Help your local library!

Today's blog topic is something that's near and dear to my heart: public libraries.  I think public libraries are one of the most precious standing contributions Man has made to His Fellow Man.  I've loved going to the library since I can remember, and I haven't stopped as I've gotten older.  Now my children love books almost as much as I do and look forward to picking out their own.  Conveniently, I work right next to the Southglenn Library and can go on a regular basis.  It's fantastic. 

All that being said, I want to talk about donating used books and magazines to your local library.  We all have books and magazines we know we'll never read again, so why not pack them up and donate them?  Chances are that your library will be ever-so-thankful.  Some libraries even offer a tax deductible receipt, so that's added incentive. 

Why is this important?  Well, public libraries have very tight budgets, and those budgets are in danger of getting axed every fiscal year.  Take Aurora, Colorado as an example.  4 of Aurora's 7 libraries were permanently closed in 2010.  FOUR.  This was because the tax paying citizens of Aurora didn't want tax increases to keep libraries open.  Now the remaining libraries (as well as libraries around the country) have to operate on a shoestring budget.  The number of new titles they can purchase every year has been greatly reduced. 

See my logic here?  If you know you're never going to read a book or magazine again, then take it to the library and give back to your community.  You get to cut out some of the clutter in your home, and someone else gets to enjoy that book.  AND the library will get to increase its catalog without spending a dime. 

Oh, and if you can spare the time, volunteer at the library as well.  Pay it forward!

S.O.S.

Today I found a red piece of paper in my daughter's backpack.  It was titled "S.O.S: Save Our Support Staff Campaign", and it said very plainly that "due to the state budget cuts reducing funding for our public education" all of our support staff AND the school librarian will no longer have jobs next year.  The red paper proposed that we do a fundraising campaign to raise $18k to hire two TAs for 4 hours a day.  These two TAs would then help with recesses, library work, and teacher support. 

I know that our school - and our school district, for that matter - is fairing far better than most schools across the country.  We actually still had TAs while many districts had gotten rid of them some time ago.  I'm still not okay with it, though.

Here's my question for the day: WHY does our government cut vital things like public education, fire/police services, etc. instead of cutting the CRAP out of other areas of our budget? I'm not a politician.  I don't know much about public policy.  My logical brain, though, tells me that there have to be PLENTY of other areas we could make cutbacks in order to come up with a mere $18k.  Heck, I bet some cutbacks could even garner twice that much.

But that won't happen.  Someone somewhere is getting a nice little kickback or getting some obscure research project funded while other people are losing their jobs. Children will have less attention from their teachers, and the student/teacher ratio will go up.  Classroom education will suffer. 

I'm going to help raise funds, AND I'm going to volunteer in my daughter's classroom to help offset the burden.  At this point, that's all I can do.