The Daily Record/Sunday News reports
“Library officials had to cut costs at least until a budget is passed, so they eliminated Sunday hours, canceled story times and reduced staffing. The move comes at a time when more people are using the library because of the economic downturn.”
“’It’s been tough,’” said Bill Schell, CEO of Martin Library.”
Lancaster libraries face an even worse situation due to the state budget impasse and uncertainty of future funding, since they do not have the community support and local leadership that has been demonstrated in York. But rather than cutting services even deeper, they are operating now on funds that were meant to be stretched out over the fiscal year…in short, ‘borrowing from Peter to pay Paul.”
A major problem locally has been the unwillingness of many Lancaster municipalities to pay their fair share based on population. Also, foolish timing caused a local referendum to narrowly fail which would have provided a small but adequate county tax subsidy similar to funding in many other counties.
A root problem has been the fragmentation of the library system, whereby the county level provides certain services but is not in charge of local operations, there are local libraries with the downtown Duke Street facility having two small branches, and there is a District which is so arcane that only a hand full of people understand what it does and how it is funded.
Meanwhile the Lancaster libraries are used now more than ever, with almost 1,500 people a day visiting the Duke Street facility!
This is but another example of how faulty leadership at governmental and philanthropic levels fund elephantine projects of questionable merit while neglecting services that are essential for the well being of the community.
For example, what has Lancaster General Hospital donated to the libraries, simply giving back to the public a pittance of what it has been extracted in vast profits?
This is not to suggest that library leaderships on the local levels have acted astutely, but that is an oft told tragic tale.
