PHILLY.COM Editorial: …Libraries are community centers that add value to our lives. They connect a diverse population of students, new Americans, seniors, and book-lovers. In one year, the Free Library helped 1,000 job seekers locate employment, and 70,000 children and teens attend after-school programs. Libraries are where Philadelphians expand their horizons and increase their potential, and where the success of the education of children and adults becomes possible…
Pew Charitable Trusts’ recent study, “Philadelphia 2013: The State of the City,” analyzes the city’s four biggest challenges: families in poverty, literacy, public education, and public safety. Mayor Nutter and City Council are keenly aware of these issues as they grapple with the next budget. They know that there is no easy fix to lift 28.4 percent of the city’s residents – and 46 percent of its children – out of poverty.
There are remedies, however. Six-day libraries in every neighborhood can help mitigate some of our woes. This is why Philadelphians applaud the mayor’s budget, which would restore $2.5 million to the Free Library’s general fund. If approved by Council, six-day libraries and more books on shelves will become a reality next year. That’s why Friends of the Library and other concerned citizens will gather April 10 and ask Council to ratify the $2.5 million restoration… (more)
EDITOR: Here in Lancaster we squander the bulk of the county’s meager contribution on a dysfunctional Library System and provide crumbs for the downtown Lancaster Public Library and others.
