Last month Mayor Nickels announced his proposed 2010 capital budget plan for the City of Seattle. This budget would drop Seattle Public Libraries funding by 37 percent from the 2009 budget (from $1,646,000 to $1,031,000).
And like the week-long furlough the Libraries took in August to save money, the new budget will cut SPL resources, and hours, for branches all across the city. Jennifer Johnson-Fong, a Queen Anne resident and vice president of Friends of The Seattle Public Library, petitioned outside the Queen Anne branch today in an attempt to sway City Council from reducing the SPL budget even further. She wrote,
Queen Anne and 20 other branches are scheduled to be closed Friday and Sunday (the Sunday closure is new to many of the 20 branches) plus operate at reduced hours – all year. The Queen Anne Library would be open just 35 hours a week if the proposed budget remains unchanged by Seattle City Council. The new Queen Anne hours of operation could be this:Monday, Tuesday:
1 p.m. to 8 p.m.Wednesday, Thursday:
11 a.m. to 6 p.m.CLOSED FRIDAY
Saturday:
11 a.m. to 6 p.m.CLOSED SUNDAY
The proposed budget will impact all of our communities and neighbors who are relying on our libraries for computer access, job search resources, educational support, gathering spaces, programs and librarian assistance. In 2008, more than 13 million customers visited the Library and so far this year, visits are up another 8 percent. Circulation of books and other items was up 20 percent in 2008; this year it is up an additional 11 percent. According to The Seattle Public Library, “Early estimates show the reduced hours may result in the loss of approximately 27 positions, or the equivalent of 18.8 regular full-time employees. In recent months, the Library has temporarily filled open regular positions to try to mitigate the impact and avoid layoffs. Expected earnings of each Library employee will be cut approximately 1.9 percent due to the one-week closure.” http://www.spl.org/default.asp?pageID=about_history_2010reductions
I’ll be handing out a flier that details how the community can help to keep neighborhood branch hours. Sending emails to council members is the easiest and has a big impact. The flier also lists the 21 branches slated for drastic reductions and the list of 5 other branches whose hours will increase in an attempt to compensate the 21 other neighborhoods affected.The Friends also has a petition on our Facebook Cause Page.
- Wednesday, October 14, 5:30 p.m., Northwest African-American Museum (2300 S. Massachusetts St.)
- Monday, October 26, 5:30 p.m., City Council Chambers (600 4th Avenue)
For more information, see Friends of SPL’s blog.
What do you think about the proposed new SPL budget? Comment or email us at tips@queenanneview.com.
5 responses so far ↓
1 jennifer_johnson_fong // Oct 9, 2009 at 8:15 pm
Thanks Queen Anne View for getting the word out. Petitioning is a great opportunity to connect with folks in the neighborhood using the Queen Anne Branch for all types of reasons. I talked to two people who are unemployed and do not have computers at home. I asked one patron if there were free computers anywhere else for him to use and he said the libraries are it for him. The other patron told me how devestating having the 21 neighborhood branches closed would be on job searchers. She said that the majority of businesses post their job openings on Fridays.
Please email City Council Members. Details in next comment.
2 jennifer_johnson_fong // Oct 9, 2009 at 8:22 pm
Please consider emailing your council members with a simple message.
Suggested Email message:
Subject line: Save Library Hours
Suggested text: My name is…. I use the…..library. Please restore branch library hours.
Councilmember Emails:
Councilmember Jean Godden jean.godden@seattle.gov
Councilmember Sally Clark sally.clark@seattle.gov
Councilmember Tom Rasmussen tom.rasmussen@seattle.gov
Councilmember Richard Conlin richard.conlin@seattle.gov
Councilmember Tim Burgess tim.burgess@seattle.gov
Councilmember Jan Drago jan.drago@seattle.gov
Councilmember Richard McIver richard.mciver@seattle.gov
Councilmember Nick Licata nick.licata@seattle.gov
Councilmember Bruce Harrell bruce.harrell@seattle.gov
3 jennifer_johnson_fong // Oct 10, 2009 at 3:15 am
Thanks Queen Anne View for getting the word out. Petitioning is a great opportunity to connect with folks in the neighborhood using the Queen Anne Branch for all types of reasons. I talked to two people who are unemployed and do not have computers at home. I asked one patron if there were free computers anywhere else for him to use and he said the libraries are it for him. The other patron told me how devestating having the 21 neighborhood branches closed would be on job searchers. She said that the majority of businesses post their job openings on Fridays.
Please email City Council Members. Details in next comment.
4 jennifer_johnson_fong // Oct 10, 2009 at 3:22 am
Please consider emailing your council members with a simple message.
Suggested Email message:
Subject line: Save Library Hours
Suggested text: My name is…. I use the…..library. Please restore branch library hours.
Councilmember Emails:
Councilmember Jean Godden jean.godden@seattle.gov
Councilmember Sally Clark sally.clark@seattle.gov
Councilmember Tom Rasmussen tom.rasmussen@seattle.gov
Councilmember Richard Conlin richard.conlin@seattle.gov
Councilmember Tim Burgess tim.burgess@seattle.gov
Councilmember Jan Drago jan.drago@seattle.gov
Councilmember Richard McIver richard.mciver@seattle.gov
Councilmember Nick Licata nick.licata@seattle.gov
Councilmember Bruce Harrell bruce.harrell@seattle.gov
5 GwenHuff29 // Aug 1, 2010 at 12:22 am
Every body acknowledges that our life seems to be not very cheap, but different people need cash for various things and not every person earns enough money. Therefore to receive quick credit loans and term loan should be good way out.