Libraries? We don't need no stinkin libraries!

[Avatar4321]

the internets is the debil

only misspelling on the internets

 

[Stephanie]

OMG,

you should take up a collection to help them out..

 

[Truthmatters]

avatar is the debil

 

[Avatar4321]

you know, libraries can be funded through private donations.

I think they are quite vital for the future. You can educate yourself free of charge at them.

Nothing is free

Of course you have to invest time into educating yourself and sacrifice other things could otherwise do. But i meant without paying any money. Because others have donated the money

 

[Truthmatters]

OMG, they surly can't get by without a Library

you should take up a collection to help them out..

book lernin iss the debil

 

[Pho_King]

Louisiana state library funding has been eliminated - latimes.com

One of those parishes is Concordia, located on the Louisiana-Mississippi border. Library Journal spoke to the Concordia Parish Library's director, Amanda Taylor.

“There’s no longer a food stamp office; there’s no longer a social security office. In our rural parish, a lot of our people have low literacy skills and very few computer skills. They come to the library because all of that has to be done online. There are some offices in some bigger areas but there’s no mass transportation and a lot of our people do not have transportation to a place that’s two hours away. A lot of our people have children in the military and they come to email their children that are all over the world on these bases. And almost all of the companies require you to do a job application online, even if it’s just for a truck driver who doesn’t need to be great at computer skills, so it is very important that we offer this service."

Concordia formerly got $12,000 per year from the state, which it used to “keep up all of the maintenance [on its 52 PCs], buy new software, and to buy new equipment as needed.”

With that money gone, Concordia plans not to buy anything new, and hopes all its old equipment keeps working. Maintenance costs will have to come out of the materials budget. In the meantime, Taylor is already working on getting the funding restored. “We are already talking to our legislators about the next budget,” she said. “We are going to work really hard to make the legislators understand how important it is in these rural areas because citizens depend on the public library. We’re going to hope for the Legislature to open their eyes to what we do every day.”

More here.

Update: Louisiana Eliminates State Aid to Public Libraries

Louisiana Division of Administration spokesman Michael DiResto told LJ: “The FY 13 Louisiana budget includes two federal technology grants for the State Library for the purchase of e-books ($1 million), which local libraries can use through the interlibrary loan program, and to provide statewide technology training and equipment for public libraries ($782K) – for a total of almost $1.8 million, which more than makes up for the $896K in direct state funding.”

However, those federal technological funds from the BTOP program are earmarked specifically for providing training, laptops for citizens to check out, and accessible workstations for the blind. As such they cannot be distributed to local libraries to maintain, upgrade, or replace the in-library desktop PCs and servers that were previously covered by state aid. Increased access to ebooks may help make up for lack of collection development dollars to some extent, but since 34-43 percent of Louisiana residents don’t have Internet access at home, ebooks can’t completely replace the lost dollars for print materials, especially in poorer areas.

LJ caught up with several of the smaller Louisiana libraries which are hardest hit by the cuts. Mary Bennett Lindsey, director of the two-parish Audubon Regional Library, operates three libraries and a bookmobile. Lindsey told LJ, “we were getting almost $50,000 [in state aid], which is 10 percent of our budget.” Of that, Audubon allocated $30,000 for books—$12000 more than the system would otherwise be able to spend. “Which isn’t an awful lot when you divide by three, but it’s enough to keep up with the current bestsellers and buying an encyclopedia once in a while,” she said. Audubon used the balance of the aid for technology: replacing 15 computer workstations and covering the portion of the library’s new server which is not funded by the Federal erate program.

With that aid gone, “I’m just going to pray,” Lindsey told LJ. “We’ll just have to cut back on books and hope we get through. If our server goes down or the switches go down, it’s going to have to come from somewhere. It’s not going to come from utilities; we’re barely paying people above minimum wage so it’s not going to come out of salary, we may have to cut hours.”

And further;

**MISSING LINK ADDED** Bobby Jindal: Libraries? We Don't Need No Stinkin' Libraries! | Crooks and Liars



/snip

Yes, poor people rely on libraries for access to the Internet, which is how they search for jobs, learn, read, and other things. Shutting off their Internet access while replacing paper books with e-Books is particularly cynical.

/snip

On the other hand, Jindal has cut taxes six times and is a Grover Norquist favorite. So there's that. Three cheers for oligarchy!

I'm pretty much speechless. Not like a rural library can depend on fund raisers - nobody there has much money to speak of. Everybody that's happy this is happening, what's your solution?

So, cupcake, beneath your whining a few questions lurk. First, do you believe that budget cuts were necessary for Louisiana, or is bobby jindal just being a big bad meanie? And if cuts were justified and necessary, what would you havecut in lieu of libraries?

 

[Si modo]

I should ask a "reporter" to write a story about how awful my life is because the state hasn't given me free access to daily sailing. Think of how rough it is for all those sailors missing out on fresh air and sunshine? And, getting in touch with the Chesapeake? Such denial of basics.

Oh, and this fucking heat wave? I'm sure we could add a climate change spin to it - that's a winner with the emotional basketcases.

I bet I could get a lot of bleeding hearts all torqued up with that.

And, just keep any discussion about money to pay for that out of it.

 

[Dot Com]

libraries are for snobs.

 

[Avatar4321]

and it is not free...


Maybe if they were better stewards of the money they had, they would still have a few computers and internet service for them.

You're being an ass. You know that, right?

THIS is exactly the mentality causing in such financial trouble as a nation.

Expectation of financial stewardship = being an ass.

Being humble and living within ones means is difficult for some.

 

[Truthmatters]

who needs books

certainly not poor children who are trying to learn

 

[Avatar4321]

OMG,

you should take up a collection to help them out..

You mean give of ourselves? Why when we can take money from other people to give them and still pretend to care

 

[Avatar4321]

who needs books

certainly not poor children who are trying to learn

I would recommend we all do. And if the government cant afford it, we get private donations.

Id recommend reading more. It might improve your communication skills and knowledge base.

 

[kwc57]

$500,000 budget, of which $30,000 is for books.

Can they post their budget? We'd like to help them solve their financial crisis

Heck, I'd ship them all manner of books if it wasn't so cost prohibitive.

Why don't you write them, Frank?

Sooooooo, you won't ship books because it's "cost prohibitive"? But the government should keep the library open even if doing so is "cost prohibitive"? Do we see any parallels here? Have any lights come or or bells rung for you here? We might make a conservative out of you yet.

 

[CrusaderFrank]

It sucks that the libraries will have to stop offering and paying for internet service. Those people can just go back to mailing letter to their kids serving overseas.

Or did we get rid of the post office too?

They can't "post a budget" because there are how many county libraries in Louisiana? Kinda can't believe I fell for that red herring convo change.

If they don't have a budget, Dear, how to they know the cuts will hurt them?

Surely they must have some vague idea of what costs them $500,000 annually, no?

Which county did you want them to include, sweetums?

"Mary Bennett Lindsey, director of the two-parish Audubon Regional Library, operates three libraries and a bookmobile. Lindsey told LJ, “we were getting almost $50,000 [in state aid], which is 10 percent of our budget.”

That help? That's the one with the $500,000 budget. That's the one I was discussing

You read the article you posted, right?

 

[syrenn]

It sucks that the libraries will have to stop offering and paying for internet service. Those people can just go back to mailing letter to their kids serving overseas.

Or did we get rid of the post office too?

They can't "post a budget" because there are how many county libraries in Louisiana? Kinda can't believe I fell for that red herring convo change.

I am not saying that it does not suck to have to close the libraries. But there comes a time when the bubble bursts....and the party on the credit card is shut off.

The thing is.... the internet is only a few years old... people lived without the internet before...they can live with out it again.

 

[Si modo]

$500,000 budget, of which $30,000 is for books.

Can they post their budget? We'd like to help them solve their financial crisis

Heck, I'd ship them all manner of books if it wasn't so cost prohibitive.

Why don't you write them, Frank?

Sooooooo, you won't ship books because it's "cost prohibitive"? But the government should keep the library open even if doing so is "cost prohibitive"? Do we see any parallels here? Have any lights come or or bells rung for you here? We might make a conservative out of you yet.

Talking about money when talking about money is being an ass. You should know that.

 

[syrenn]

and it is not free...


Maybe if they were better stewards of the money they had, they would still have a few computers and internet service for them.

You're being an ass. You know that, right?

Why?

Because I think they should live within their means....? I have to... why shouldn't they?

I am speaking the truth.

Exactly.

 

[syrenn]

I should ask a "reporter" to write a story about how awful my life is because the state hasn't given me free access to daily sailing. Think of how rough it is for all those sailors missing out on fresh air and sunshine? And, getting in touch with the Chesapeake? Such denial of basics.

Oh, and this fucking heat wave? I'm sure we could add a climate change spin to it - that's a winner with the emotional basketcases.

I bet I could get a lot of bleeding hearts all torqued up with that.

And, just keep any discussion about money to pay for that out of it.

At the end of the day...in the world I want.... a bill always comes do.

 

[Si modo]

I should ask a "reporter" to write a story about how awful my life is because the state hasn't given me free access to daily sailing. Think of how rough it is for all those sailors missing out on fresh air and sunshine? And, getting in touch with the Chesapeake? Such denial of basics.

Oh, and this fucking heat wave? I'm sure we could add a climate change spin to it - that's a winner with the emotional basketcases.

I bet I could get a lot of bleeding hearts all torqued up with that.

And, just keep any discussion about money to pay for that out of it.

At the end of the day...in the world I want.... a bill always comes do.

*putting hands over ears while singing lalalalalalalala*

 

[syrenn]

libraries are for snobs.

There are two very distinct issues here. Arguing about the library..... and arguing about internet access.


It would seem to me that no one really gives a shit about the books. But damn if you are going to take their world of warfare from them.