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Public
Employee Press
Library Lobby
Day
Stop the cuts!
By
GREGORY N. HEIRES
Activists from the union’s three library locals
bused to Albany March 10 to urge legislators to restore the $18 million in cuts
proposed in Gov. David Paterson’s doomsday budget.
The members of
locals 1930, 1321 and 1482 joined hundreds of library supporters from throughout
the state for a late-morning rally and then split into small groups to press individual
lawmakers to restore the funds. The New York Library Association sponsored the
event with the support of DC 37 and public libraries from around the state.
“We
are here today because we want to stop these cuts. It’s great that you’re
here,” New York Public Library Guild Local 1930 President Carol Thomas, told
two members who were preparing to visit legislators. “I went through the
crisis in the 1970s. It was devastating, with libraries closed three days a week
and layoffs. We don’t want history to repeat itself.”
“In
our communities, they have already done away with Sunday service. What will be
next if the state and city cuts go through?” asked Eileen Muller, president
of Brooklyn Public Library Local 1482.
The state cuts would be compounded
by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s plan to slash 17 percent of the city’s
funds for libraries. New York PublicLibrary President Paul LeClerc said the mayor’s
plan would result in the loss of 281 positions. The $14 million, 17 percent cut
would force the Brooklyn Public Library to cut 220 positions through layoffs and
attrition and end six-day service at 35 of its 60 branches, the library’s
executive director, Dionne Mack-Haroin, said in a March 18 Daily News article.
The Queens system has not publicly indicated how the cuts would affect staffing.
Nearly 20 activists from the three locals —
with retiree Gaye Franscione representing Queens Library Guild Local 1321 —
took the day off to join the union’s contingent, which the DC 37 Political
Action and Legislation Dept. coordinated.
“With more and more cuts,
eventually our jobs will go out the door,” said Ronaldo Barber, Local 1482’s
technical support staff representative.
“We help people educate and entertain
themselves with books and DVDs, and we aid in learning English and finding jobs.
Libraries are critical to the health of our communities, particularly during this
time of economic distress,” said Muller.
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Crucial services
in hard times | |
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Senior
Librarian Diana Lekus at the Queens Library.
On
Jan. 23, Queens Library Guild Local 1321 member Diana Lekus was in the screening
area at LaGuardia Airport when a Homeland Security official called her aside.
In
the post-9/11 age of hysteria, you wouldn’t blame Lekus, a Senior Librarian
who was on her way to an American Library Association conference in Denver, if
she felt uncomfortable about being singled out. But in this case, a person with
a friendly demeanor and appreciative look greeted her.
“How are you?”
the Homeland Security officer asked Lekus. “Don’t you remember me?”
The gentleman in the red jacket then reminded Lekus that she had aided his job
search at the Queens Borough Library.
Last year, the man, an engineer
from Bangladesh, used to visit the Job Information Center at the central library
in Jamaica every few days. Lekus, who now works in the Social Science Division,
gave him advice and help with his resumé.
“This is a wonderful
story in a time of doom and gloom,” said Lekus.
“In this economic
crisis, people like Diana provide an invaluable resource to residents in our community
who have fallen on hard times,” said Local 1321 President Margalit Susser.
“As the libraries are threatened with the loss of funds, we’re worried
that they may cut services just when the help we provide is needed the most.” | |
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