PROPOSED LIBRARY FUNDING COUNTERINTUITIVE

There are hundreds of library workers represented by CSEA in Monroe County and the City of Rochester. Since the recession, the number of library users has dramatically increased as workers scramble to meet the needs of the community.

For more than 100 years, CSEA has remained focused on not just protecting our members but also the essential services we provide to New Yorkers every day. We also recognize these are extraordinary times with unprecedented challenges.  Public employees across New York State have tried and are committed to finding solutions to the budget crisis without reopening contracts.

For one thing, libraries help job seekers

Throughout New York State, libraries are seeing a tremendous increase in use by people engaged in job searches, applying for jobs online and acquiring job search skills such as resume writing and effective interviewing. 75 percent of all jobs listings are now online and at least 60 percent of prospective employers only accept online job applications. If it weren’t for New York’s libraries, over 330,000 unemployed people throughout the state would not be able to apply for jobs online.

According to a recent Gates Foundation study, 73 percent of libraries serve as a community’s only option for free internet access— in New York State it’s closer to 80 percent. In a January 2009 survey conducted by the New York Library Association, it was found that 80 percent of our libraries had helped a patron look or apply for a job— given the economy, that number has surely increased by now.

Almost all our libraries offer classes and programs that teach its patrons how to use computers, access the internet and effectively use e-mail. Over 80 percent of our libraries staff members help patrons understand and use e-government services.

A call to action

In New York State, this will be the fifth cut in less than two years and will bring Library Aid down from $102 million in 2007 to $84.5 million in 2010. These cuts are a combined total of $18 million. Translated, this is an 18 percent reduction in funding for library services. Libraries are part of our safety net—they are essential to life long learning, jobs and opportunity, quality of life and community empowerment. To cut funding to an American institution that has a huge return on investment to local communities is fiscally and ethically misguided.

Help us protect New York’s libraries and library systems. We need to tell the NYS Legislature to reject the $2.4 million cut in Library Aid Governor David Paterson is proposing in the 2010-2011 Executive Budget. The budget deadline hovers around April 1, but has been historically late due to ineptness and legislative dysfunction.

Without our libraries, those seeking new jobs and opportunity in this economic downturn would have no options. What if your neighborhood library suddenly closed it's doors? It could happen sooner than you think. So, get off your duff and contact your state legislator today. The future of our libraries and our economy is dependent on whether you decide to take direct action. Make your move today.

--This special commentary was authored by Ove Overmyer. Overmyer is the Unit President of the City of Rochester Library Workers 7420 and Vice President of Monroe County Local 828.