American LibrariesSearch American Libraries  |
||
Site NavigationLeft Sidebar Items |
||
Shortfalls Prompt Shutdowns in Seattle, Minneapolis, OaklandLibrarians and other staffers picketed outside Seattle Public Library’s Capital Hill branch August 25 to protest the system’s weeklong shutdown. The closure, approved by trustees in January along with another in December, is expected to save $850,000, mostly in labor costs.The August 25–September 2 closure, the third in two years, is intended to reduce a $4.4-million gap in the library’s 2003 budget, the Seattle Times reported August 26. Officials said the closures will help save 23 staff jobs. “I think it’s better than the alternative, which is laying people off,” Queen Anne Branch Librarian Christiane Woten told the newspaper, “But this is the third time it’s happened, and it’s beginning to be felt by employees, and by the public.” Little improvement is foreseen in the city’s revenues: In addition to a $15-million shortfall in sales-tax revenue forecast in April, an additional $24-million gap is projected for 2003 and 2004. “We have experienced cutbacks, and we’re likely to experience some more,” library board Vice President Greg Maffei said in the August 23 Times. “We hope we’ll be able to sustain the next round of budget cuts with less damage.” Other systemwide shutdowns have been announced across the nation: To help address a $1.5-million shortfall, Minneapolis Public Library announced it would be closed from August 25 through September 1. In July, trustees voted to cut hours and eliminate staff rather than close branches. The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported that further reductions are likely, since the system anticipates a $4.6-million shortfall in 2004. All Oakland (Calif.) Public Library branches, as well as all other city offices, will be closed from August 29 through September 2, as well as at least one day a month through next June. The move is part of a budget plan issued by Mayor Jerry Brown last June to close the city’s $46.5-million budget gap. Posted September 1, 2003. |
Right Sidebar
|
|
