In a November 18 statement, American Library Association President Carol Brey-Casiano called national attention to the situation in Salinas and Buffalo, New York, where a severely slashed budget may force the Buffalo and Erie County Public Library to close all its facilities. “Your ability to get information shouldn’t depend on your ability to pay for it,” she said. “Free access to the books, ideas, resources, and information in America’s libraries is imperative for education, employment, enjoyment, and self-government. While the ALA has tracked library funding cuts in more than 40 states, this is the first I’ve heard of residents losing all access to public library services.”
But the outlook for Salinas looks bleak. Even with private fundraising or seeking a special library tax, the most the subcommittee can hope for is to save one library. “The city does not have money,” Salinas Public Library Director Julia Orozco said in the November 19 Californian. “However, the community is realizing the seriousness of the city’s situation and trying to help find short-term solutions to keep our libraries open.”
City Councilwoman and subcommittee member Maria Guriato said in the November 17 Monterey County Herald that news of the library closings has cast an embarrassing shadow over the city: “It’s a very sad time when I have calls coming in from L.A., San Diego, and the Bay Area saying, ‘You guys are closing your libraries? You’re the talk of the state right now.’”
Posted November 19, 2004.