The Mayor has released the 2009 budget! In his comments, he states:
"The Manager's recommendation to shutter the Main Library will allow us to enhance services at all 11 neighborhood branches to 7 days a week and expand hours of operations to levels greater than before the 2004 service cut. The computer and homework center services of Main will be temporarily re-located in Downtown to meet the most pressing needs of the community. In sum, this measure saves $1.86 million annually by not sinking overhead operations costs into an outdated and broken facility- and removes a $10 million anticipated burden from the general fund to replace a leaking roof and damaged plumbing systems."
Read the full recommendations and budget HERE.
We've heard that the City Manager, Pat West, has invited the leaders of some of the library support organizations who oppose the closure of Main to a meeting on Monday. He referred to this meeting in a recent Grunion Gazette article.
According to these organizations, they have agreed to meet with him to attempt to clarify major concerns and issues that have arisen. They have not provided input to a "satellite library" as Pat West suggests in the article.
We are still receiving emails of support, and it is clear that we all feel that the proposal to close Main Library has not been fully thought out. The NEEDS of the community are being ignored. We do not feel that a "temporary facility" will be sufficient in replacing the vital services provided by Main Library.
City Hall has created more questions than answers, and we must make our concerns heard!!
Please keep writing ALL of the City Council members to ask them about their proposal and urge them to find a better alternative!!
Keep collecting signatures, today we passed the 1,000 mark!!!!
Please plan to attend the budget meeting at 3:30PM at City Hall on Tuesday. Come early!
Thank you for your support!!
Friday, August 1, 2008
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Ghost Town?!
There has been a lively debate going on among people leaving comments online in response to the Press Telegram and District articles about the proposal to close main library.
Some people have expressed that Main library is a "ghost town." We have to wonder if they've visited recently. The conference rooms were full all week with seminars and community groups, the "Jelly Bean Book Club" has a lively following and over 800 kids are already signed up for the "Catch the Reading Bug" summer reading program. Chairs are full of readers on a daily basis, the computers are always taken and the disability center is heavily used.
Last Saturday, volunteers came down to collect signatures before Main Library opened the doors for the day. Below is a picture of the line that had formed waiting for the doors to open.
A steady stream of men, women, children and senior citizens, several people in wheelchairs, made up of all different cultural ethnicities, from all parts of the city, went into Main Library.
In just four short days, our support groups and networks have collected 767 signatures!!! Fantastic work!
These are people signing that they do not want to see the Main Library close its doors to the public to balance the budget- not even temporarily. Keep turning in your signatures, we would LOVE to get 5,000 signatures- just 1% of the 500,000 visitations to Main Library each year!
Hardly a "ghost town."
Some people have expressed that Main library is a "ghost town." We have to wonder if they've visited recently. The conference rooms were full all week with seminars and community groups, the "Jelly Bean Book Club" has a lively following and over 800 kids are already signed up for the "Catch the Reading Bug" summer reading program. Chairs are full of readers on a daily basis, the computers are always taken and the disability center is heavily used.
Last Saturday, volunteers came down to collect signatures before Main Library opened the doors for the day. Below is a picture of the line that had formed waiting for the doors to open.
A steady stream of men, women, children and senior citizens, several people in wheelchairs, made up of all different cultural ethnicities, from all parts of the city, went into Main Library.
In just four short days, our support groups and networks have collected 767 signatures!!! Fantastic work!
These are people signing that they do not want to see the Main Library close its doors to the public to balance the budget- not even temporarily. Keep turning in your signatures, we would LOVE to get 5,000 signatures- just 1% of the 500,000 visitations to Main Library each year!
Hardly a "ghost town."
Monday, July 28, 2008
The Voice of the People
As the news has had time to settle, the support has begun to pour in.
We received the following letter from a Long Beach young woman which moved many of us to tears!
For those that would like to send us additional comments and support, please see the instructions below Christee's letter. We've also updated the HELP page to include upcoming meetings on the budget that allow public comment. We really need everyone to show up to these meetings to provide feedback on the budget to the Mayor, City Manager and City Council.
"I need your help. I am twenty four years old. I grew up downtown, and the Main Library saved me from becoming a typical inner city kid. We lived on 7th and Linden- I remember a drive by right outside my apartment. It was not an easy area to grow up in. The Main Library allowed me access to an escape- reading. I would check out literally 15-17 books at a time. I spent much of my summers and weekends there, learning about our city's history on microfilm archives. I spent hours reading in the padded bathtub and cushions in the children's section. As I got older I researched magic tricks and ventriloquism, ghost sightings and marine biology. I spent my time learning about the world instead of getting caught up in it.
Sure I had a library at my school, but we were only allowed two books a week- hardly enough to keep me occupied. I read the entire Nancy Drew series in 4th grade. I literally must have read 2/3 of the books in the children's and junior's sections by the time I was 14. By the age of 12 I was already reading several adult research and fiction books along with my more comfortable high school level books. As my mother was on welfare she could afford to buy one or two books from the book order a month for me, but that was about it. Without the Main Library I would not be who I am today, and don't even like to imagine what I would have become. I was a very smart kid, and smart kids without an outlet tend to get into trouble. The library kept me off the streets and in a safe environment. It allowed me to reach beyond my upbringing. I now attend college and plan on applying to UC Santa Cruz's Philosophy department, and have the goal of a PhD in mind.
This library is so imperative to kids like me. I know you are concerned about this. I would like to share my story with the council, with the mayor if necessary, but I'm not sure how to go about it. That is why I need your help. I'm prepared to publicly protest if necessary. This library cannot close. It is discrimination against inner city kids. They need help to get out of that environment, not be stuck in it. I now live all the way by Long Beach City College, and there are many libraries close by. I know the difference in resources between these small neighborhood libraries and the Main Library. The proposal to build another library downtown like these libraries is a shame- it couldn't compare. To save money for the city now to spend it on a new library makes no sense when so much would be lost. This library needs to be saved, and I'll do anything I can to help with that cause. Please let me know what I can do."
Most Sincerely,
Christee Kee
Lifelong Long Beach Resident
To post a comment:
Below each post, on the right, there are three buttons. The first one looks like a green dialogue balloon. If you click on this, it will show you all the comments so far. To the right of that, it says how many comments there are currently, which is underlined. If you click on this underlined count, a separate window will pop up and ask for your comment. You can type your comment in the box provided.
After you type your comment, it will ask you to copy over a security word. Just type it in as you see it, this is to protect against spam and computer generated comments. Last, it asks you for your identity. If you don't have a google account, the easiest choice is to select "anonymous" (just make sure you include your name in your comment if you would like to). If you leave a phone number or email, we will take it out before posting your comment.
The last button, which looks like an envelope allows you to email a copy of a post to a friend. It opens a window and asks for your information, their information, and a short message.
You also can email comments directly to savelbpl@yahoo.com
We look forward to hearing from you!
We received the following letter from a Long Beach young woman which moved many of us to tears!
For those that would like to send us additional comments and support, please see the instructions below Christee's letter. We've also updated the HELP page to include upcoming meetings on the budget that allow public comment. We really need everyone to show up to these meetings to provide feedback on the budget to the Mayor, City Manager and City Council.
"I need your help. I am twenty four years old. I grew up downtown, and the Main Library saved me from becoming a typical inner city kid. We lived on 7th and Linden- I remember a drive by right outside my apartment. It was not an easy area to grow up in. The Main Library allowed me access to an escape- reading. I would check out literally 15-17 books at a time. I spent much of my summers and weekends there, learning about our city's history on microfilm archives. I spent hours reading in the padded bathtub and cushions in the children's section. As I got older I researched magic tricks and ventriloquism, ghost sightings and marine biology. I spent my time learning about the world instead of getting caught up in it.
Sure I had a library at my school, but we were only allowed two books a week- hardly enough to keep me occupied. I read the entire Nancy Drew series in 4th grade. I literally must have read 2/3 of the books in the children's and junior's sections by the time I was 14. By the age of 12 I was already reading several adult research and fiction books along with my more comfortable high school level books. As my mother was on welfare she could afford to buy one or two books from the book order a month for me, but that was about it. Without the Main Library I would not be who I am today, and don't even like to imagine what I would have become. I was a very smart kid, and smart kids without an outlet tend to get into trouble. The library kept me off the streets and in a safe environment. It allowed me to reach beyond my upbringing. I now attend college and plan on applying to UC Santa Cruz's Philosophy department, and have the goal of a PhD in mind.
This library is so imperative to kids like me. I know you are concerned about this. I would like to share my story with the council, with the mayor if necessary, but I'm not sure how to go about it. That is why I need your help. I'm prepared to publicly protest if necessary. This library cannot close. It is discrimination against inner city kids. They need help to get out of that environment, not be stuck in it. I now live all the way by Long Beach City College, and there are many libraries close by. I know the difference in resources between these small neighborhood libraries and the Main Library. The proposal to build another library downtown like these libraries is a shame- it couldn't compare. To save money for the city now to spend it on a new library makes no sense when so much would be lost. This library needs to be saved, and I'll do anything I can to help with that cause. Please let me know what I can do."
Most Sincerely,
Christee Kee
Lifelong Long Beach Resident
To post a comment:
Below each post, on the right, there are three buttons. The first one looks like a green dialogue balloon. If you click on this, it will show you all the comments so far. To the right of that, it says how many comments there are currently, which is underlined. If you click on this underlined count, a separate window will pop up and ask for your comment. You can type your comment in the box provided.
After you type your comment, it will ask you to copy over a security word. Just type it in as you see it, this is to protect against spam and computer generated comments. Last, it asks you for your identity. If you don't have a google account, the easiest choice is to select "anonymous" (just make sure you include your name in your comment if you would like to). If you leave a phone number or email, we will take it out before posting your comment.
The last button, which looks like an envelope allows you to email a copy of a post to a friend. It opens a window and asks for your information, their information, and a short message.
You also can email comments directly to savelbpl@yahoo.com
We look forward to hearing from you!
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