Saturday, November 6, 2010

A 'Bibliopocalypse' @ the Buffalo and Erie County Public Library


Link to November 6 Buffalo News article, "Library supporters look to shelve cuts proposed in county budget".

Excerpt: But there was no shushing the crowd of about 100 librarians and library supporters who gathered at Lafayette Square on Saturday to protest the county's plans to cut $4 million from the Buffalo & Erie County Library.

"We're here to make some noise!" rallied Timothy Galvin, president of the union that represents county librarians.

County Executive Chris Collins' cuts to the library's budgets won't shut down any libraries, as the county did back in 2005. But they are expected to lead to 200 layoffs and drastically curtail hours at some branches, down to as little as 16 hours a week in some cases.

The proposal is not sitting well with the librarians' unions, nor with library supporters who argue that the community is still suffering from the 2005 closings and that use of branch libraries has increased as economic troubles have dragged on.

"It's a BIBLIOPOCALYPSE," read one handwritten sign two protesters held up
.

Related articles:
WBEN online poll offers 3 general options for public library future. (10/31/2010)
Reimagining the library.  (10/27/2010)
Budget cuts = reduced hours.  (10/21/2010)
Deep cuts (again) in the works.  (9/17/2010)
Editorial puts in 'a word about libraries'.  (8/30/2010)
Library could lose 25% of funding.  (8/19/2009)

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