By now, you've heard about the big budget crisis facing the public library system of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County. Nearly half of the system's budget is projected to be slashed, which means 16 branches may be forced to close and more staff will be laid off.
Mecklenburg County Manager Harry Jones is recommending a budget for the library system of $17.7 million, which, according to library spokeswoman Angela Haigler, is half of what the library operated with last year.
Starting June 19, Belmont Center, Carmel and Checkit Outlet will close indefinitely. Beatties Ford Road Library will close temporarily beginning June 19 to expedite its current expansion and renovation. When Beatties Ford Road Library reopens in early 2011, it will replace Freedom Regional and become the new regional library for the area. Freedom Regional will close as a Charlotte Mecklenburg library, but it will continue as the school library for the Phillip O. Berry Academy of Technology.
As money for local libraries disappears, however, more is lost than just access to buildings and books. Area libraries offer hundreds of free programs to children, teens and adults -- such as resume writing courses, basic computer skills, literacy for parents and children, English-language instruction for immigrants, reader services for inmates, and more; but, according to Director of Library Experiences David Singleton, the current budget on the table will extremely limit (and in some cases eliminate) many of these services.
"We've already reduced programming significantly, partially because we've reduced hours of library operations and we had to lay off 120 people in early April. We have less staff to manage busy libraries and that leaves, unfortunately, less time to do programming," Singleton said. "Programs are very popular. Last year, we had about 570,000 attend programs across the county. That ranges from programs for little babies to programs for kids who are just beginning to recognize letters and words ... to programs for teens that focus on everything from college to computer access and being able to produce music, to adult programs."
Even the popular Novello Festival of Reading, which has brought famed authors like Toni Morrison and Bob Woodward to the city, has been canceled for 2010.
Sam Shapiro, coordinator of adult services for the library system, knows firsthand what else could vanish from the Charlotte landscape if the library is left with a 45-percent budget cut. Since 1993, he's been the person behind the library's successful film series, which in the past has shown movies by greats like Alfred Hitchcock and Vincente Minnelli and gathered people from all over the county to the main library branch. According to Shapiro, the events bring the community together and foster a spirit of camaraderie.
"There's an ongoing conversation between all these people. While they are patrons, they've become friends over the years. The film series is their connection. They may not come to the main library or ImaginOn if it weren't for the film series. It's become a destination point for them," Shapiro said. "It draws them to the library, and it lets them know that we are here for other purposes as well."
Earlier this month, when he showed the film Meet Me In St. Louis, Shapiro said a diverse crowd -- including parents, children and single adults, among others -- was in attendance ... and they all received the same bad news.
"What is usually a nine or 10 film series extending through August, I can't say will go past June," said Shapiro, reiterating his message to people who attended his most recent screening. "Because, we don't know what's going to happen past June of this year. We don't know what's going to happen with the possibility of 12 to 16 of the branches having to close down. That would force me to have to curtail the series."
And while he doesn't singularly credit the film series as the reason why people are passionate about saving the libraries, the thought of losing programs like this one and several others have spurred people to action.
"I've had people tell me that they've sent e-mails to the director of the library, Charles Brown, and some of them have directed these e-mails to the trustees of the library," Shapiro said.
"We'll see if this will translate to financial support for the library from the county and the city and the various municipalities."
Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx has spoken out publicly about the city helping to fund the library's shortfall and has pledged to offer help. On May 27, Foxx told WSOC-TV that he'd veto a city budget that didn't include money for the libraries.
The Library Board has asked the city of Charlotte for $2 million -- money that would be a one-shot deal and help extend the life of programs like the teen summer volunteer program, which is conducted by the system's teen services coordinator Michele Gorman.
Gorman said last summer teens logged in 4,000 hours of community service at the library, opportunities that will not be available to them this summer.
"They did it for school, for service or whatever else they needed credit for, and we provided this opportunity to teenagers throughout the county. Because we had 24 locations and we had volunteers at every location, there was someplace for every young person to go," said Gorman. "We do this for a couple of reasons. One is to give young people opportunities to experience the real world. They have to do an interview, they have to fill out an application."
As volunteer staff members, Gorman said the teens didn't come in and shelve books for eight hours, but they updated the library's website and ran its social networking functions.
And though it's a volunteer program, Gorman said more than 200 teens would apply and they were held accountable for their hours like a real job.
"There is a huge need for young people to volunteer in the community; there's just not a lot of opportunities for them," she said. "We won't be able to do this. It's not just that we don't have enough locations, but we won't have enough staff."
Haigler said in the event of the worst-case scenario, which is Jones' proposed budget being approved, the library is looking at what programs they can continue to realistically provide to the public.
"We had to make some reductions in the last round of layoffs. We've already made some changes and cut back on some things. For example, we haven't looked at any adult program that doesn't focus on certain topics area, such as literacy, community engagement. Conversations are still being had about what are we going to look like for the future," she said.
So, what can be done to save the libraries? Public hearings about the budget are over and the Board of Commissioners is moving closer to approving a budget that Commissioner Bill James says will cause a fight among the towns in Mecklenburg County.
In an e-mail James sent out June 4 after the first straw vote on the budget, he said, "The library which wanted $8 million to avoid branch closings (but would have settled for $5 and then planned on going to the City and Towns for $3 million) only got $3.5 (and their estimates of unemployment costs were at least $2 million or more). Net result: Expect lots of branch closings even with City/Town money. This will set up a street fight between the Towns who will have to 'pay to play' and will require that their branches be saved over others. It will be a nasty fight. Towns that don't pony up may have their library closed (if they have one)."
The county budget is expected to be passed on June 15. The Library Board of Trustees will vote on the Library's final budget on June 24. But Singleton said that people should still talk about the impact of the library's programs with their elected officials. "Talking about the impact of programs and the impact that they make on daily lives is a powerful message."
Gorman said how Charlotte treats its libraries shows what kind of city we live in.
"I hope that the public outcry has been enough for the Board of County Commissioners to understand that this is a necessity for our community," she said. "I believe great communities have great libraries. I travel a lot for work, and I always go to public libraries around the country. I can tell you what cities value their libraries -- and those are world-class cities."
For more on the library crisis, read this week's Boomer With Attitude column.