Libraries matter

[pbray]

Local election results were a mixed bag, but I was pleased to see that town voters approved a referendum to increase the library tax to $1.54 million, up from $1.37 million, a 12% increase.

Due to quirks of history and the way New York state governs itself, the Town of Union doesn't have its own library. Instead the village of Johnson City and the village of Endicott both have their own libraries, dating back to the days when they were the prosperous business and residential centers of the Town of Union. When the population started moving out to the suburbs, residents kept using the libraries but only the villages were taxed to pay for them. This system worked well enough until the businesses that supported the villages' tax bases started collapsing, at which point town funding became essential.

Twice in the past four years the issue of library funding has been put to the voters in the Town of Union, and twice we've come through and voted to increase our tax bills, to pay our share. It's nice to see our priorities are straight.

Comments

[libwitch.livejournal.com]

Thank you for posting this - whenever the news feed would come across the bottom of the tv screen, it would get cut off before the results were actually named for this vote. And I searched press and sun and the news channels before I left for my conference, and I couldnt find the story anywhere.

[pbray.livejournal.com]

It took me forever to find it on the P&SB website today. Was ticked that it apparently wasn't important enough to be posted yesterday.

[jjschwabach.livejournal.com]

New York, it is my understanding, was faced with the reality of insisting that all library directors have MLSs, or accepting that many smaller, or lower-revenue communities couldn't afford to pay that kind of salary, and decided that small towns having libraries was more important.

Go, libraries!

[pbray.livejournal.com]

And it's not like our local libraries were swimming in funds to begin with.

[jjschwabach.livejournal.com]

Far from it. Though Hammondsport recently got a grant to build themselves a new library, so it is no longer in the police station.
Like Dave Barry, I am Not Making This Up.

[desperance.livejournal.com]

That's very cool. In the UK we don't get to vote where funding goes, and the libraries are always a soft target in times of cutback. 'Specially as they slip into a vicious cycle: funding is cut, which means they buy fewer new books, which means they make fewer loans, which means the politicians can say "See? There's no demand! People aren't using libraries any more!" and cut the funding again.

[jjschwabach.livejournal.com]

Ah, yes. We're familiar with that cycle here. It happens with social programs, like food stamps and HEAP (Heating and Energy Assistance Program.)

[pbray.livejournal.com]

Well having a special library tax isn't the best way to fund libraries--there was real fear that it would be voted down. Not everyone turns out to vote, and of those that do many only vote for the candidates rather than taking the time to read and vote for the proposals.

That said, we won and the libraries have their budget set for the next year.