Very sad, especially when something like this is being put forth as progress

Fairfax County library revamps system, discards books, reduces librarians

Clay, who has been head of the Fairfax library system for 31 years, defended his plan as necessary to deal with declining budgets and to remake libraries in the digital age. The strategic plan lists the first part of its “future direction” as transitioning from “a print environment to a digital environment.”

Clay has proposed hiring librarians who may not have master’s degrees to run branches, hiring people without bachelor’s degrees to staff the libraries, and having children’s librarians spend 80 percent of their time devising and running outreach programs instead of working in the libraries. He said jobs would be eliminated by retirements and attrition, not by layoffs.

“We’ve got decrease after decrease,” Clay said. In the past five years, the libraries’ budget has been cut by 23 percent and library visits have declined about 10 percent. Circulation is down about 6 percent over that time.

“We’ve got to turn that around. . . . We’ve got to get the library in the community, to bring people to the table,” Clay said. “I want to be the table.”

This just doesn't seem the way to handle budget cuts. They've destroyed or thrown out at least 250,000 books--many in good condition and not merely 'weeded'--without giving books to the Friends group to try to raise money through sales, etc. Patrons, city managers, employees--none of them seem happy with where this is going. The people of Fairfax County deserve better. The actual strategic plan is all glossy and happy and apparently customer-driven, but the reality seems to indicate otherwise. Mind you, budget cuts make things very difficult, and while everyone for the most part agrees that libraries are great, no one ever wants to pay a bit more to fund them, from what I can tell. But there are better ways to handle this. Also, given the plan to 'dump' qualified librarians, even if by attrition, in favour of non-degreed managers and worker, I seriously have trouble with this statement from that strategic plan:

FCPL values and recognizes the professionalism, dedication and expertise of our employees and volunteers. The library is committed to providing a supportive work environment that offers opportunities for learning and professional development.

Let's see, so you don't want people who have the expertise that is considered a gold-standard in the profession (i.e., an MLS for a practising librarian, and a bachelor's or at least some college for paraprofessionals) that other systems require because it will save you money by paying less in terms of salaries, but you value expertise in your workers at the same time and hope to encourage their development? How is that, again?

Stories like this make me somewhat frustrated and sad. One day, it is my hope, that we as a society will value schools, libraries, and other essential educational institutions over things like bombs and profits and politics.

One thing the folks in Starfleet never had to worry about when exploring the final frontier: budget cuts

[Although they did have their share of bureaucrats.]

Obama's NASA budget: Mars takes a hit, but space science isn't dead

Two major Mars missions lost out to the James Web Space Telescope in Obama's proposed NASA budget, but there's still money for other ambitious space-science missions.

Reports of the demise of ambitious space-science missions at NASA may be somewhat exaggerated.

To be sure, in President Obama's fiscal 2013 budget proposal, two major Mars missions for 2016 and 2018 lost a budgetary wrestling match with the replacement for the Hubble Space Telescope, the James Web Space Telescope.

But Mr. Obama's plan also includes money to begin preliminary studies on a mission to Saturn's moon Enceladus, as well as an orbiter-probe mission to Uranus.

An advocate speaks out

You might remember me telling you I'd checked out This Book is Overdue: How Librarians and Cybrarians Can Save Us All. Marilyn Johnson, the author, expresses her opinion on the cutbacks in the Queensborough library system in this video. According to Terry Balliard, of LISNews:

If the plan goes through, many branches would be closed outright or kept open less than half of the week. More than 400 library employees, some in the system since 2000, have been given layoff notices, effective in mid-August. Johnson learned first-hand how bad things were when she spoke to Queens Library employees on May 25. Later that day, a rally was held at City Hall, during which the police kept hundreds of library supporters waiting on the sidewalk, and let them in five at a time.

This sort of thing is happening all around the country. Ironically, in trying oeconomic times libraries (and librarians) are needed more than ever, but cities and counties do not seem to think of that when trying to find ways to trim budgets. Instead, they see libraries as an easy mark. Who would miss books, after all? Yes, libraries are about books, but they are about so much more. I wish more executives and councils realised that.

Thanks, Ms Johnson, for your support. Now, how about the rest of us? What can we do to save our libraries?