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May 15, 2010

Libraries are facing a greater burden

http://www.dailyrecord.com
Letters to the Editor

By JAYNE M. BELINE • May 15, 2010

The Daily Record editorial of May 10 did not correctly address the pending loss in funding to all types of New Jersey libraries if the proposed state budget cuts are approved. The editorial said that a 74 percent cut is not disproportionate to the cuts experienced by local school districts. It is an interesting comparison, but it is simply not accurate. A review of the facts is needed.

The comparison should be made by contrasting the proposed budget cuts for two departments of state government: the State Library and the Department of Education. The appropriation to the State Library will be cut by $10.4 million or 74 percent of the $14 million spent on statewide services for all types of libraries. The Department of Education, on the other hand, is losing $819.5 million or only 7.4 percent from its Fiscal Year 2010 budget of $11,130 billion.

Moreover, public libraries will lose 50 percent of per capita state aid because of the cuts being proposed for the State Library, while the total aid to school districts actually increased by $68 million. Now to be fair, Formula Aid, which I believe is the bulk of the aid that most school districts receive, decreased by $24.7 million statewide, but that is less than a half of a percent of the $6.8 billion in formula aid that is given out.

But keep in mind that the state is losing more than $1 billion in stimulus money that was spent in last year's school aid budget, which means that New Jersey taxpayers would actually pay $236 million more in aid to school districts in Fiscal Year 2011, which starts July 1.

Yes, cuts in state aid are being made everywhere, but if you do the math, the cuts to statewide library programs are indeed disproportionate to those proposed for school districts.

In addition, public libraries collectively will be spending millions of dollars from their local budgets as they try to replicate the services lost by these budget cuts. Public libraries are also facing the threat of Assembly Bill, A2555, which would eliminate the one-third of a mil of equalized valuation funding formula and has the potential to allow township officials to decide that they will not fund the library.

Furthermore, the absence of a mandated funding formula may leave library boards open to challenges by governing officials regarding the types of books and media they purchase and threaten the library's ability to fulfill its role of providing programs and services that protect the freedom of speech and expression.

The editorial further suggests that the way to handle the cuts is for public libraries to establish a foundation to conduct local fundraising. Many local libraries have foundations and "Friends" groups who work to raise funds for their libraries. However, libraries are an essential service to the community. In these economic times, libraries serve as a life line to the jobless. I would hazard a guess that if funding were cut to the local fire or police departments, your newspaper would not suggest that these entities should conduct fundraising to balance their budgets.

Jayne M. Beline is director of the Parsippany Library.

Posted by tumulty at May 15, 2010 12:07 PM

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