This article was originally published in September, 2004 in The Daily Record (Rochester’s legal and business newspaper) in honor of Banned Books Week. It is still relevant today. Here is it again. It has not been updated. Funding for libraries is still being cut; people are still trying to ban books.
LIBRARY BRIEFS: Banned Books Week – Celebrate the Freedom to Read
By Ruth G. Balkin
The freedom to read.
In Western New York and especially in Rochester this has truly been free for many years. The library system is one of the most visible and accessible county services to residents.
Freedom to Read:
The local newspaper
The latest mystery novel
A child’s pop-up book
The Encyclopedia of Science and Technology
Freedom to Read:
The Manhattan phone book
New York State Statutes
Freedom to Read:
The Idiot’s Guide to Choosing a Dog
The Monroe County Budget
Encyclopedia of Associations
Literary Marketplace
Freedom to Read:
Banned in the U.S.A.: a Reference Guide to Book Censorship in Schools and Public Libraries
The Myth about Reference Librarians
American Library Association Guide to Information Access
Freedom to Learn:
A new career
To start a business
For an advanced degree
To pursue a hobby
To read
A new language
About the world
About the community
About a culture
To use a computer
To become an American citizen
Freedom to Be:
Successful
Productive
Healthy
Happy
Smart
Educated
Informed
Entertained
Whatever you choose
Whatever you want to be
Freedom to Not Be:
Housebound
Blind
Disabled
Useless
Unproductive
Illiterate
Ignorant
Freedom to Make:
Decisions
Choices
Friends
Connections
A contribution
Freedom to Lose?
A handy place to something up
Your research source for your business
Knowledge
Books on tape for long commutes
New books
Choices
County-wide library card
Access
Freedom to Lose?
Saturday and Sunday hours
Weekday hours
The bookmobile service
Programs
Evening hours
Telephone reference service
Locations: Winton, Rundel, Central, Sully, Monroe, East Irondequoit, Henrietta, Pittsford, Fairport, Brighton…
Locations: Buffalo Central, Central, East Delavan, Crane Branch, Dudley, Grand Island, Audubon, Collins, Brighton, Hamburg…
How many more freedoms will we lose? Let’s not lose this freedom vital to so many people.
$1.5 million is a lot. So is a population of over 735,000*. But two dollars a person is not a lot; neither is five dollars per family*. What can you do to restore funding?
.
Every year the American Library Association and other library associations sponsor Banned Books Week. This year it is from September 21 – 28.
*Number of households in Monroe County: 286,512; population figure from Census data, 2000.
Total population of Erie County: 950,000. Total number of households: 380,873; family households 243,359. Population figures are from 2002 Census data. Local governments in general are facing difficult financial challenges. Erie County’s library system has not had budget cuts for 2002. The 2003 budget is not finalized yet. The library has used early retirement and energy efficiency projects to help offset increased health insurance and retirement costs going into 2003.
Their estimated costs going into 2003 would have increased $1.8 million. Through these measures, they’ve reduced the total cost increase to just under $800,000.
(This information was obtained by a phone call to the Business Division of the Central Library and an on-site visit and talk with a reference librarian at the Brighton Memorial Library.)
(Information on Erie County came from Census data and phone interviews with reference librarians at the Buffalo Central Library and a phone interview with Ken Stone, Deputy Director Chief Financial Officer, [email protected], www.buffalolib.org., Buffalo and Erie County Library, 1 Lafayette Square, Buffalo, NY 14203.)
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