The news that the city is considering laying off library staff raises eyebrows on a number of fronts.
Given the way the numbers appeared in early November, when property tax revenues had not yet materialized, it’s understandable that city officials were concerned. But now, with much of the expected tax revenue rolling in, pulling the plug on trained library staff and cutting hours would appear to be a really bad move.
For a lot of reasons.
While it’s clear that the COVID shutdowns implemented by the state are beginning to impact our community in a lot of negative ways, not the least of which is budget shortfalls for the city, officials need to take a measured approach here.
For one thing, making drastic cuts to library services immediately after local voters approved a levy supporting that institution, out of their own pocketbooks, could be perceived as a slap in the face to the many voters who supported it. How would residents react if city officials cut the police force immediately following passage of that levy in this political climate?
Looking at it from a purely dispassionate perspective, the community library could certainly appear a soft target when cost-cutting becomes necessary. The library does not directly provide the most basic services modern citizens expect from local government – public safety (police, fire, code enforcement), infrastructure (water, sewer, roads), public education, etc. But it facilitates many of those activities in indirect ways, particularly for citizens who are disadvantaged.
The library provides access to the internet, where visitors can find plenty of guidance in areas noted above. It provides means for conducting job searches, for self-education, and access to community resource that are not necessarily available at home to every resident.
The library contributes to the health of the community in providing learning and socialization opportunities for kids. That, with the shutdown of local brick-and-mortar-based instruction, fills a real need for those able to take advantage of it. Librarian Rose Peda certainly deserves credit for much of this, espcially for landing grant money to fund after-school programs during COVID.
And for parents who recognize the value of exposure to the written word, the library provides a deep resource of materials for their children to listen to or read.
Although COVID has curtailed many of its public activities, the library has in recent years also provided a wide range of cultural offerings that, frankly, more Sweet Home residents should avail themselves of – particularly musical and dramatic performances by established artists.
Frankly, we wonder if library hours should not be expanded, at least to where they were at before COVID hit. If the numbers have increased since it reopened, that would ostensibly justify giving residents more opportunities to use it – especially if the doors are open when they are off work.
We understand that the library’s budget reserves don’t meet the city’s five-year target, as our story in this issue reports, but we are in the middle of a pandemic that has impacted the community in many ways that are becoming increasingly evident as residents struggle with social isolation, disruption, boredom and worse. Why not give them more opportunity to do something constructive, like visit the library?
If the library lacks the necessary spare operating budget in five years, it is certainly possible that its staff can make their own cost-saving cuts – which should be more of a conversation than a dictate.
It’s not unreasonable, too, that if the recovery from COVID is slow, the city could certainly ask for a little more money from taxpayers with the next levy. The passage of the levy a month ago, with 73% of the vote, is a clear indication that a lot of people in Sweet Home are satisfied with how the library is operating right now.
This institution is important to many in Sweet Home.
We’re hoping for clear-eyed, calm discussion between public servants, our elected representatives, and library patrons who are so invested in the success of this vital institution, to get this worked out without making furloughs necessary.