About a month ago, the library director informed me about the upcoming library referendum and requested that I break the story on this blog.
The Daily Times beat everyone to the punch by sending a reporter to the library for a story. Along with that story was an accompanying video that I viewed before reading the article.
I thought the video did not convey the message the library wanted to get across and I wrote my comments here.
Later that week, the director confirmed that the Daily Times returned to the library to take photos the day after the interview, but, they also did a video featuring the assistant director, which wasn’t all bad, but not exactly presented in the fashion the library's top brass preferred.
I offered the director the opportunity to present a video on this blog and she accepted.
Once she received board approval, we scheduled a time to put the video together.
As luck would have it, the day I got the video ready to put on the blog, Blogger and YouTube were both down. Of course it would be Friday the 13th.
Later that day, I got the video up.
Today, I learned that when Blogger went down, they restored blog post, but not comments they deleted since Wednesday. There was a comment that questioned the library budget, fundraising efforts, and need to tax the poor that was deleted by Blogger.
However, I did present those questions and comments to the president of the board and the director to see if there was something I should be aware of regarding their efforts.
They did share that they employed a grant writer about 2 years ago whose only job is to seek funding which I wasn’t aware of. Otherwise, they’ve been very public about their fundraising activities, donation link on their website, and challenges in receiving grants in this tight economy.
The libraries biggest need is funds for operating expenses, and grants generally are not awarded in that area. Sure, it would be nice if some Crozer Library angel would write a check for a quarter billion, but that’s not likely.
The taxing of the poor comment is not a fair statement. This referendum will only tax property owners. The poorest people in Chester do not own property.
One could argue that it’s not fair that everyone gets to vote on this questions since the majority of people living in Chester will not be taxed. As a home owner, why should I be happy that someone who rents or lives in public housing can decide if I pay more taxes?
Unbeknownst to many, the City of Chester significantly increased their contribution to the library in the last budget season to make up for the funding the state took away. The real question should be, will the City continue contributing at the same clip, or will they fall back once the referendum is approved?
The other big secret is how much 'in-kind' donations the library receives from some local organizations that prefer to not be recognized. For example, that entire new set up of desks, electric, lighting, and furniture that the new computers are sitting on was donated material and labor which would have costs thousands of dollars if contractors were hired to do that work.
And finally, as far as seeing what’s in the library budget, it’s as simple as asking. It’s a public library and their budget, just like the City’s and the School Board's bugets, are available for all to see for the asking.
"Today, I learned that when Blogger went down, they restored blog post, but not comments they deleted since Wednesday. There was a comment that questioned the library budget, fundraising efforts, and need to tax the poor that was deleted by Blogger. "
ReplyDeleteWell, if that is what happened, then I apologize for being suspicious and posting my comment about creating my own blog. This clandestine talk of fundraising is just very unnerving, you see.
Libraries are grand institutions. It is disheartening to see ours struggling.
Anyway, I still want to know specifically what fundraising efforts have been done. And since the library's board was mentioned in this article, I'd like to point out that board members are typically responsible for fundraising efforts.....two years is a mighty long time to see no results especially when the federal government was handing out funding for such efforts like candy last year.
I will request a copy of the budget, and you can bet your bottom dollar that if this tax law passes and MY money is used for sustaining the library, I'm going to push for full disclosure of all funding efforts. I'm going to be up that boards back to find out what exactly they have been doing with our money.