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July 6, 2010

Ringwood, New Jersey Library Budget Cuts

http://www.homesbyorly.com/Blog/Ringwood-New-Jersey-Library-Budget-Cuts
July 4, 2010
by Orly Steinberg
In Ringwood, NJ the Ringwood Public Library, may have to cut services and materials. What does it mean to the public to lose services and materials?

It means a possible loss of the Ringwood Public Library’s:

•Books
•CD’s
•DVD’s
•Hours of Operations
•InterLibrary Loans (ILL’s)
•Internet Access
•Personnel
•Programs/Events
•Research Databases
•Website
Access to knowledge hasn’t always been available to the general public. For centuries books were considered a valuable possession to be passed down to the next person. A person who could read and write was held in high esteem. And the opposite for the person’s who could not read nor write. Women, even from wealth, were not encouraged nor given access to education; people of color even less.

At one time libraries were not a part of the mil’s of the tax revenue but, supported through private donations. Now a day’s governmental bodies place libraries under Human Services. Human Services departments, unfortunately, are the first to suffer budget cuts when the economy slows.

The State of New Jersey doles their funding on a per capita basis. Gov. Chris Christie proposes a 74 percent budget cut to libraries. If this happens on July 1, 2010 it will take libraries years to recover from this loss of aid; if the libraries are able to recover. Many libraries will close because their local economy can’t give them enough support.

What is sad, as the libraries, across the nation, are being downsized and/or closed is the very time that the public needs the library the most. Same my New Jersey Library.

Compliments of Orly Steinberg

Posted by tumulty at July 6, 2010 10:10 AM

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