SAVE OHIO LIBRARIES!

Dear Governor Strickland,
I would like to share how saddened and disappointed I am by hearing of the drastic budget cuts you are planning for the Ohio public library system. Public libraries are the back bone of a community.
With the way the economy has been, public libraries are a necessity in that they provide the unemployed (or soon to be unemployed) the ability to job hunt, prepare their resumes and vitaes, and ready themselves for job interviews all through their FREE OF CHARGE internet and book loan services. People who are having a tough time financially can still help meet their children’s needs by: enrolling them in many of the free children's programs libraries offer, bringing home books (free of charge) and read to their children, bringing their children in to use the internet and many of the educational websites on there (like PBS.org). The public library system also provides children and teens with a safe and engaging environment for them to go to and learn while keeping them off the streets.
Also by cutting library funding, you will be hurting the public school system. We all know that the educational budget is tight and financially strapped. Public schools (and home schoolers) rely on the public libraries in their community to assist students in their research needs where the school cannot. If the public library is forced to close because the funding isn’t there, then Ohio’s educational system will suffer. Students research needs won’t be meant. Ohio’s graduating students would be at a higher disadvantage educationally in the job field and when enrolling in other colleges and universities than other students graduating from another state where public libraries are not in such dire financial crisis. Cut library funding and I can GUARANTEE you: many libraries will be forced to close, school assessment/proficiency scores will be down significantly state-wide, unemployment rates will be even higher, crime rates will also raise because, in many communities, students will no longer have a safe place to go to that keeps them off the streets.
Please rethink this proposal. When I was a child and growing up, my parents knew how important the public library was in supplementing our learning (especially during the summer months) and growing. It is because of their enrolling me in the public library’s programs and frequent library visits as a young child, that I am in the position I am today at the Kent State University Ashtabula Campus Library. Cut the budget as bad as you are proposing and not only will affect the libraries and staff, but you will also affect the communities around the state and our future, the children.

Sincerely,
Bethany