Teresa Jade LeYung's BLOG » Let’s use our mighty voices for public libraries! http://lovemadeofheart.com/blog Story Consultant Teresa Jade LeYung on Wellness, Themes, Archetypes - Love Made Of Heart ® Fri, 20 Feb 2026 01:55:01 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 What Is So Important About Public Libraries? http://lovemadeofheart.com/blog/what-is-so-important-about-public-libraries/ http://lovemadeofheart.com/blog/what-is-so-important-about-public-libraries/#comments Fri, 01 Jul 2011 04:11:18 +0000 admin http://lovemadeofheart.com/blog/?p=2745 What Is So Important About Public Libraries?

Public libraries (also called “circulating libraries“) exist in most places in the world and are often considered an essential part of having an educated and literate population.  Then, why is Mayor Jean Quan proposing to close Oakland (California) public libraries?

Please please call, write to or email Mayor Jean Quan’s office, City Councilmembers, and Oakland City Administration.
Libraries help keep a city “safe” and literate… 

Mayor Jean Quan’s Office – officeofthemayor@oaklandnet.com

* District 1 – Jane Brunner    jbrunner@oaklandnet.com
* District 2 – Pat Kernighan  pkernighan@oaklandnet.com
* District 3 – Nancy Nadel  nnadel@oaklandnet.com
* District 4 – Libby Schaaf  lschaaf@oaklandnet.com
* District 5 – Ignacio De La Fuente  idelafuente@oaklandnet.com
* District 6 – Desley Brooks  dbrooks@oaklandnet.com
* District 7 – Larry Reid  lreid@oaklandnet.com
* At-Large – Rebecca Kaplan  atlarge@oaklandnet.com

Oakland City Administration – cityadministrator@oaklandnet.com

What else can we do?  http://www.saveoaklandlibrary.org has suggestions:

http://saveoaklandlibrary.org/act-now/

  • Keep libraries open. Don’t close branch libraries or reduce service hours at any library.
  • Don’t violate the public trust by throwing away Measure Q funds
  • Closing libraries hurts all of Oakland’s citizens.
  • Libraries give everyone, regardless of income, free access to books and the Internet.
  • Libraries have already sacrificed by limiting service to 5 days/week at all of the branches.
  • These cuts are unfair. The Library represents only 2% of the general fund monies but the “All Cuts” proposal calls for 198 full time library jobs to be eliminated out of 367 citywide. The library’s share of jobs lost equals more than 52% of the total positions eliminated.
  • Measure Q supplies the library’s entire budget for buying books, DVDs, CDs, downloadable audiobooks and e-books, and other popular materials. Locations which remain open will not have new materials to offer the public.
  • The “All Cuts” budget proposal suggests that there will be limited or no programs, including adult literacy, children’s storytimes and the Summer Reading Game.

Sincerely,

Teresa LeYung-Ryan “Let’s use our mighty voices for public libraries!’

Author, Manuscript Consultant,  Writing Career Coach

 

 

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