Budget Roundup: Seattle Library To Close for a Week To Save Money
Norman Oder -- Library Journal, 04/17/2009
- Seattle closed library in 2003 and 2004
- Job cuts in Boston
- PA State Library loses hours
The Seattle Public Library will close for the last week of August in an effort to save money; previous one-week closures were instituted in 2003 and 2004.
Beyond that unpaid furlough, the library will see a cut of $1 million, which represents two-thirds of its budget for maintenance and small capital projects, according to the Seattle Times. The Seattle Courant noted that libraries are among those suffering the most from the loss of real estate tax revenue.
In Boston, job cuts
The Boston Globe reported that budget cuts will mean 26 layoffs at the Boston Public Library, including 17 assistants, five managers, and four librarians.
However, the mayor’s office stressed that library hours would be maintained.
PA State Library would go part-time
A proposed 50 percent budget cut for the State Library of Pennsylvania would mean service hours reduced by more than half, from 48.5 hours over six days to 21 hours over three days, according to the Patriot-News.
The $2.4 million cut would also mean that staff would be pared down from 51 FTE to 21—not quite the loss of 50 (of 57) positions as predicted in an earlier document. Some employees might be transferred to other jobs in the Education Department.
In Troy, MI, new nonresident Internet fee
The Troy Public Library, MI, plans to start charging nonresidents $5 a day to access the Internet, according to the Detroit Free Press.
A monthly pass will cost $25, while a full-year pass would go for $200. Nonresidents who live in communities that are part of the Suburban Library Cooperative would not be charged. One other library in the cooperative charges nonresidents $2 for 90 days of Internet access.
