Do you really want your local library to close?
You may have heard about voting “yes” on Measure B, but you know about Plan C?
Plan C isn’t something voters will be voting on ”” it is a plan that Chief Librarian Lauren Prysiazny will put into place if Measure B is not passed by a 2/3 vote on the Nov. 6 election.
Measure B, a Fresno County ballot initiative, if passed by voters, will continue to provide just over 50 percent of the Fresno County Public Library system’s budget.
In the previous fiscal year, this tax provided the county library with $13 million, providing 54 percent of the $24 million dollar budget.
As of March 2013, the initiative expires and it is up to Fresno County voters to decide if it will continue.
The tax is a 1/8 of every cent of sales tax. That is $0.08 on a $100 purchase.
The tax that is collected for Measure B will stay in Fresno County and will only be spent on the Fresno County Public Library system.
Should Measure B fail to pass, Prysiazny will be forced to apply Plan C.
The exact details of which branches would close are unknown. However, of the 34 libraries in the Fresno County Public Library system it is speculated that 17 of the branches will close their doors to library patrons.
It is foreseen that the branches in smaller towns like Parlier and Kerman would be closed and newer branches such as the Woodward park branch will remain open.
In addition to the closing of the branches, 51 percent of the library staff would be laid off.
Of the branches that do remain open, their hours of operation will also be reduced.
Special programs for the blind, children and job-seekers will be also affected.
The book mobile that delivers materials to library patrons at elder care facilities, day-care facilities and rural areas will also be cut.
The affect that this measure not passing would have on our community will be vast.
Especially for those who don’t have a voice in this election. Many of Fresno County’s ineligible voters are active library patrons.
Patrons under the age of 18 make up a good portion of the patrons that can be found inside the library on any given afternoon.
These children depend on the library for resources they may not otherwise have access to, such as internet access, digital media, academic database subscriptions and a safe environment to access knowledge.
Some patrons even seek refuge from troubled home circumstances at the library, knowing they have a safe, quiet, free environment to go and access knowledge and entertainment.
In Fresno’s brutal 100+ summers, patrons without air conditioning also seek the library as a place to cool off and make use of the free materials to which they have access.
Even if you never use the library, please think of those who do use the services and need you to speak out on their behalf.
Can you think of another government service that anyone can use, and not be denied access based on gender, age or income?
That is free and that provides enrichment and entertainment and encourages growth of knowledge?
What some residents may not realize is the actual extent of the library experience.
If you are under the impression that books and computer access is all the library has to offer, you are mistaken! Fresno County patrons can check out books, CDs, DVDs, audio books and eBooks.
Do you have a Kindle, iPad, computer or smart phone? With a free Amazon Kindle reading application you can check out free digital copies of books for up to three weeks.
The digital copies are available in other eBook formats as well.
The titles expire and are automatically returned to the library digitally, so this means no late fees for patrons who forget to return materials on time.
The library has something Fresno County residents of any age can enjoy.
Please join me in supporting the Fresno County Public Library system and vote yes for Measure B so that these resources will remain available to all.