Morsels: Library Funding

Rep. Thomas Stanley has a compelling defense of library funding over at the Boston Globe.
Stanley: Protecting libraries from budget cuts

According to Stanley, he and 109 colleagues have signed a letter supporting an override of Governor Patrick's Deval's veto of state aid to regional public libraries, which reduces the amount of funding by 2.25 million.

Unfortunately, many agencies, groups and services in Massachusetts are facing funding cuts. Libraries aren't the only deserving group facing painful choices about budget cuts and service reductions. However, I have a sweet spot for the library and think many people don't realize the breadth of services and and programs libraries run. They do so much more than just check books out.

"Public libraries are important to our communities, especially in these tough fiscal times" Stanley notes.

Library services can include classes, English as a second language and even job training. Job hunters can search online for job postings and print out their resumes.

For more on libraries in tough times, I blogged about this topic months ago - Libraries in tough economic times.

I've tallied how much money the library has saved me this year (based on prices listed on Amazon):
Books I've read:
Elsie's Business - $17.95
Revenge of the Spellmans - $16.50
Curse of the Spellmans - $10.98
Hunting and Gathering - $16.00
The Help - $24.95

Books I'm reading:
The Man Who Ate the World: In Search of the Perfect Dinner - $15.00
Middlesex - $7.95

Total: $108.88

This list doesn't even include a few books that I just could not get through. Many of these books were also shipped to my library as part of library exchange program.

According to Stanley, more than 28,000 Waltham residents have library cards.

Do you?