Library Champion: You Can Make a Difference TODAY
Library Champion,
The 2020 election is (I think?) over and we have no choice but to look to the future. Like those in many other states, Pennsylvania's elected officials are grappling with the election results, but there is still a 2021 budget to finish. Will that budget include full funding for public libraries? You reaching out to them will remind them that this topic is front-and-center for you, one of their constituents. Also, making a donation to your library today will go a long way as we try to weather this impending storm.
A quick recap: Our second largest stream of library funding is from the State of Pennsylvania's budget, or for short, State Aid. We receive roughly $70,000 each year in a one-time lump sum in January. Due to tax revenue shortfalls we are expecting to receive only 5/12ths of our state aid in 2021, equal to roughly $30,000 in January and then the rest later on in the year. Unfortunately, it's highly possible we may ONLY get the 5/12ths and not the remainder, leaving us without $40,000 in precious funding.
This all may sound daunting and hopeless, but it actually isn't! You can actually make a direct difference RIGHT NOW and TODAY!
Schlow Centre Region Library, our district center, has already been rolling out unpaid staff furloughs in preparation for decreased revenues. This affects everyone at their library, from library administration to those on the front lines shelving books. Our district consultant and former JCL director Brady Clemens is currently on his furlough, which leaves us without an invaluable resource to your library. It's not out of the realm of possibility that this same situation could come to our library. Will you donate to your library today?
Again, you can actually make a direct difference RIGHT NOW and TODAY! I always say that nothing is more expensive than free. Your local library is open and free to all, and support from library champions like you and our state government ensure that continues to happen. It is because you value libraries and that is why we have a great library here. Let our state government pass a budget that includes full funding for public libraries and a donation to the library will help, too.
Here is one book I am reading and some books I just ordered.
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My current read: The Law of Innocence (Lincoln Lawyer/Micky Haller book #6) by Michael Connelly
Michael Connelly is my favorite crime/mystery author and he just released a new book. The last book in this series came out in 2013 (Gods of Guilt) and Connelly does not miss. Haller's story is interwoven with Connelly's other protagonist Harry Bosch as the half-brothers fight to clear Haller of a murder he didn't commit. If you haven't seen it, the movie adaptation of the first book in the Haller series The Lincoln Lawyer is great and I can't stop imagining Matthew McConaughey when I read the Law of Innocence. -
New books that I ordered and will be released next Tuesday: Murder of Innocence by James Patterson, No Time Like the Future: An Optimist Considers Mortality by Michael J. Fox, and A Promised Land by former U.S. president Barack Obama, which will likely be on the NYT best sellers list for a long time.
The new books show as "on order," so you can click Place Hold and be on the list to get it once its ready. Look those books up and more by browsing our online card catalog.
Is your library card current? If not, click here to see. It's one of the most powerful things you can have.
Never miss a new release: view our lists of all new books and our stand-out recommendations made by library staff. Click here
Your support ensures that a library card is incredibly valuable and remains free.
Need to use a computer?
Our public computers are now available!
Is using your phone or tablet not cutting it? We now offer public computer use on Fridays from 3:00pm to 6:30pm. Two computers are available on the table as you enter the library. One is a desktop PC and the other is a Chromebook. Both are super fast and can print.
⚠️ To keep things safe for everyone:
1️⃣ Public computer use will only be available Fridays for a half-hour, starting on the hour: 3:00 PM- 3:30PM, 4:00 PM- 4:30PM, 5:00 PM- 5:30PM, 6:00 PM- 6:30PM.
2️⃣ The second half of the hour will be for staff to clean the computer space and prepare it for the next person. 🧼
3️⃣ A person can only use the computer once a day. Repeat use is not available at this time.
4️⃣ If someone needs to use the computer beyond their half-hour, they can borrow a hotspot/Chromebook or come to the front desk for assistance.
5️⃣ Reservations are not required but are recommended. We accept them over the phone, in person or on our website. Click here to make a reservation.
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Your library misses you. We wish you and your family health and wellbeing during these (and all) times.
Vince
P.S.- You don't need to make an account or jump through any hoops to be a library champion. I wouldn't say this if it wasn't true. You can make this happen in less than a minute. Just click here.