Save our libraries: A letter to the editor

[Rynjny]

The funding is from a sports fund, to be use for upgrading sports facilites in jacksonville...what part of this don't you people get??? unbelievable..even if they don't upgrade the stadium, they won't use that money on saving libraries..

It's not about the funding, it's about doing public business outside of the "Sunshine".  It's Florida law.  I don't care if we are talking jumbotron, pensions or shipyards. It's the law and this law was put in place to avoid corruption and backdoor dealings.  That is the issue, not sports or the screen or which pot of money is being spent. However it is also a valid for folks to inquire about a multimillion dollar sports fund on one hand when we talk about need services, in the case libraries on the other.  What are our priorities in Jacksonville.  It's an honest concern and one people will disagree upon.

It is valid for folks to inquire about the deal, but you're putting out there like you have evidence there's wrong doing with this deal..I just don't think that's fair.

[Tacachale]

Unfortunately I don't much trust the current library leadership after knowing somewhat second hand of the inner workings.  Makes it harder to support the fight for more funds.

If there's anything to that, it sounds like a reason to right the ship rather than scuttle it entirely.

[Cheshire Cat]

RnyJny, I am not putting anything out there other than what has already been exposed and reported via a Times Union investigation that spoke of the meetings, jet trip on the jags private jet while the mayors calendar said he was at church, private cell phone use and private email accounts between the mayor and other entities. There was a detailed article in the paper about the particulars as well as a breakdown of the mayors calendar. The concerns reported by the TU were backed by documentation and completely "fair" under the law.  I guess you also missed the news that the Times Union is suing the Mayor and the City over the above stated "Sunshine Law" violations.  The lawsuit will tell the facts behind the report.  What is not fair to the citizens is when public officials ignore the law.  It's more than unfair, it's illegal. 

[WmNussbaum]

I'll tell you what I don't get RYNJNY. I don't get why so many folks in town think it's better to sit and sweat in the sun to watch a bunch of high class thugs beat on each other, than to have some of the basic amenities that make a city great and, in the case of libraries, provide a source for self improvement. If it's so damn important to see the action on the field close up, like on a jumbotron, stay home in the a/c and watch it on an 85 inch television screen, but don't spend $31 F-ing million so the few thousand at the game can see the same thing. And I don't care where that money comes from; it would be better spent elsewhere.

[Intuition Ale Works]

How many people are visiting our libraries a year?

Seems like an important question to be asked.

[fsquid]

How many people are visiting our libraries a year?

Seems like an important question to be asked.

I hadn't been in a library since my high school years when I started taking my daughter a few years ago.  I was surprised how many people still use it as a quiet place to study on the weekends.

[Rynjny]

I'll tell you what I don't get RYNJNY. I don't get why so many folks in town think it's better to sit and sweat in the sun to watch a bunch of high class thugs beat on each other, than to have some of the basic amenities that make a city great and, in the case of libraries, provide a source for self improvement. If it's so damn important to see the action on the field close up, like on a jumbotron, stay home in the a/c and watch it on an 85 inch television screen, but don't spend $31 F-ing million so the few thousand at the game can see the same thing. And I don't care where that money comes from; it would be better spent elsewhere.

It's not about sitting in the sun or watching at home. Why is it hard to understand that this team is the most important asset to the city. why is it people in this city got this small town mentality?

[Tacachale]

Ben, according to the FY 2011-2012 annual report, there were 4.5 million library visits. Over 218,702 people attended programs, including 13,556 at job search assistance programs. Book circulation was apparently 8.7 million, while e-book circulation was 188,693. Some of these figures appear to be down after the repeated budget, staff and hour cuts of the last few years, but despite that they're still way up since the expansion of the system in 2005.

http://jpl.coj.net/lib/Annual_Report_FY2011-12.pdf
http://jacksonville.com/opinion/editorials/2012-03-07/story/jacksonville-public-library-looks-answers-future

Individual libraries have different figures, but numbers don't tell the whole story. For instance, the Southeast Regional Branch on Gate Parkway presumably has high figures: it's in a well educated area, but more importantly it's the only library in a fast growing area. Folks come from many miles to go to it. Meanwhile, the Brentwood library may have lower numbers as it's in an impoverished area and are others within a few miles of it. However, if it closed, the 2.5 mile trek the the downtown library may be a lot more daunting for a carless family from the urban Northside than it would be for, say, a Baymeadows family with 2 cars. Higher stats doesn't always mean better services or outcomes; the Brentwood library is serving an invaluable educational need for its neighborhood.

[Rynjny]

I'll tell you what I don't get RYNJNY. I don't get why so many folks in town think it's better to sit and sweat in the sun to watch a bunch of high class thugs beat on each other, than to have some of the basic amenities that make a city great and, in the case of libraries, provide a source for self improvement. If it's so damn important to see the action on the field close up, like on a jumbotron, stay home in the a/c and watch it on an 85 inch television screen, but don't spend $31 F-ing million so the few thousand at the game can see the same thing. And I don't care where that money comes from; it would be better spent elsewhere.

Oh one more thing, if there's no sports teams, there wouldn't have the fund. so you can't spent it else where if there's no fund..so yeah..

[Tacachale]

^The libraries and capital improvements like the score board come from different funding pots and one can't be used to cover the other. Can we get back to talking about the library now?

[Cheshire Cat]

We could probably save a lot of taxpayer money if we had each branch maintain a simple log that monitors their traffic. Then trim hours and schedule staff accordingly. As opposed to having every library open a set number of days and hours fully staffed. 

It is my understanding that traffic in the branches is monitored.

[Tacachale]

We could probably save a lot of taxpayer money if we had each branch maintain a simple log that monitors their traffic. Then trim hours and schedule staff accordingly. As opposed to having every library open a set number of days and hours fully staffed. 

It is my understanding that traffic in the branches is monitored.

Yes, that's exactly what they do already. The different branches have different hours to accommodate their users as best they can with the current budget constraints, as can be seen here:

http://jpl.coj.net/lib/branches/index.html

[WmNussbaum]

I'm willing to bet that if the City Council was so inclined it could divert, for instance, bed tax to some other purpose. But it would never be so inclined.

There is a petition being circulated to allow a vote on permitting the library system to impose a millage rate to the tax bills just like the school system, water management district, etc. do. If any of you think this is a good idea, I'll get a copy of the signature card for the petition for you. Time to put our money where our mouths are!

[DDC]

I'm willing to bet that if the City Council was so inclined it could divert, for instance, bed tax to some other purpose. But it would never be so inclined.

There is a petition being circulated to allow a vote on permitting the library system to impose a millage rate to the tax bills just like the school system, water management district, etc. do. If any of you think this is a good idea, I'll get a copy of the signature card for the petition for you. Time to put our money where our mouths are!

My understanding is that law prohibits exactly what you are saying about the bed tax. Not to say it hasn't been done, but someone would be liable if they did such a diversion.

As to a special tax or a millage rate, I'm down. As long as it is used for the library and not diverted as you say could be done. I tend to agree that the library is the whipping boy of budget arguments. City services, boots on the street are always first to be threatened and I can't believe that there is not some administrative fat that still can't be cut.

[Tacachale]

^Perhaps the mayor could start with his multiple personal photographers, videographer, and chauffeur.