ALL FL State Aid Funding For Public Libraries To Be Eliminated

...how much do you really think you pay in tax dollars to the library? In most cases, it's little more than the cost of a single market value hardcover book. If you can't see the value in having access to thousands movies, cds, and databases, as well as language learning classes, storytimes, computer access, ESL teachers and book clubs for $40, then I'm not sure that you understand the value of money.

And this is more than "just some hit." You think that libraries haven't had their county budgets slashed? Services discontinued? Sweeping layoffs? You'd be wrong. Libraries are already struggling on the county level. Cutting all state funding is a futher slap in the face to those who value the literacy of their communities.

Libraries are trusted institutions because they offer free information to all. Not everyone is wealthy enough to have the internet at home. In hard times, the libraries services are needed more than ever by job seekers. When the economy dives, library usage and circulation INCREASES, not decreases. I'm so sick of priviledged jerks with their iPhones and Kindles complaining about how libraries are useless because they're too caught up in their own lives to realize how necessary these services are to people who aren't well off.

You sir, are an idot.

DVDS is not all the public libraries provide.People come to the public library when all else is depleated.Maybe you should take a walk through one an see for yourself before you go spouting off about not needing it.Lets take away a lil more of the education process of our children an grandchildren to come,yeah thats really healthy for our youth of America. I have so many points to list but really dont have the time or enegery for such ignorance.

State Aid to Libraries consists of two types of funding. Operating grants are based on population, and in many cases you are exactly right, they are simply a supplement.

But the other type of State Aid is called Equalization. These go to more rural counties with less infrastructure. Look at the numbers.

http://dlis.dos.state.fl.us/bld/grants/StateAid/Estimate2010-2011at$21253978.pdf

Large Counties like Miami-Dade or Hillsborough do not receives a penny in those funds. But Smaller counties like Baker, Calhoun, DeSoto, Dixie, etc. receive 10x-20x more funding through Equalization. Eliminate that and those counties, already struggling with property tax losses from the real estate crunch, just aren't going to be able to make up the difference. That is going to mean either closing the libraries or just having volunteers open them up for a couple of hours a week and dust off the aging collection.

And that isn't doesn't even address the whole e-government issue. The State has deliberately cut back on service locations and moved more and more things to the Internet. For people without access otherwise, the libraries are the only source of Internet Access they have. This isn't just about cutting a few dollars in spending in the state budget - it is creating a permanent Digital divide between residents of more affluent and less-financially able counties.

Last time I checked the economy was tanking because of tax cuts for the rich and deregulation of our finacial institutions. These are conservative values....sheesh, you are so in need of a library.

If I remember correctly, the Bush-Gore debate with what to do with a surplus was that Bush wanted to give tax cuts (with a large percentage going to the upper eschelon) and Gore wanting to put it into a lockbox for a rainy day. Not to mention the conservatives have spent billions on a war on terror, deregulated financial institutions that led to practices that caused the mortgage crash.

Both sides have their faults but you clearly are someone that prescribes to the Rush Limbaugh and Sarah Palin line of thinking. That what liberals do is wrong and what conservatives do is right even if they do the same thing.

Amazing.

I'm going to assume you're a stereotypical American. And because you're a stereotypical American, I will explain why the last three sentences of your post were the most ridiculous thing I've ever read; I will try to do this in a way that you might understand.

Number of movies where reading helps kids get off the street: 50+
Number of movies where being able to join a swim club helps kids get off the street: 1? Perhaps a sequel?

Also, the OP mentioned "swim clubs", which are not the same as "public pools" which is apparently what you're thinking. "Swim clubs" are essentially a country club that focuses solely on teaching children how to swim. I can't imagine swim clubs are doing much to curb unnecessary violence by keeping upper-middle class children off the streets. Whereas libraries, which are available to everyone regardless of income and ability to purchase memberships are most likely doing a great deal more.

tl;dr: Your argument sucks, but you could be a millionaire if you wrote a movie about a swim club getting under-privileged youths off the street.

You win. Seriously. If every jackass who says "The information is on the internet so libraries are obsolete" had to let at least 10 people who can't afford internet access use theirs as a condition for being connected to the internet we would all go back to funding libraries as the only source of information.

Do comic books count?
What is your job, anyway? Book editor?

huh, If I dont' know it and use it, I don't need it and that include that Constitution thing you keep talking about. To think they used paper to write that on, you know how expensive paper was back then? Seems like a waste to me.