The bulk of people that suffer from this issue are the socio-economic disadvantaged groups such as the poor, old and young, that can't and don't have access to the internet, private school libraries or the ability to outright purchase information / books.
These groups don't have a big impact on votes, so State and Local governments don't care.
Reality suxs, but often the truth hurts !

thriftyt - And what use would 70,00 Kindles be? You'd still need to find the money to buy all the [e]books.

Robin.

I'm sure some of that money would go into renovating the Main Library, which needs to have ramps installed and a new elevator.

Dear thriftyt (aptly named)

Please look at the Jersey City Library page http://www.jclibrary.org/, and look at the many services the library provides: free wi-fi and computer access for the community (especially the unemployed), literacy instruction , reference, information services , (in-person, by phone and online), e-books, reference materials for the college-bound and residents studying for civil-service and other placement exams, materials in languages other than English for Jersey City residents, ESL help, cooling centers, and homework help.
Not to mention the geneological work and assistance the Jersey City Room performs.

A library is so much more than books. That budget figure also includes maintenance of the physical plant.

Thriftyt when you think of all the services the library provides it is quite a bargain!

Please volunteer or do what you can to keep these ESSENTIAL SERVICES.

Fact: There are approximately 80,000 households in Jersey City (population ~225K).

Fact: Requested budget for Jersey City Libraries was $7.7 million dollars.

Fact: $7.7 million could buy 70,000 Amazon Kindles.


Opinion: Of course, Jersey City should not buy everyone a Kindle, but it does put into perspective how much money the library is asking for.

As ridiculous as the example above is, Jersey City could hypothetically afford to buy almost every household a Kindle and then use that budget to buy every household ~8 books year every year thereafter.

Nobody likes budget cuts, but if we don't think outside the box, it indeed does become a zero-sum game where cuts= lost jobs and lost services.

We have every right to complain about budget cuts. We also have every right to innovate and produce solutions.




http://savemynjlibrary.org/content/je ... -save-library-budget-cuts

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jersey_City,_New_Jersey

The Reading program will be held at the library and usually you do find a whole stack of books in such places ...

Sonia:

With all due respect, where is READING in this?


Total Expenses for SRP 2011


$ 1,200.00 Incentives
$ 1,600.00 Children?s Trip
$ 2,500.00 YA Trip
$ 2,000.00 Camp Liberty admission, transportation & food
$ 2,000.00 Trip Transportation
$ 1,600.00 Craft Materials
$ 1,740.00 Movies/DVDs
$ 3,300.00 Refreshments
_________

$15, 940.00 GRAND TOTAL



Riaz

This sounds like a wonderful program, a way to enrich the lives and literacy of JC children. Maybe Mr. Lipski et.al. could donate their 93K+ salaries/sick day payouts to this endeavor?
In the meantime, I am sure a lot of ordinary non-double dipping folks will contribute.

Subject: 2011 Jersey City Summer Reading Program

Ms. Sonia Araujo, Assistant Library Director

Jersey City Free Public Library

472 Jersey Avenue

Jersey City, New Jersey 07302

201-547-4549

Greetings:

It is with much expectation and enthusiasm, the children of Jersey City are invited each year to participate in the annual Jersey City Free Public Library Summer Reading Program, one of the most successful and rewarding programs the Library offers to the public. The program runs for 8 weeks from end of June to August and is offered in the Bonetti Children?s Room at the Main Library and in all library branches throughout the City, it includes children from public, charter, parochial and home-schooled children. The Bookmobile is also on hand to fill in any gaps at local parks, festivals, and summer schools sessions. This program attracts over 500 children each year, who collectively read over 2,000 books every summer!

This year, the New Jersey Statewide Summer Reading Program (SRP) theme is "One World, Many Stories" for children in grades K-5. Imagine all the wonderful places children can read about! The accompanying activities ? crafts, movies, and participating in educational/recreational trips ? punctuate the theme, while creating lifelong friendships in a safe environment. A separate program theme, "You are Here," which is for young adults in grades 6-8 and up, is specially geared to bring in those hard-to-reach, ?too old to read? young adults by offering them special performers, movies, trips and crafts, while encouraging them to read to the top of the charts!

The Library provides a warm, supervised and welcoming environment, surrounded by their peers, where they can listen to, discuss and read books on topics they select, and the program encourages continued reading independently in the future. Students participating in public library summer reading programs scored higher on reading achievement tests at the beginning of the next school year, and were more motivated and confident in their reading.

The Library is eager to start preparations, for we want parents and children alike to know the Library will be available to them, again, this coming summer. However, due to massive cuts in the Library?s budget t your help is needed to implement the program. All contributions are tax deductible and can be made out to the Jersey City Free Public Library Foundation / 2011 Summer Reading Program.

Please contact me at (201) 547-4549, or by email, saraujo@jclibrary.org, with your desire to help the Library?s Summer Reading Program in 2011!

Respectfully,

Sonia Araujo


P.S. Your monetary or in-kind contribution can assure the safety and happiness of Jersey City children this summer by helping them gain access to a world of learning through reading at their local library, along with access to a summer of fun! The Gold Coast can be made more golden if the opportunity to achieve is open to everyone, especially to our children. Please check out the attached Wish List to see how you can help!

Here are a few of the expenses that we will incur for the 2011 Summer Reading Program. We understand the economy is hard for everyone; however, you can make the difference. The following is a breakdown of expenses:

Incentives: T-Shirts, bookmarks, key rings, erasers, pencils& certificates for Children &YAs - $ 1,200.00

Children?s Trip: 80-90 children, with chaperones, to Keansburg Amusement Park - $ 1,600.00

YA trip: 80-90 Young Adults, with chaperones, to Great Adventure - $ 2,500.00

One day @ Camp Liberty in Liberty State Park for 125-150 children, transportation & snacks included: Children are able to swim, play ball, do crafts, and experience camp for a day, free of charge $ 2,000.00

Transportation: Four buses @ 500.00 each - $ 2,000.00

Craft Materials: Paper, glue, glitter, magic makers, paints, brushes, and other art supplies for 500 participants - $ 1,600.00
Movies/DVDs: Purchase on themes for both Children/YAs - $ 1,740.00

Refreshments: Participants are awarded a Certificate of Achievement at culmination parties, whether they read
one or 100 books. All children/YAs from branches /departments participate in their achievements! - $ 3,300.00



Total Expenses for SRP 2011


$ 1,200.00 Incentives

$ 1,600.00 Children?s Trip

$ 2,500.00 YA Trip

$ 2,000.00 Camp Liberty admission, transportation & food

$ 2,000.00 Trip Transportation

$ 1,600.00 Craft Materials

$ 1,740.00 Movies/DVDs

$ 3,300.00 Refreshments
_________

$15, 940.00 GRAND TOTAL


Please make your tax-deductible donations payable to: Jersey City Free Public Library Foundation, Inc. / 2011 Summer Reading Program. Please send to: 472 Jersey Avenue, Jersey City, New Jersey 07302, ATTN: Priscilla Gardner, Executive Director


The Jersey City Free Public Library Foundation, Inc. is chartered in Jersey City as a 501(c)(3) organization to receive charitable gifts. Benefactors can contribute to the foundation with gifts of cash, property, securities or real estate, trust arrangements, bequests in wills and by naming the foundation as beneficiary of a life insurance policy. The JCFPL Foundation hopes to encourage individuals and organizations to make financial contributions to the Foundation to assure that the library can continue its exceptional service far into the future. The Jersey City Free Public Library Foundation, Inc. was established on January 27, 2004 to support the mission of the library: to provide services and materials for the education, enrichment and entertainment of the people of Jersey City. http://www.jclibrary.org/libinfo/libraryfoundation.php

Thank you! During SRP 2011, please drop by the branches or the Main and see what your contributions have made possible.

Kelly better get on the same page. He keeps ruffling Healy's feathers. I love it!

This inept administration is Larry, Moe and Curly on most days with "The Mouth" Morrill trying to keep it together.

Let's just hope there are enough intelligent people who care enough about JC to not allow Team Healy to win again.

won't the city have a big surplus after the reval? then the city can give the library money!

"Miscellaneous Revenue Not Anticipated" you've got to be kidding, right????? $800K medicaid reimbursement what is this the first time JC has received this???? and that is the answer the city gives???? absolutely incredible......

Council holds budget over library funding

Monday, April 18, 2011
By TERRENCE T. McDONALD
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Four Jersey City City Council members declared last week 'kthat they will not support Mayor Jerramiah Healy's proposed $477 million 2011 municipal budget unless he restores a proposed cut of about $300,000 for the Jersey City Free Public Library.

To be adopted, the budget, which covers the fiscal year ending June 30, requires six affirmative votes from the nine-member council.

The council members who are seeking a restoration of proposed library cuts are David Donnelly, Steven Fulop, Nidia Lopez and Viola Richardson.

Their joint statement came after Business Administrator Jack Kelly said at the April 13 council meeting that the city is expecting additional revenue that it did not include in the proposed municipal budget, including an $800,000 Medicaid reimbursement.

"It was clear to me that that money could be used to restore the Jersey City Public Library staff and programs," Richardson said.

Fulop, a frequent administration critic who has announced his candidacy for mayor, said Kelly's comments showed the administration is not being "forthright with the taxpayers."

"On one hand they are harboring a secret slush fund not included in the budget, while at the same time dramatically cutting funding for essential functions like the library," Fulop said.

City spokeswoman Jennifer Morrill said the revenue to which Kelly referred is known as "Miscellaneous Revenue Not Anticipated," and it is not included in the budget because the city doesn't know what it will receive, Morrill said.

About funding for the library, she said:

"We will review their request and if additional revenue is generated we will evaluate the ability to restore services that have been cut, including the library, while keeping taxes flat."

Just wondering. Would it also help to call the council members today to ask them to vote not to cut the library funding?

Quote:

There is a Library Board meeting tomorrow (4/12) at 5:30pm in Five Corners Library, please come and discuss the issues with the board also.

Although this study was done in UK the end results are interesting, as are the common complaints and effects to the populace... especially the children.

http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/content/1/ ... %20Public%20Libraries.pdf

You can also look at this
http://www.americanlibrariesmagazine. ... e-americas-libraries-2011

Especially interesting pp 4-8 Library Funding. How libraries are easy targets for budget cuts by state on local legislators (pg.5) because of mistaken beliefs! Also contains some interesting statistics.

Don't forget to show up at City Hall on Wednesday at 6pm.
Remember to call to speak on behalf of the library

Why Public Libraries Close:

http://www.webjunction.org/c/document ... 537&name=DLFE-2600002.pdf

The Main Library is opened Monday-Thursday from 9-6 and every Tuesday from 9-8pm, Saturday and Fridays from 9-5. All Regional branches throughout the City open from 9-6 and all are opened until 8pm on alternating nights and alternate Saturdays (9-5) for those that work late. We\'ve had book drops but due to vandals that drop cigarettes and garbage in them, it created a health and fire hazard so we removed them. In addition to the branches there is a Bookmobile that travels the City and offers services to senior/children day care centers, business community, schools without media centers and parks throughout the City.

The Library has the oldest elevator in the building over 100 years old, and thus a maintenance person is needed to operate it in additon to performing other duties. Plans have been made to get a new elevator in addition to upgrading other branches, updating the Main, but money is scarce and we\'ve had to hold off on that too.

Right now our focus is on keeping the whole Library system opened, not close any branches, layoff staff, and keep providing materials and services to the public.

We thank you for your continued support and hope that you take time to visit the Library and see what it has to offer.

I checked the hours here
http://www.jclibrary.org/libinfo/hours.php
and it looks like every branch has one night a week open til 8pm EXCEPT PAVONIA (my branch.)

Yeah, I think that I heard that the return boxes are problematic, fires, vandalism and other mischief.

Quote:

I've complained about the lack of book return drop boxes and was told that the boxes were being vandalized and people were throwing garbage in them.

I'm against cutting the library's budget, but there is a caveat:

The libraries should offer more utility for its citizens in exchange for $$$.

I know this is a novel idea, but I got the idea from the business sector where people offer goods and services in exchange for money.

There are many initiatives that could be considered, but for starters let's consider:

Sunday hours.

One day during the week where the library is open until 8 p.m.

Book return drop boxes.

I work 5 days a week and I literally can never make use of the library (except for the library's commendable downloadable audiobooks).

I can't be alone, can I?

I just picked up a flyer that said that the Jersey City Public Library is facing $800,000 in budget cuts.

This would mean:
- closing branches
-laying off staff
-termination of the Bookmobile program
-no computer access for teens, seniors, and the unemployed
-no new books

The flyer asked interested supporters to call the City Clerk at 201-547-5150 to go on the speakers list for the next City Council Meeting, April 13, 2011, at 6pm at 280 Grove Street.

Suggested talking points:
Why do you oppose Jersey City Public Library budget cuts?
Why is the Jersey Public Library important to you?

Oh by the way, next week is NATIONAL LIBRARY WEEK.
Way to go Jersey City.

Money woes force closure of NJ city's main library

The Huffington Post
February 10, 2011 04:35 PM EST

CAMDEN, N.J. ? The latest blow to the downtrodden city of Camden, N.J., is the closure of its downtown branch of the public library.

The main branch of the Camden Free Public Library is closing its doors Thursday. It's a victim of the same budget crisis that resulted in layoffs last month of nearly 400 city government employees, including almost half the police department and one-third of the firefighters.

Last summer, it looked as if all three of the city's branches might close. That was averted when the county library system agreed to take over one of the branches.

Camden is a city of 80,000 residents across the Delaware River from Philadelphia. It consistently ranks as one of the nation's most-impoverished cities. Most of its families don't own computers.

This is normal. Don't be alarmed, we have to shut down, the museum, library, sidewalks, air, street signals, 911, internet, walking, talking and chewing gum. Half of the police force will eventually be fired, so we can pay 200k per year to the more senior members of the union.

And one more thing on the value of libraries and our own Jersey City Public Library!:

The Jersey City Public Library will be featured on the TV show ?Who Do You Think You Are? The staff in the library?s the NJ Room had been researching genealogical information for an unknown patron. They were surprised when Rosie O?Donnell walked in to see what they had discovered about her family. The episode will be shown on Friday, Feb. 18 on NBC.

I go to the library at least twice a month to check out 3 to 4 books at a time. There is nowhere else where you can read books for free! I like the interlibrary loan feature within and outside JC. I would hope that the closing of the libraries would mean some more copies of books at Main and the other branches that are not closed, but I am not sure if that will happen or not. Personally, I am fine with closing libraries, as long as we still have more than 1 library in the city and it makes budgetary sense.

My big pet peeve at Main is the fact that there are no ramps and I have to lug a stroller over the steps. Luckily my kids are getting older so if I am driving to the library, I don't need to bring one. I have noticed that there are some security guards who will now offer to help moms with their stroller, but I still have to wonder about the fact that handicapped people still are not able to go to the Main library. Are the other libraries that will remain open wheelchair accessible? Can't they just install a ramp? I thought they were supposed to do make it handicapped accessible by the end of this year or next?

The elevator is really small but the two men that I've seen who run it are really kind. I'm not sure if that's their only job or if they do other maintenance work inside the library. It would be a shame if they replaced the elevator if they lost their jobs.

frustrating ....

there is no plan, no accountability. governing and budgeting by the seat of the pants does not work.

what is the library's strategic plan, what is our city's strategic plan?

what are the libraries priorities? the closings should be the last thing to consider.

[quote]
murican wrote:
SPEAK OUT
Send an email or call and demand that libraries be kept open! Please note that Fulop, Richardson and Donnelly spoke up at the Council Meeting on behalf of restoring funding to the library,

Council President Peter Brennan
City Hall, 280 Grove Street
Room 202
Jersey City, NJ 07302
Tel: (201) 547-5319Fax: (201) 547-4678
email: BrennanP@jcnj.org



Ward D (The Heights) Councilman William Gaughan
City Hall, 280 Grove Street
Room 202
Jersey City, NJ 07302
Tel: (201) 547-5485Fax: (201) 547-4678
email: bgaughan@hcnj.us
[quote]

I was at tonight's council meeting, while one of the speakers was mentioning the importance of keeping the libraries open and how they are a safe haven and keep the less fortunate children who want to learn and have the availability of a computer, something we can easily take for granted with having a computer at home, both Brennan and Gaughan were not paying attention to what she was saying and having their own conversation and laughing, yucking it up. Brennan and Gaughan showed they could care less if the libraries stay open.
We need to get rid of those two arrogant, self-serving councilman, they do nothing for the residents and present no solutions to the issues we are having here in JC.

wow the digital download center is pretty neat! thanks for the link