Now is the time to come together...

Welcome to 2008! Weeee!

Sorry it's been awhile since I've posted, between the holidays and taking a little time off, there really hasn't been a whole lot of time to blog. (Or breathe...) But you know I can't go long without a good whiny rant!


I'm not sure if you've been following the situation in Cedar Rapids with the budget cuts and the library...but to say the least, it has not been pretty. Sadly, it doesn't appear that it is going to get better any time soon. Last night the Cedar Rapids Public Library held a town meeting to discuss what is going on with the budget situation, as well as to rally support for the library.

First I must explain, although we are part of a Metro Network with Cedar Rapids, we here at Hiawatha get our funding from the city of Hiawatha. Technically speaking, budget cuts at Cedar Rapids do not mean budget cuts for us. However, whatever happens with Cedar Rapids will eventually trickle down and affect us here too. So, we here at Hiawatha have good reason to be concerned with what is going on downtown.

With the previous statement in mind, I also chose to attend the meeting for two other reasons: (1) I am technically a resident of Cedar Rapids and (2) I am a former employee of CRPL who still has many friends and former co-workers that I am concerned about.

The meeting started off with a wonderful report by the Vice President of the CRPL Board of Trustees, Susan Corrigan. She spoke eloquently about the vision of the Cedar Rapids Public Library and its mission to serve the community. She also explained the effect that the previous budget cuts have had on the library and what future cuts may do to the library. She stated explicitly that this is not a library budget problem, but a city budget problem...a very important point. It was a very impassioned speech and one that I think had a very strong effect on those attending. We then heard from patrons about their experiences with the library and their testimonials about why it should be spared from further budget cuts.

We also heard from several public officials at the city, county and state levels. This is where things got a little tense. From my vantage point and opinion it seemed like a lot of finger-pointing and excuses. We were told that the city is trying to work with the state who is trying to work with the city, but that neither one had come up with a good solution as to how to solve the budget problems. But the one thing missing from these responses by the public officials? The library!

I think we all can acknowledge that the budget problems being faced by Cedar Rapids are complicated and messy. That they are difficult and at times, very painful. However, our concern last night as citizens was about our library. Not one of those public officials shared their vision for what they felt the library should be for the community! Not one of them recognized the sacrifices that were being asked of the library board and the staff!

This, to me was extremely dis-heartening. I felt that several of them didn't even understand the basic principles of what it means to be a public library. One public official even suggested possibly using usage fees as a means of obtaining more funding for the library. Seriously?! Seriously?!!! Doesn't that kind of defeat the purpose of having a public library?? A little snippet from the American Library Association's mission statement might help clear this up for that public official:

ALA will promote efforts to ensure that every individual has access to needed information at the time needed and in a format the individual can utilize, through provision of library and information services.

Goals:
All individuals have equal access to libraries and information services.

Instruction in information use is available to all.

Government information is widely and easily available.

Library collections are developed, managed, and preserved to provide access for users to the full range of available knowledge and information.

Access to information is facilitated by bibliographic organization.

Library use is high.

Fees are not a barrier to library access and service.

*source-- http://www.ala.org/ala/ourassociation/governingdocs/policymanual/mission.htm#mission

I truly felt that several of the public officials failed to see the importance and significance of what public libraries do for the communities that they serve. But alas, I suppose this whining by me is not doing any good either. This does, however, provide me the opportunity to drive home the real point of this blog...now is the time to come together. I really hope that this town meeting last night will be a catalyst for change on both sides of the fence.

I hope that the public officials who attended last night will be moved to learn more about their public libraries and take the time to visit them, tour them, and educate themselves about them. I hope that they take the time to learn about the ALA Library Bill of Rights and the mission of the American Library Association. I hope that they look to the State Library of Iowa for suggestions and guidance.

I hope that those 380 some odd people who attended last night seek out their friends, families, and neighbors...anyone who may listen to them and advocate on behalf of their library. I hope that they continue to support the library and their programs. I hope that they write and call their public officials and continue to voice their concerns about what further budget cuts will do to their library.

But most of all I hope that both sides can come together and recognize just how very important libraries truly are.

Finally, a quote from a poem called "Library" by Paul Engle that was in the agenda from last night's meeting:

"Libraries are alive, walls tremble, books bounce on their shelves. In terrible times enter, your life comforted by their lives."