The following appeared in the August 1, 2002 edition of the Toledo Blade…
\”Thank you for explaining the funding cut from the state of Ohio and the consequences of that severe reduction. As you noted, public libraries in Ohio have undergone a series of change as part of the state budgetary process for more than two years now. Virtually all of those changes have resulted in less funding.\”
The following appeared in the August 1, 2002 edition of the Toledo Blade…
\”Thank you for explaining the funding cut from the state of Ohio and the consequences of that severe reduction. As you noted, public libraries in Ohio have undergone a series of change as part of the state budgetary process for more than two years now. Virtually all of those changes have resulted in less funding.\”
During that time, our library system has made every effort to decrease expenses in ways that would not affect our community. The goal has always been to provide the excellent service that our people expect. Unfortunately, this most recent slash of $1.4 million has cut too deeply for us to do that anymore.
None of us at the library wants to cut hours of service or to provide less material that our patrons want or to have fewer staff members to provide assistance. However, it is now unavoidable. We have been forced to cancel all Sunday hours of service at least through 2002, cut our materials budget an additional $300,000 beyond the $250,000 earlier this year, and freeze all positions except for the most critical.
I am sorry this is necessary. It is especially disappointing to me right now, because I know public libraries are more important than ever in difficult economic times. All of us at your library, at Main Library and at every branch, will do our best to serve you. And meantime, let us all hope for good news from our legislators very soon, so that library funding can return to the level that was allocated in 1990-1991.\”
CLYDE S. SCOLES
Director Toledo-Lucas County Public Library
View the original letter to the editor Here.
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