There was an interesting story in The New York Times this past week on the challenges libraries and librarians face during a recession. The bulk of the story talked about how library staffers face increased stress associated with higher usage from resume-writers, kids and homeless folks.
kingston library
Library Funding
The Kingston Library website has a large “call to action” asking visiting to sign a petition to keep funding for public libraries. See the petition here.
According the the petition, funding to libraries is threatened by the state’s executive budget. In support of libraries, the petition cites recent trends that show usage for public libraries are up, and that in many communities, a large majority of users have Internet access solely through their libraries.
On that last point, the work of Ev Mann and Mark Greene (with his KingstonDigitalCorridor.org initiative) seek to bridge the digital divide via programs, workshops and internships. And libraries certainly have a role in doing the same.
— Arthur Zaczkiewicz