RALLY TO RESTORE
GOV. RELL’S LIBRARY CUTS!
SATURDAY, JUNE 27, 11:00
DURHAM PUBLIC LIBRARY
WHAT’S AT STAKE WITH GOV. RELL’S
PROPOSED CUTS TO LIBRARIES?
WHAT’S AT STAKE WITH GOV. RELL’S
PROPOSED CUTS TO LIBRARIES?
GONE
· State-wide Digital Library provides access to thousands of journals, magazines, newspapers and other research resources affecting every school, public library and college in Connecticut
· Connecticard allows free access residents to borrow from any library in the state making many more books and other library resources available at great savings to taxpayers
· State-Wide Data Base Program statewide catalog which allows citizens to locate over 4.4 million titles in libraries across the state
· Grants to Public Libraries basic grants to local libraries fund books, technology, and staff training
GOING
· Connecticut Education Network provides every public library with free Internet connection, reduced funding jeopardizes that
· Interlibrary Loan Service reduced funding for the statewide delivery system between libraries. If local libraries had to mail these items it would cost over $5 million a year
YOUR PRESENCE AND YOUR SIGNS
WILL SPEAK VOLUMES!
WILL SPEAK VOLUMES!
William Cibes wrote in the 5/31/09 edition of The Hartford Courant:
"In a move that would conclusively close the door on the Information Age in Connecticut, Gov. M Jodi Rell proposed cuts Thursday that would shut off access to the Internet through the Connecticut Education Network — a fiber optic network designed to serve public schools and libraries in Connecticut — and drastically reduce the availability of information resources in other agencies."
Read Cibes' in-depth look at the situation by clicking here.
"In a move that would conclusively close the door on the Information Age in Connecticut, Gov. M Jodi Rell proposed cuts Thursday that would shut off access to the Internet through the Connecticut Education Network — a fiber optic network designed to serve public schools and libraries in Connecticut — and drastically reduce the availability of information resources in other agencies."
Read Cibes' in-depth look at the situation by clicking here.
6 comments:
If you oppose the proposed cuts to libraries across the state, please come on Saturday. Speaker of the State House of Representatives Chris Donovan and other officials will be there in support of our library system.
Matt Lesser
State Representative (Middletown, Middlefield, Durham)
In addition to these terrible cuts the governor does not plan to fill vacancies left by the July 1 retirement incentive. The CT State Library an invaluable resource for the legal and academic communities will be crippled by this.
Fifteen staff members of the Connecticut State Library have accepted the State retirement incentive package. This includes the Public Records Administrator, head of History and Genealogy, Assistant State Archivist and three of the five staff who daily provide services at the Law public service desk.
I support the cuts to the libraries. Let's cut unfunded mandates to the towns and schools first then the localities can afford to fund the libraries as needed. We must cut spending everywhere. Vacancies must be left empty, we cannot afford to replace these people. Why were we employing these people in the first place? Are they nesscessary for the functioning of goverment?
Libraries "necessary for the functioning of government"? maybe not. Necessary for the health of democracy.. of dare i say civilization? yes. suppose (for a moment) a totalitarian dictatorship wanted to take over the land. first targets.. institutions that must go.. independent media (the eye!!), labor unions, free public libraries.. start there. Not that Rell is carrying water in that direction but still it is time to take stock of what we value. !!!
Suppose a Socialist dictatorship wanted to take over the country. What would the first targets be,you may ask? Commandeer the media (print, TV, radio).Take control of the financial institutions. Control business and industry by wrenching them from the claws of greedy Capitalists. Oh, wait....that's happening NOW! So, Robert, I really wouldn't sweat the libraries.
The towns need to fund the libraries. Each town can choose what resources they put into libraries. Why the State ever got into the funding in the first place is puzzling. Well perhaps not so puzzling. First at some point in time, well intended legislators created a State agency that supported local libraries with their general administration and overall operations. As the years passed, this support expanded. Every time some legislator was influenced by someone to put forward legislation in support of libraries the legislature went along with the plan. Money was plentiful and no one really ever wants to vote against libraries. This legislation was in the domain of special interest groups; be it the unions representing library employees or companies selling to libraries. The general electorate paid no attention. The budget they were (or should be) closely aware was the local town budget. The local library was doing more with seeming less and funding came in from the Stare so the town citizens paid no attention. Returning this budgetary process back to the Towns shall result in closer scrutiny by the electorate and will bypass the rubber stamp of the legislature. Lesser is misguided and is just preening to voters. Rell in her responsible effort to cut the State budget will as an unintentional (or perhaps intentional) consequence a greater scrutiny of spending and considerate decision making by the Towns without the influence of special interest groups The State is returning local control of the libraries to the Towns where the citizens can closely scrutinize all the expenses of the local library .
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