Libraries are essential to a community especially in difficult times. Due to rising costs and job losses, patrons may have had to cut their own expenses such as buying books or cancelling their internet service. In order to continue to have access to these materials, patrons turn to their libraries. However, libraries are often the first to get cut in budget reforms. A library can survive a budget crisis by making cuts, fundraising, developing trust, and media exposure.
The two types of cuts a library can make is a visible or an invisible one. A visible cut affects the operations of a library. It can be felt throughout the community and can help restore the budget or at least prevent any further cuts. Public awareness of the financial need of a library might make voters more willing to raise taxes to cover costs like in Warren, Michigan.
The city of Warren, Michigan is currently having a debate over whether to hold a special election to raise taxes. The taxes would go toward the prevention of shutting down 3 of the cities library branches. According to The Detroit News, previous tax increase proposals have been turned down by the voters, " Henderstein said library operations have been funded by a tax levy of 0.5 mills since 1957, an amount reduced to 0.4873 mills under the Headlee Amendment. It generates about $2 million annually. Voters denied a proposed tax increase in 1985. The 20-year tax proposal would bring in about $3.4 million each year. Henderstein said the extra money would keep the branches open and allow for expanded hours, additional programs and materials. Until now, Henderstein said the libraries have managed with minimal funds and only eight librarians while experiencing a circulation increase of 33 percent ove...
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Ferretti, C. (2010, February 1). 3 Warren library branches may shut. The Detroit News. Retrieved February 8, 2010, from http://detnews.com/article/20100201/METRO03/2010322
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7. Sawinksi, Christine, Diane Sawinski, and Julie L Carnagie. American Decades. Illus. Dean Dauphinais. Comp. and trans. Evi Seoud. Ed. Elizabeth Anderson. N.p.: Thomson Gale, 2003. Print.
Who can resist a book with a chapter titled, "Labia Lumps, Chunky Discharge, and Other Things They Never Taught Me in Library School"? Released this past summer, Revolting Librarians Redux: Radical Librarians Speak Out takes no prisoners as its contributors ponder everything from the backtracking of '60s values by ALA's baby boomers to librarian imagery in erotica. This edited volume is a sequel to a 1972 self-published book titled Revolting Librarians. The original is worth checking out for its historical value alone. The editors of the 2003 volume, Katia Roberto and Jessamyn West gathered essays from ten of the original writers from the 1972 book for this version and it is interesting to see what thirty years has done to these radical librarians.
Waggoner, John. "Is Today's Economic Crisis Another Great Depression?" USA Today. N.p., 4 Nov. 2008. Web. 7 Mar. 2014.
Walker, Melissa. "Introduction: Using Resources, Choices and Trade-offs." Reading the Enviornment. 1st Ed. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1994. 276-279.
Ask any college student to state one of their largest expenses and it would be safe to bet the response would be “Textbook prices!” The cost of purchasing required materials for courses has reached numbers high enough to cause many students to take out second loans. Information released this year by the American Enterprise Institute shows that “College textbook prices have increased faster than tuition, health care costs and housing prices, all of which have risen faster than inflation” (Kingkade, 2013). This information equates to an 812% increase in the cost of college textbooks over what they were just over thirty years ago (Kingkade, 2013). The figure here shows an unusually large increase that has far outpaced that of average inflation. Combine this information with the equally troubling information released by Bloomberg stating “college tuition and fees have increased 1,120 percent since records began in 1978” and a serious financial problem for students emerges(Huffington Post, 2012). One thing should be clear given these statistics: something must be done to help lessen the financial burden being placed on today’s students. Considering the implications of these two figures, the University of Delaware should attempt to remedy the increasing cost of textbooks as soon as possible before they overwhelm students any more than they already have. In order to help reduce these runaway costs, this institution should pursue a policy similar to those high schools and elementary schools practice, namely a sort of loan program.
3. 6 "Local Control Archives." TexasVox: 5 The Voice of Public Citizen in Texas. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 May
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Illinois - focused look at this emerging" The Free Library. 01 August 2007. 21 September
Strangely, this problem is infrequently discussed when assessing the shortcomings of a troubled library system or other similar organization, in favor of a focus on improving “the bottom line” and
Citation- "LETTERS TO THE EDITOR." Austin American-Statesman [TX] 19 Feb. 2012: E06. Student Resources in Context. Web. 25 Mar. 2014.
Rebell, Michael A. “Safeguarding The Right To A Sound Basic Education In Times Of Fiscal Constraint.” Albany Law Review 75.4 (2012). 1855-1976. Academic Search Complete. Web. 11 Dec. 2013.
According to NBC news, the price of textbooks is rising three times faster than inflation and, consequently, has increased by 1,041% since 1977 (Popken 1). Students are required to buy certain textbooks for courses, some of which can cost as much as much as $400 (Perry 1; Popken 2). In fact, in four years of college, a student taking five classes can easily spend as much as $10,000 on textbooks alone. (Perry 2). Also, to save money, many schools are closing or shrinking their libraries, reducing student access to books and technology (Newell et al. 1). The combination of rapidly increasing textbook prices and loss of access to free resources at their schools is making students pay thousands of dollars in extra fees that they may not be able to afford. Despite scholarships and financial aid, many students still struggle to pay for school, and their grades and education suffer as a result of limited access to resources that, in the past, have been provided by the schools. Also, the budget cuts to Wisconsin schools have led to increased college tuition. In the past decade, public universities continue to raise tuition, raising it by 8.3% in 2011 alone (Kiener 2). Over the next four years,
... to the Library and that have generally been underused resources. B. Greater use of the Library's Capitol Hill facilities by scholars for the kind of interdisciplinary, cross-cultural, multimedia, multilingual, and synthetic writing that is important to Congressional deliberation and national policy-making, but inadequately encouraged both by special interest groups and by advocacy-oriented think tanks; and C. Greater use by the general public through programs that stimulate interest, increase knowledge, and encourage more citizens to use the collections on-site and electronically.”The Library employees will add their position as information guides by “helping more people find appropriate materials in a swelling sea of unsorted information” and directing them to services and resources exclusive to the Library of Congress. This requires not only more growth of employees that the Library has formerly had, but also making it easier in new ways more wide-ranging and “systematic use by researchers of the distinctive materials that only the Library of Congress has.” Courses for the common public, such as displays or publications, must display the importance and value of the collections.
I learned that school budgets not only inform us of priorities, but they can also serve as a communication tool for the whole district. I feel as if our school could use the budget as an opportunity to discuss progress as well as our strategic plan, but they don’t. Teachers and parents rarely hear about the budget’s educational and operational objectives and accomplishments. This is definitely something my school could improve on, since the school budget should reflect the community and their values. I also think there is a skewed public, and even faculty, perception regarding the school budget. Some of these views include that the school budget is wasteful, administrators are overpaid, administrators are not forward-thinking, and money is spent in the wrong areas. These adverse perceptions of the school budget are often heard during difficult economic times, such as when our school district recently went on fiscal distress. However, I have learned that without meaningful involvement of the community, educators, and staff, these perceptions will never