Last week the awful news surfaced that as of October 2nd, the public library system in the city of Philadelphia would be CLOSED due to difficulties balancing the city budget. No books, no computers, no librarians – layoffs were to abound. The sad news was compouded by the national economic slump and the fact that libraries are crucial to job seekers who rely on access to the public computers and Internet. [Seattle and DC are experiencing similar funding issues.]
Well, yesterday, less than a week later, it was announced that the system has been SAVED! This triumph is partially due to public outcry which included thousands of letters, phone calls and emails to state legislators from people decrying the social, educational and economic importance of libraries. A new sales tax has been passed to solve the city’s overall budget crises and more specifically to guarantee library funding, we hope, well into the future.
The Free Library of Philadelphia President and Director Siobhan A. Reardon has posted a video expressing her gratitude to the community for their support.
For more info:
Free Library of Philadelphia, DC Libraries Cutting Back, Seattle Library Closures
[...] Free Library of Philadelphia Saved Despite Bad Times « Good Books in Bad Times goodbooksinbadtimes.wordpress.com/2009/09/22/free-library-of-philadelphia-saved-despite-bad-times – view page – cached Last week the awful news surfaced that as of October 2nd, the public library system in the city of Philadelphia would be CLOSED due to difficulties balancing the city budget. No books, no computers, no librarians – layoffs were to abound. The sad news was compouded by the national economic slump and the fact that libraries are crucial to job seekers who rely on access to the public computers and Internet. [Seattle and DC are experiencing similar funding issues.] — From the page [...]
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