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May 20, 2010

Librarians rally at State House

northjersey.com
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Last updated: Thursday May 20, 2010, 3:21 AM
BY DEBRA WINTERS
Wayne Today
WAYNE — Hundreds gathered at the State House Annex in Trenton recently to oppose Gov. Chris Christie's proposal to cut 74 percent of funding for the state library system, an action many believe will be nothing less than devastating.

"I feel we needed to do our part because these cuts being proposed would be disastrous," said Doreen Shoba, head of the reference department at the Wayne Public Library.

Included in the cuts would be the elimination of all statewide library programs and services. New Jersey stands to lose roughly $4.5 million in federal funding leaving clientele severely impacted.

Amongst the biggest losses will be access to electronic databases such as RefUSA and EBSCO, as well as the statewide interlibrary loan and delivery service. Many libraries including Wayne could also lose access to the Internet as well.

Also being opposed is Assembly bill A2555, which would eradicate the minimum funding municipalities are required to budget for local libraries.

"These cuts are like delivering a death threat to libraries," said Shoba. Relating the loss of the interlibrary loan service, she added, "It will bring the library back to the 70s style."

The current state slogan – "NJ and You Perfect Together" - according to one sign at the rally may soon read – "NJ and You Ignorant Together."

"I knew the library was doing an important service on a daily basis, but after being there at the rally that feeling was definitely confirmed," Shoba said. "It was a great day all around."

The Wayne Public Library is already feeling the pinch especially with the electronic databases but with the interlibrary loan service still intact patrons haven't noticed much of a change - yet.

"Once people realize they can't get what they need then they will realize the loss," said Melissa Dunn, senior library assistant in the technical services department.

The cuts are not only directed towards public libraries, but at school libraries as well as those located in hospitals, historical societies, and prisons.

The Wayne Public Library belongs to the Highlands Regional Library Co-Op, which offers better resources for affordable training that library employees need in order to run the various reference software.

This also could be eliminated by the budget cuts.

"We rely on this co-op to better answer patrons' questions and point them in the right direction," said Pat Zerbe, senior librarian and adult services.

Dunn added, "And once these services are gone I think it will be difficult to bring them back."

Many libraries, including Wayne, are not in a position to function on their own, because much of the database services cost too much, explained Shoba.

"It's more money for us to go out and get these services on our own," she said.

With academic libraries also on the cutting board students stand to lose a lot in terms of research skills. Laying it out on the table, Wayne Valley High School Principal Robert Reis spoke candidly about the situation at hand.

"They will have to prioritize their time around the availability of our library maybe use a study hall or go after lunch.

Or if we have nobody to work in the library then kids will have to go online but they won't have hard copies like books," Reis said. "It's important for students to learn pertinent research skills especially for college."

E-mail: wintersd@northjersey.com

Posted by tumulty at May 20, 2010 4:55 PM

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