Governor Proposes New Cuts

At the end of last week, Governor Rendell announced revisions to his proposed budget for 2009-2010. It included bad news for libraries.

Originally, Governor Rendell proposed a 5% cut. Now, he proposes a 16% cut that includes cuts to other important library programs like the state's POWER library databases for students, interlibrary delivery, and more. Rendell still calls for chopping state library services 50%.

Proposals from the General Assembly aren't any better. The Senate calls for 50% cuts. If state funding is cut that much, Cumberland County will immediately lose about $750,000, plus many services provided by the state.

This comes at a time when public libraries are busier than ever across the state. While I understand that the state has difficult budget decisions to make, it's hard to understand why libraries are being cut when libraries are supporting the very people that need the most help: families on a tight budget, people looking for new jobs or education to improve their lives.

You can see many of our own customer's comments about how important the library is at: http://cumberlandcountylibraries.org/index.aspx?NID=855

Please consider contacting your legislators and the Governor about this. Let them know that library services are important to you.