QuoteCITY BUDGET
Libraries as whipping boy
While it is commendable that our city leaders exercise prudence with our public dollars, there is something amiss about the challenge that we currently face with regard to funding a healthy public library system that is open to all.
Our local political scene has not been friendly to those who seek to be reckless or irresponsible with taxes or revenue, but I believe that our fiscal restraint has turned into a straitjacket that impedes the preservation of local services such as our Jacksonville Public Library.
Sadly, this situation is evident every time we review a city budget that threatens branch closures and service reductions until the public reacts.
I believe that this crisis requires a more proactive effort to keep our public libraries open, and I hope that once and for all, our communities and leaders publicly advocate to achieve this aim.
John Louis Meeks Jr.,
Friends of the Murray Hill Library
Source: http://members.jacksonville.com/opinion/premium-opinion/2013-06-18/story/letters-appalling-attitude-regarding-sexual-assaults
Quote from: Jaxson on June 19, 2013, 11:32:44 AM
QuoteCITY BUDGET
Libraries as whipping boy
While it is commendable that our city leaders exercise prudence with our public dollars, there is something amiss about the challenge that we currently face with regard to funding a healthy public library system that is open to all.
Our local political scene has not been friendly to those who seek to be reckless or irresponsible with taxes or revenue, but I believe that our fiscal restraint has turned into a straitjacket that impedes the preservation of local services such as our Jacksonville Public Library.
Sadly, this situation is evident every time we review a city budget that threatens branch closures and service reductions until the public reacts.
I believe that this crisis requires a more proactive effort to keep our public libraries open, and I hope that once and for all, our communities and leaders publicly advocate to achieve this aim.
John Louis Meeks Jr.,
Friends of the Murray Hill Library
Source: http://members.jacksonville.com/opinion/premium-opinion/2013-06-18/story/letters-appalling-attitude-regarding-sexual-assaults
Good letter and point well made. The threat of library closings is so overused by the city when it comes to budget issues as if that in and of itself will correct our financial woes. It is also a slap at ordinary citizens and folks who do not have access to computers, especially students. I find it quite hypocritical that City officials and the current mayor place a great emphasis on education, especially to the point of hiring a "Education Czar" at taxpayer expense only to turn around and use our libraries, for many the only available resource for many to enhance their knowledge and access computers and research material as a budget lever. It's politics as usual and as usual the libraries have become a pawn moving on a political chessboard to put the taxpayers in check. The old exploit used to say "your move citizens of Jacksonville".
Thank you, Diane! :-)
Im ok with closing the libraries, just make sure you close the libraries in all of the wealthy communities. These are communities more likely to have better access to resources like the libraries online catalog, and they are far more likely have PCs in their homes. They are also better able to arrange visits to the main facilities downtown.
Quote from: Demosthenes on June 19, 2013, 12:57:35 PM
Im ok with closing the libraries, just make sure you close the libraries in all of the wealthy communities. These are communities more likely to have better access to resources like the libraries online catalog, and they are far more likely have PCs in their homes. They are also better able to arrange visits to the main facilities downtown.
Very true, but I am guessing this is not a part of the equation for it is clearly not about keeping libraries open for the good of the community as it is about political pressure and who will take the loss in their community with the least political push back.
You want to help save our libraries? Go here and volunteer:
http://savejaxlibraries.com/ (http://savejaxlibraries.com/)
The internet puts libraries on the endangered species list. We need to change the perception of a library as a place to research/borrow a book, to a community center that is at the center of a healthy thriving neighborhood.
Also worth noting, new subdivisions are typically not as compact as older/poor communities, which makes them harder to serve.
Given Duval's current standing in education, it's appalling we're even considering shutting down six of our branch libraries- nearly a third. And considering the mayor's strong stance on Downtown, it's distressing that three of the six are in the Old City. As has been shown on this site the urban core is losing population, not only to the Duval suburbs, but to surrounding counties with higher taxes and better services. And yet we continue to cut services even as we lose growth opportunity to those counties and the other big cities in Florida. Here's a breakdown of what we stand to lose with these six branches:
Willowbranch: This would close the only library in Riverside-Avondale and shutter an important historic building.
Beaches: This would shut the only library in the Jacksonville Beaches (this side of the county line, anyway) and may well fall afoul of the interlocal agreement between Duval County and the Beaches cities.
Brentwood: This would close a key educational resource in this heavily transit-dependent Northside neighborhood.
Maxville: This would shut down one of our newest libraries and force residents of this outer Westside area to go 18 miles to the nearest alternative.
University Park: This would close another of our newest libraries, the only one in all of Arlington besides Regency Square.
San Marco: This would shut down the only library on the entire Southside before you get to Mandarin or Gate Parkway.
It wasn't that long ago that our energies were focused on building new libraries and expanding the existing ones. What a sad indictment of our present state.
The Mayor is using the threat of closing libraries and fire stations as extortion to get Council to pass his Secret Pension Deal without asking too many questions.
Libraries, shmibraries. We're gonna have the biggest jumbotron in the WORLD, and it's only gonna cost the City $31 million. Such a deal! Have we got our priorities in shape or what?
Tell you what, Mr. Khan: How about investing in keeping the libraries open instead of buying the Shipyards to enhance your investment just east of there.
This deal is very likely the result of the "private" travel of the Mayor and Jags reps on the trip he took on the Jags plane to Miami while his calendar said he was at church. There was also conversation on private cell phones and closed email accounts and who knows how many other lunches or dinners. At this point it is not only about an huge jumbotron but about dealings out of the "sunshine" as required by law. I am glad the TU is suing the city over the issued of Sunshine Law Violations. Infuriating!
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..
Anyone have connections at the NSA? Now would be a good time to get the electronic transcripts of all the secret emails, texts and phone calls subverting the Sunshine Law.
Quote from: Rynjny on June 19, 2013, 07:07:22 PM
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 valid for folks to inquire about a multimillion dollar sports fund on one hand when we talk about important and needed services, in the case libraries of being lost on the other. What are our priorities in Jacksonville? It's an honest question and one people will disagree upon in principal, however the issue of working outside the law is not up for debate.
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.
Quote from: Cheshire Cat on June 19, 2013, 07:17:27 PM
Quote from: Rynjny on June 19, 2013, 07:07:22 PM
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.
Quote from: JHAT76 on June 19, 2013, 07:19:07 PM
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.
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.
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.
How many people are visiting our libraries a year?
Seems like an important question to be asked.
Quote from: Intuition Ale Works on June 20, 2013, 08:09:12 AM
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.
Quote from: WmNussbaum on June 20, 2013, 07:58:27 AM
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????
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.
Quote from: WmNussbaum on June 20, 2013, 07:58:27 AM
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..
^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?
Quote from: Apache on June 20, 2013, 11:38:49 AM
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.
Quote from: Cheshire Cat on June 20, 2013, 12:33:29 PM
Quote from: Apache on June 20, 2013, 11:38:49 AM
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
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!
Quote from: WmNussbaum on June 20, 2013, 04:11:05 PM
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.
^Perhaps the mayor could start with his multiple personal photographers, videographer, and chauffeur.