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“ Libraries are critical to democracy. In order to have an educated public, you have to have libraries. ”
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Libraries smarting from cutbacks
Bedford, cities across U.S. fight closure of 'people's university'
10:05 PM CDT on Tuesday, April 26, 2005
By ANDREW BECKER / Special Contributor to The Dallas Morning News
SALINAS, Calif. – How do you close a public library?
Jan Neal cringed when she heard the question. As library director in author John Steinbeck's hometown, she never expected to become the nation's leading expert on shuttering libraries.
But that's the query she received recently from a Bedford librarian after the Fort Worth suburb, like Salinas, nearly ended library service because of a budget shortfall.
"It was a really disappointing experience," Ms. Neal said. "I thought, 'Oh, my gosh, these guys are in the very same boat we're in, but they're not even in California.' "
Fundraising in Salinas and an anonymous $125,000 donation for Bedford's library gave both systems a reprieve. But if a permanent source of money cannot be found in the next few months, the libraries will close, perhaps for good.
Yolanda Cesareo, 7, (right) and brother, Alejandro, 9, took part with sister Maria in a 24-hour read-in recently in Salinas, Calif., to raise money to keep the libraries open.
And they are not alone. From coast to coast, budget strains and tax pressures are forcing cities to make hard choices about how to spend limited money, and libraries, much to many residents' dismay, are taking the hit.
Residents are left stunned and outraged at the thought of doing without a beloved national resource. Can't check out books for the summer, log onto the Internet for free, listen to preschoolers giggle during story time or get help searching for a job? Incomprehensible.
"We live in a lower-income area, and if the libraries close, many people won't have anywhere else to go," said Josh Roberts, 17, a Salinas High School junior who has joined the fight to keep the city's three libraries open.
But library backers face an uphill battle.
In the last 18 months, the nation's public libraries have seen their budgets cut by $111.2 million – as much as 50 percent in some states – the result of struggling economies and reductions in state financing, according to American Library Association figures. The cuts have forced layoffs, reduced operating hours and put many libraries at risk of closing.
First lady Laura Bush, a former librarian and schoolteacher who was honored recently by the association for her library advocacy, has not commented on library budget cuts across the nation.
She has, however, established the Laura Bush Foundation to help fund public libraries, said Mrs. Bush's spokeswoman Susan Whitson.
"We have seen in the last several years more reductions in library budgets than any other time in our history," said Carol Brey-Casiano, president of the library association, which recently sent delegations to Salinas and Bedford to provide assistance and advice.
The interesting thing, Mrs. Brey-Casiano said, is that the cuts come at a time when Americans are using libraries more than ever. In 2002, libraries logged 1.2 billion visits nationwide, compared with 500 million in 1990, she said. The number of books checked out is up 500 million for the same period.
Mrs. Brey-Casiano attributed the upswing to a stagnant economy, saying that since the Great Depression, whenever there's a dip in the economy, library use goes up.
"The library is the people's university. It's the place where anyone can go to get the resources they need – free of charge – to further their knowledge," she said. "Libraries are critical to democracy. In order to have an educated public, you have to have libraries."
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