Excerpt: The three library systems in New York City, Queens Library, Brooklyn Public Library, and New York Public Library serve 8 million residents from a combined 212 locations. Mayor Bloomberg's Executive Budget for FY'13 calls for a reduction in funding of $26.7 million for Queens Library, $26.9 million for Brooklyn Public Library, and $42.8 million for New York Public Library. This $96.4 million in cuts is almost 32% of the total library budget. These cuts would result in the closure of 46 libraries across the city. Library hours would be drastically reduced in those left, to two or three days a week in Queens, and by about 50% across the board in Brooklyn.
Google has not killed the library and ebooks won't do it either. The biggest threat to the public library in American culture is limited hours. In the new budget reality if libraries are forced to dramatically decrease their hours then they will be drastically reduced in their ability to serve their public.
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