Closing Public Libraries - A Death Knell of Democracy

The Salinas, CA public library will close at the end of 2005 unless donors soon contribute $3.2 million to replace funds taken by the state/federal government from city revenues.

In Salinas, a middle class community with a sizable poverty-level population of immigrants and farm workers, children use the library regularly for its after-school homework center, internet access and as a place to spread out their books and study. Closure of the three library branches will mean that children will lose these invaluable services.

Salinas is not alone. Over the past few years, our worsening economy and budget cuts by the Bush Administration have caused massive waves of cutbacks at libraries nationwide. Public libraries in 41 states have absorbed more than $50 million in funding cuts just in the past year.

Public libraries are vital homework, literacy and citizenship centers for their local communities, and they are often the only access to books, newspapers, magazines and the internet for the disabled, low-income families, children, elderly and immigrants.

The closure and severe limitation of public libraries is a travesty to a democratic society. And it's often a death of knell of democracy.

We are called to recommit ourselves to support public libraries, and to make public libraries a priority at the state and federal level. Read more.....