Library funding

[XU-PA]

anybody remember using the card catalog back in the day? I couldn't imagine doing that now.

The Dewey Decimal System. It's the Pong of filing systems

[Porkopolis]

A poster above said they didn't know one person who goes to the public library regularly. Well, I go several times per week and have a constant stream of books checked out. It is one of my default destinations when I go for a walk. My branch--the Main Library downtown--is always packed, and not just with the homeless who depend on it for shelter.

[spazzrico]

Libraries deserve their funding. I was a many times-per-week user in all the cities I have lived. My current town, Greenville, SC has a very nice main branch in a rather underfunded system. That said, they offer great services including many programs for children to get them excited about reading. The place is always packed, and that is what it has been like in most places I've used, including Cincinnati's various branches. I think there will always be a place for collective ownership of books. The great thing about them is that they can be shared.

[Kahns Krazy]

I've grown to love the Cincinnati library. I was just thinking about how much I'd bitch about it on here and how much I love it now.

I do wish it was open later. Four days a week the main library closes at 6pm. That doesn't work well for a lot of people. I have no idea what the national norm is, but I'd like the main library to be open until 9 or 10, 6 days a week.

Not to get snobby, but I also wish they would put more of an emphasis on educational material. Just from anecdotal experience, a lot of history books and documentaries seem to always be checked out because they only have 1 or 2 copies (usually only at the main library). In contrast, they seem to always have available copies of movies and TV show series. Publicly funded institutions like PBS and the BBC are obligated to provide more funding for educational type programming than fictional entertainment. I think that's a good thing and wish the library would lean further in that direction.

All in all, I love the library. It's definitely one of the best aspects of Cincinnati.

The hours were one of the first cutbacks. Libraries were open 7 days a week, and with later hours.

The collection policy document is online at http://www.cincinnatilibrary.org/pol...velopment.html

Don't bother reading it. It doesn't tell you anything at all.

[ATL Muskie]

I think we can all agree, librarians serve a valuable purpose in the community.

[Kahns Krazy]

And you can see how budget cuts have hit librarians too. Poor girl can't even afford a full set of undergarments.

[GuyFawkes38]

I'd love more Teaching Company material. Great stuff.

[PM Thor]

I would prefer to keep the branches in lower income areas open over the ones that are in more well off communities. Why? Because the lower income areas should be used by the locals more than anywhere else, since they don't have the multiple outlets to get their books, info, movies, etc and don't really have the money to travel frequently to other communities compared to someone who has a car or more money.

But it doesn't really work that way. The higher income areas that have libraries seem to be used more frequently (correct me if I'm wrong, this is totally going off of my own observations). I frequent the Hyde Park, Clifton, and West End libraries. Without a doubt, the West End one is the least used one, it's virtually dead compared to the other two.

But what do you do here? Inconvenience the people who use the libraries more often by making them travel farther, or do you simply remove a library with less use in an area of the poor, where they seem to need it more?

It's a conundrum, and I don't have an answer. Oh and this is another example of how Kasich is a complete and utter fool.

I HATE dayton.

[Kahns Krazy]

I It's a conundrum, and I don't have an answer. Oh and this is another example of how Kasich is a complete and utter fool.

I HATE dayton.

This thread was started a couple years ago. As far as I know, Kasich has not proposed any deep cuts to the library funding.