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March 22, 2009

Soliman: Libraries are a bright spot during rough economic times

Friday, March 20, 2009

NorthJersey.com
THESE ARE tough economic times. There are those who are unemployed and wondering how they will maintain their rent payments and grocery costs. And those who are still employed are cutting back on luxuries.

In fact, just the other day, I heard someone say he wished they had more money for videos, books, magazines and Internet service. He said that the current economic climate has forced him to cut back on entertainment costs. That's when I told him about a trick my father taught me as a child to get around paying for such items: Get a free public library card.

The ability of people to spend $25 on a new book and $5 on a magazine at the local bookstore as they drink their $4 lattes has dramatically decreased.

Meanwhile, as the value of almost everything in this economy goes down, the value of the local library is on the rise.

According to the Bergen County Cooperative Library Systems, which is made up of 75 libraries in North Jersey, borrowing rose by 8.2 percent in 2008 to a total of 10.9 million items.

The library offers Internet access, puppet shows for the kids, free video rentals for family movie night and an almost unlimited number of magazines and books for avid readers, all at no cost.

But despite the advantages the public library offers the community during these tough economic times, those same tough times are threatening library funding.

Recently, the New Jersey League of Municipalities proposed halving library funding. The library community responded with a campaign to defeat the budget changes, and dozens of library boards in the Bergen County Cooperative Library System objected to the proposal.

The debate over library funding has surfaced in various area townships as well, as town councils have been asked to pass resolutions that oppose the budget cuts. One such debate occurred in Demarest recently. The concern is that the budget for the libraries continues to rise each year, while revenue does not keep up.

Despite concerns, the budget increases are clearly worth the cost.

Library officials have calculated that the average yearly value to every card used in the Bergen County Cooperative Library System is $706, assuming savings users accrue by not spending money on such things as book purchases, subscriptions, cable and video rentals.

To cut the funding of one of the few public services offering relief in these economic times would be wrong. More importantly, it would send the wrong message.

It wasn't too long ago that many people declared the era of the public library to be nearly over. It was argued that the competition from cable television and video games was too much for the libraries to match.

Now, however, the local public library is growing in popularity with youth for the first time in years. This is an opportunity to allow an entirely new generation to understand the importance of their local library.

If communities were to cut the funding in half for those libraries, it would be telling the youth that the libraries are not worth it. That's a message we cannot send.

The current economic situation is tough, but it will not last forever. One of the few silver linings that might come out of it is increased and lifelong appreciation for the local public library, but only if adequate funding is retained. All measures to do otherwise should be quickly rejected.

Ahmed Soliman's column appears weekly. Send comments about this column to The Record at letterstotheeditor@northjersey.com.

Posted by tumulty at March 22, 2009 8:11 PM

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