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Letter: Fund the libraries

Posted on May 27, 2010 by Staff

I write, once again, to discuss library funding in Orange County. I have worked at the Carrboro Branch Library, the Cedar Grove Branch Library and the main library in Hillsborough.

It’s all about the economy. The Orange County Board of Commissioners knows this and they face tough decisions. We are suffering an unprecedented economic crisis. And that is precisely why we need increased, or at the very least the same, funding for our libraries.

It’s not just about books; it’s about technology. There are many who cannot afford a computer or Internet access. A public library is the only place these people can go to look for and apply for work, the only place their children can research and type their papers and one of the few places a family can go for free entertainment and culture.

Yes, the Cedar Grove Branch is small and its patronage has not grown much. But to the families who use this library, it is essential. When I worked there, many, if not most, of our patrons came on foot. Even if they do have transportation, they can’t afford to pay to park to use the library in Hillsborough. If it’s really necessary, hours could be cut, but I ask that the BOCC please not take this valuable and necessary resource away from these taxpayers entirely.

With regard to the Cybrary: Decreasing its hours will put an added burden on Carrboro Branch Library staff, and perhaps more importantly, on all the computers that belong to McDougle Schools and not to the county.

With regard to funding for Chapel Hill Public Library: If there were a full service library in southwest Orange County, the burden would be off Chapel Hill. They would not need to expand. And should they reject the $250, 000 the county manager has proposed, I would hope the BOCC would promise to use those funds for libraries in the Orange County system.

I also hope that the BOCC will honor the promise they made to designate the $166,000 in proceeds from the sale of county buildings to libraries and education.

Last summer, the BOCC said that their goal was to increase per capita spending on libraries. I hope they will remember this when they make the difficult choices ahead of them. Orange County is currently somewhere between 60th and 70th in a state that’s 44th in the nation for library services. It’s shameful. The proposed cuts will drop us even further on the list.

In these difficult times, we cannot afford to underfund our libraries.

ALEXANDRA BROWN
Treasurer, Friends of the Carrboro Branch Library
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