One group that’s been particularly on edge about the county’s spending priorities has been the supporters of Alamance County’s library system.
Before the start of Monday’s hearing, the board of commissioners tried to assure these resident bibliophiles that the county’s library system isn’t actually slated for any cuts in the proposed budget that the county manager laid out last month.
Yet, these words of consolation weren’t enough to overcome the heightened sense of anxiety that followed a proposal from commissioner Ed Priola to shift the financial responsibility for the library system’s operations from the county to the municipalities where the county’s four libraries are located.
Among those who hoped to preempt this potential change was Debra Scott, who currently serves as the president of the Friends of Alamance County’s Libraries. Scott told the county’s governing board that she understands Priola wasn’t angling to shutter the libraries completely when he suggested this transfer.
“I want you to understand how ingrained the library system is in the county.”
– Debra Scott
“I get that you didn’t talk about closings,” she said. “But I want you to understand how ingrained the library system is in the county.”
Scott went on to encourage the commissioners to pare down excessive bureaucracy and seek out any cuts that improve efficiency without impeding service. She nevertheless advised them not to yield the responsibility for funding the libraries to the county’s cities and towns lest they cut off access to people who live in unincorporated parts of the county.
This same point was reiterated by John Tudor, another longtime Friend of the libraries.
“The suggestion of shifting library funding to local municipalities does not consider the fact that a large number of Alamance County’s citizens do not live in one of those towns. Alamance County can afford to fully fund our libraries, we just need to do it.”
– John Tudor
“The suggestion of shifting library funding to local municipalities does not consider the fact that a large number of Alamance County’s citizens do not live in one of those towns,” Tudor observed. “Alamance County can afford to fully fund our libraries, we just need to do it.”
The board’s objections that the libraries aren’t slated for potential “defunding” didn’t prevent avid readers like Richard Smith from bringing some of their book learning to Monday’s debate. Smith, for his part, harked all the way back to the famous library in Alexandria to emphasize the enduring value of these institutions.
“Throughout history, libraries have been critical parts of society as well as tangible symbols of a community’s cultural cache and intellectual wellbeing. Libraries do not make much if any money and it has become fashionable to dismiss such services as frivolous luxuries or byproducts of a bloated government bureaucracy. While libraries might not generate revenue, they do cultivate ideas. While they are an expense, they are also an investment in a community’s citizens.”
– Richard Smith
“Throughout history, libraries have been critical parts of society as well as tangible symbols of a community’s cultural cache and intellectual wellbeing,” he told the commissioners. “Libraries do not make much if any money and it has become fashionable to dismiss such services as frivolous luxuries or byproducts of a bloated government bureaucracy. While libraries might not generate revenue, they do cultivate ideas. While they are an expense, they are also an investment in a community’s citizens.”
Meanwhile, Abbey Gurley, a member of the Mebane Women’s Club, chided the commissioners for even entertaining the idea of divesting the county of its role in bankrolling the libraries.
“Many of us were shocked and disappointed when we heard that some of the county commissioners recommended that we defund our libraries. We’re not sure how many citizens you spoke to before you floated the idea of defunding the libraries, but we don’t remember any of the commissioners disclosing to prospective voters while running that closing libraries would be part of the agenda.”
– abbey gurley
“Many of us were shocked and disappointed when we heard that some of the county commissioners recommended that we defund our libraries,” she said. “We’re not sure how many citizens you spoke to before you floated the idea of defunding the libraries, but we don’t remember any of the commissioners disclosing to prospective voters while running that closing libraries would be part of the agenda.”
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