Libraries
Budget-cutting threatens Ohio libraries
Friday, June 26, 2009 Categories: libraries
Ohio Gov.
Ted Strickland
has proposed a
budget-cutting plan that would lop off 30 percent
of Ohio public library funding – twice as much as
other state agencies face. This comes on top of a
20 percent cut the libraries already have had to
absorb, and it hits them halfway through their
annual budget cycle.
"Cuts of this size would be absolutely devastating," said Tim Kambitsch, Executive Director of the Dayton Metro Library. Kambitsch is director of my hometown county library system.
I’ve contacted Gov. Strickland and my elected representatives to tell them specific ways in which the public library has been important to me.
My new online venture, AviationDayton.com, simply wouldn’t exist without the library because I couldn’t afford the thousands of dollars it would have cost to hire professional website designer. (It’s a much more complex site than this one!) Instead, I used online resources and borrowed library books to teach myself how to do it. Based on the professional service quotes I received, I figure I saved $30,000.
I also attended library “brown-bag” sessions on fundraising to learn how to write grant proposals for nonprofit organizations I serve. That resulted in a $7,500 grant for a local aviation heritage group, which qualified as a match for an equal amount in federal funding. Total value: $15,000.
Yes, I have a personal stake in library funding. Libraries are the biggest market for most of the books I have written. And my wife works for the Dayton Metro Library system.
But I’m also worried what such severe cuts in libraries will do to Ohio. People use libraries to get jobs, study for college degrees, and improve businesses and non-profit groups. Libraries spark the imaginations of our future leaders.
As I told Gov. Strickland, libraries are a part of Ohio’s intellectual infrastructure. We should be building them up, not tearing them down.
Visit these sites to learn more and find out how you can help:
Dayton Metro Library
Ohio Library Council
News links:
"Cuts of this size would be absolutely devastating," said Tim Kambitsch, Executive Director of the Dayton Metro Library. Kambitsch is director of my hometown county library system.
I’ve contacted Gov. Strickland and my elected representatives to tell them specific ways in which the public library has been important to me.
My new online venture, AviationDayton.com, simply wouldn’t exist without the library because I couldn’t afford the thousands of dollars it would have cost to hire professional website designer. (It’s a much more complex site than this one!) Instead, I used online resources and borrowed library books to teach myself how to do it. Based on the professional service quotes I received, I figure I saved $30,000.
I also attended library “brown-bag” sessions on fundraising to learn how to write grant proposals for nonprofit organizations I serve. That resulted in a $7,500 grant for a local aviation heritage group, which qualified as a match for an equal amount in federal funding. Total value: $15,000.
Yes, I have a personal stake in library funding. Libraries are the biggest market for most of the books I have written. And my wife works for the Dayton Metro Library system.
But I’m also worried what such severe cuts in libraries will do to Ohio. People use libraries to get jobs, study for college degrees, and improve businesses and non-profit groups. Libraries spark the imaginations of our future leaders.
As I told Gov. Strickland, libraries are a part of Ohio’s intellectual infrastructure. We should be building them up, not tearing them down.
Visit these sites to learn more and find out how you can help:
Dayton Metro Library
Ohio Library Council
News links:
- Newscenter 7 Video: Library Cuts - Kettering
- Newscenter 7 Vido: Library Cuts - Dayton
- Dayton Daily News Article: Library Cuts
- Dayton's News Source ABC22/FOX45 Video: Library Cuts
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