Miami-Dade will raid reserves to avoid library layoffs, maintain hours - Miami-Dade - MiamiHerald.com

posted on Wednesday, 09.11.13

Miami-Dade County

Library advocates dressed in matching white "Save Our Libraries" T-shirts waved their hands in support of a speaker at Tuesday's public hearing on the proposed 2013-14 budget. Marice Cohn Band / MIAMI HERALD STAFF

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By Patricia Mazzei and Charles Rabin

pmazzei@MiamiHerald.com

In a surprise last-minute move, Miami-Dade commissioners decided in the wee hours Wednesday morning to raid rainy-day reserves to avoid laying off 169 library workers and slashing library hours in the coming budget year.

Though the action will save the jobs of employees who turned out in force to a public hearing that began Tuesday afternoon, it will create a whopping $20 million budget hole next year to fund the county’s 49 public libraries at the same level as this year.

Mayor Carlos Gimenez warned against tapping the one-time reserves, since they would not be available again to cover recurring expenses. Unless Miami-Dade overhauls the way it funds and runs the libraries between now and next year, commissioners will have to cut services or hike the property-tax rate in 12 months. Read more...

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/09/10/v-fullstory/3619272/library-advocates-dominate-first.html#storylink=cpy

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Why Closing Half Of Miami-Dade's Libraries Is Dumb | WLRN

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Credit mdpls.org 

“Who says that we get to kill all the books,” asked District 10 City Commissioner Javier Soto.

Miami, apparently, does.

The decision yesterday was made to theoretically close 22 libraries (10 storefronts and 12 branches) as well as lay off 251 employees. This number is presented as the worst-case scenario. While it could be less, the closings are nearly half of the libraries in Miami-Dade.
It’s a common sentiment, with the Internet having overrun our daily lives, that libraries have become increasingly irrelevant. People don't mind the idea of "killing all the books," and that the debate about the fate of libraries came to the city commissioners of the county. They didn't kill all the books, but they definitely leveled a major blow.

I think we often underestimate the importance of libraries. The Internet is a relatively new experiment, one on which America has bet a lot of her chips. Due to the constant access many of us enjoy, not everyone has a the luxury of a smartphone or laptop. Read more...