, 2009
Rona Zevin told the Council, “The cuts to branch libraries are too severe.” She also told Council that almost no one knows about these cuts. Zevin was petitioning in front of Northeast branch this week and noted the many people who hadn’t yet heard about the potential cut in hours. Today’s article , “Library Cuts Go Too Deep” by Mary Anne Gwinn, in the Seattle Times, helped shine a light on the hours cuts The Seattle Public Library is facing.
Remember that our library programs are more than just numbers or statistics October 27, 2009
Patt Copeland voiced her support for The Seattle Public Library and the Library Equal Access Program known as LEAP. Her bookgroup for Visually Impaired Readers “has been a lifeline to many people dealing with the difficult issues of vision loss,” she said. She urged Council to, “Remember that our library programs are more than just numbers or statistics and that the library staff need to be nurtured in their willingness to say yes to new programs and not totally overwhelmed by their fear of budget cuts and reduced operating hours.” She concluded, “Please keep the doors open to our libraries and fund the importance of literacy to all our citizens.”
People need to have a place to meet, computers to use, books to read October 27, 2009
Camille Jassny stood before the Council with her husband, David, and her guide dog, Brietta, to tell say that she uses the library for a low vision book group. She urged Council,”Please do not cut these programs, do not shut doors. Please restore library hours.” Her book group “ranges in age from young up to 105.” There are 15-20 people in the group which meets at the Downtown library. “Many people travel a distance to get to our meeting by access bus, by foot, or Seattle Transit,” she said. “People need to have a place to meet, computers to use, books to use.”
School children with working parents would be impacted October 27, 2009
Meribeth Nordloef-Pederson said, “My husband works in Redmond but we choose to live in Seattle to be close to Cultural amenites such as libraries.” Nordloef-Pederson’s family uses the Northeast and Lake City branch libraries. She noted that school children with working parents would be impacted by less library evening hours and reduced weekend access.
“Coming from living in China these past two years,” she concluded,”we really appreciate what the library means to us for our personal freedoms and the financial relief of not having to buy books. The library, we hope, will always be there to keep educating and stimulating our families varied interests. Please restore library hours. Our family needs the library.”
Everyday I see more people in Northgate library October 27, 2009
Tsukina Blessing told Council, “My son’s school can’t go on as many field trips this year because families are all feeling economic distress but they can go to the library and they can walk. My son’s afterschool day care program can’t afford to buy new materials for reading but they can go to the library and they can walk. Everyday I see more people in Northgate library using computers and meeting spaces or just looking for a safe place to sit. Public libraries are a human service. They’re a place where you can meet your neighbors for free—even the ones you don’t know.”
