Comments

1
Why the hell doesn't California......the home of super rich Hollywood.....have any money?

Cutting funds for libraries as possibly one of the worst moves any government can make. Schools will follow.
2
Eh. Libraries are just full of that book learnin' stuff anyway. You can't trust that kinda thing.
3
California, home of the 3rd grade edumacation. Soon to be 1st with this library funding cut.

Yes I can say that, I've lived here 52 years.
4
for starters, they don't have any money because of their "eyman style" requirement that new taxes have to be approved by two-thirds of the legislature!
5
@4 has it right. Brown's budget is terrible, but I have a hard time blaming him for it. There are enough Republicans in the legislature to block any proposed tax increase, and voter propositions don't do much better either. Eventually you just reach a point where there isn't any more money.

The worst part is, the Republicans in the state legislature may end up trying to block the budget, because they want MORE cuts, and don't want any tax increases at all (which comprise about half of Brown's budget). If more social services get cut before the budget gets approved, I wouldn't be surprised in the slightest.
6
Maybe they can have a user fee for Tech millionaires who run for public office - say 10 pct of the school budget for each one?
7
In the age of the Internet and E-books, libraries as information resources have become irrelevant institutions. And in terms of reading, fewer people actually invest much in reading entire books these days, and for those that want to, there are scores of used bookstores in most cities where you can find and purchase books cheaply. Apart from that, my overall impression of libraries in California when I lived there was that their primary purpose was to serve as daytime homeless shelters for the mentally ill, the drug-addicted, the alcoholic, as well as a playground for perverts who were into openly surfing for porn on library computers, in full view of others. Sorry folks, that is just the way it is.
8
#7, I'd like you to help a high school student write a 5 page research paper using only used book stores in a small city, say Puyallup, or Edmonds. Assume the teacher requires no more than 2 internet sources (not wikipedia) and at least 3 books. This is a typical high school assignment being given to kids now, so it should test your "we don't need libraries" theory well.

Tell me how it goes.
9
@7,
Not everyone has internet access... or even computers, for that matter. Public libraries are one of the few places that often have some computers with internet access, printers, and photocopiers that people can use for free or for a very low fee.

When I lost my job, I couldn't afford internet access anymore. The cost of updating my resume, and printing out both that and numerous cover letters would have been more than I could manage. I used the public libraries frequently to do these things and to search and apply for jobs over the internet.

I found my current job that way. Without public libraries, I have no idea where I might be today.
10
@7

Your under the assumption that everyone can afford computers, internet or even books.

The problems you listed are the responsibility of the library system to control and the citizens should push the system for that control.
11
@7 "In the age of the Internet and E-books, libraries as information resources have become irrelevant institutions."

Right. Try doing actual research via the net only. Libraries provide access to a wealth of information that is not yet digitized and, most likely, never will be. Additionally, most professional journals are behind a firewall and unless you're independently wealthy you will go broke in a hurry paying $25 bucks a pop for PDFs of articles.

I am utterly dependent on a library for much of the work I do. It would be impossible without access to high-priced ($100 a pop) university press publications and professional journals.

And for the poor who merely want to read, libraries are essential. Go to a library in a poor neighborhood sometime.
12
Libraries are important, but Brown is serious about fixing this budget, and lots of important things will be cut. I think that there is finally an adult in sacramento. I wish a lot of stuff weren't cut, but I realize that the state can't support everything right now. It's just reality.
13
@7: I can't think of a better place to put the poorest people in a city than in a room full of books.

The rate at which government is slashing social services right now kind of terrifies me.
14
This is where WA is heading in the next few years.

Eyman has crippled the state's ability to raise taxes, and the voters sadly went along with it. We're facing a massive deficit, and the ONLY way to balance the budget is to cut, and cut deep. There is virtually no way to balance the budget without gutting or eliminating good worthwhile programs.

Fuck you Tim Eyman.
15
"I'd like you to help a high school student write a 5 page research paper using only used book stores in a small city, say Puyallup, or Edmonds."

Gee, a high school would not have its own library?
16
@15

You obviously haven't been in a school library lately. Some are fantastic but most are out of date and disgusting. They also only keep school hours 8-4pm, while public libraries like mine in Snohomish are open from 6am-9pm and well used by this little town.

Your logic is flawed and selfish.
17
I am a library-lover that lives in CA. ) ':
18
and my 2 cents: When I am in a reading frenzy (not doing overtime at work or doing schooling on the side) I can read a book (usually fiction) a day. Without my public libraries I would be lost. No way I could afford to buy and/or store that many books!! I have library cards in three counties here!! And access to a fourth!
19
All that said - I would rather that money is cut from a library than from other social nets in CA... People need food and health care, mental care, etc.
20
If this passes, my dad and my stepmom both lose their jobs.... goddamn california.

Please wait...

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