City hall likes to say that we're somehow going to save $7 million by closing the libraries half a day Monday and Wednesday without mentioning the 200 people that got laid off. When Rahm says that the Union needs to cooperate in order to keep the libraries open six days a week, what he means is that all the employees of the library should work a six day week.

I tried to return my books that were due today, and surprise, surprise---the book drop was absolutely full with books being crushed at the top. I have never been in our branch without it being busy and crowded or without line to wait in to check out. Balancing the city budget by chopping funds for the libraries and mental health centers and homeless services when there are millions of TIF dollars going unused or being handed out to the likes of the CME is making the 99% pay for the sins of the 1%. Austerity budgets haven't worked to restore economic growth in Europe, and they won't work here in Chicago either. It makes me sick that we are depriving our neediest and most vulnerable fellow citizens of the basic services that we as the richest country in the world can more than afford. The mayor should be ashamed.

Re-fund our Chicago Public Libraries now!

In these tough economic times, the library is one of the only resources available to EVERYONE for books, music, movies, free internet, employment reference materials, education, cultural enrichment and community events and programs. These resources are extremely important to ALL CITIZENS, but especially to the low-income and unemployed or under employed.

School-age kids flock to the libraries afterschool for a safe haven to read, do homework, use the free internet, etc. Don’t leave these kids with nowhere productive to go.

Parents bring their young children to read books, hear stories and develop their growing minds. Don’t cut off this developmental resource.

Special programs and events present important social, economic, cultural and educational topics and discussions to our community. Don’t silence this discussion. Library hours and resource are already too limited since the 2009 funding reduction – work now to refund the defunding that occurred last month. Start an initiative to force the government to fund our libraries.

From www.chicagojournal.com, 11/30/11:
Library use is up across the country due to hard economic times. Yet these hard times have led to major cuts at Chicago’s libraries, outlined in the municipal budget that passed City Council Nov. 16. The libraries will see almost 200 layoffs and reduced hours at 77 of 79 branch libraries.

The rollbacks could strain a system that endured a round of layoffs and cost cutting in 2009.

About 11.6 million people used Chicago libraries in the past year, according to a Nov. 2 letter signed by 28 Chicago aldermen to Mayor Rahm Emanuel. Nationally, library use increased 10.4 percent in the past year, according to an American Library Association survey.

Marcia Warner, president of the library association, said that the increase is due to a few factors like libraries growing as a resource for early childhood education materials. But the biggest is that libraries are a sanctuary for the low-income, unemployed and under employed who use the free Internet and employment reference materials.

“Usage almost goes up proportionally with the unemployment rate,” Warner said. “The worse it gets, the more people are coming in.”

The comments of Laurence Msall show how misinformed people are about the library. Mr. Msall comments that libraries 'could' be kept open with volunteers from the city. Really? Is it possible to do other professional jobs by asking for volunteers? If that's the case, then why don't we take volunteers for police, or city council members, or accountants or... You see where I'm going with this. Mr. Msall knows nothing about what it takes to keep a library running and how to provide professional library services to the community. Library workers are SKILLED workers. Clerks go through rigorous training and have many years of experience. Librarians must earn masters degrees to work as a professional librarian. They aren't people who can just be replaced by volunteers. I say we replace Mr. Msall with someone more intelligent, more informed and less out of touch; anyone want to volunteer?

The Cicago Public libraries can be open 48 hours a week AND live with the budget cut! We want it open and with volunteers it can be open! The problem is the union's refusal to reduce the number of full time library employees. Every city we have lived in had unpaid volunteers in the library. Sometimes the number was close to the number of paid employees. If the city were to coordinate the scheduling and a volunteer qualification program, all the branches could continue with no reduction in hours.

I hereby "volunteer" to replace Mr. Msall in his dubious role as Chicago's resident out-of-touch big business booster (I certainly couldn't look any sillier than he did on Chicago Tonight this evening). He's a perfect spokesman for the 1 percent, and has been for many years. Ald. O'Connor is a civic embarrassment as well. Bottom line: Mayor Emanuel's already pitiful legacy will certainly include the gutting of Chicago's library system. Perhaps it's his way of getting a head start on campaigning for the next mayoral election--he's doing his damnedest to keep the citizenry as uneducated as humanly possible on his sleazoid skullduggery!

This is so shortsighted it's painful. Limiting library access equals limited upward mobility. Libraries are the place where many Chicagoans learn English, learn to read, learn to use a computer, apply for jobs, learn to use and access email, complete school assignments because they have no home computer, and the list goes on and on. There is a hefty social price that we will pay for these cuts, and it will be much higher than the cost of keeping the libraries open.

Closing the libraries shows how little the mayor cares about educated citizens. More evidence that when the mayor spouts he is going to extend the school day for 90 minutes (only 37 for instruction) he doesn't care at all about the education of children or citizens. He's too busy trying to woo big business by showing how tough he can be on unions. 30 million to remap the city wards but not enough to keep libraries open? How much is in the TIF fund? 15 million to CME? Libraries are being closed to punish the union, not to save money. Who's next?

It is disgraceful that our city is cutting library hours and closing mental health clinics, both of which are essential ingredients of stable communities, at a time when our Mayor is lobbying for millions in tax breaks to profitable corporations like Sears and the CME and leaving hundreds of millions in un-touched TIF funds that amount to little more than slush funds for corporate welfare in many areas, especially the LaSalle st TIF. This isn't a question of a budget crunch, this is a question of priorities as Anders points out. I like what Alderman Arena said about looking for ways to restore the cuts, you need to do that for the mental health clinics too! No more rubber-stamp council!

Due to the cutback in hours and items unavailable more often, I use CPL less and feel more stress and less quality of life.

I disagree with the Mayor and Alderman O'Connor basing library hours on school schedules so that unsupervised kids have a place to go after school and on school holidays. I believe these kids would be better served on a regular basis by supervised programs in schools, parks, museums or community centers, and I wonder if the City would be liable if a parent, based on Alderman O'Connor and the Mayor's statements, told a child to go to the library and the the child was somehow hurt.

With technological innovations and declines in population and revenue, it may be time to close some of the 70+ CPL branches so that those that remain can be open a minimum of 48 hours with full staff and materials. Beyond CPL, it may be time to cut back on other City services and government including park field house staff and hours, police and fine stations and aldermen

If AFSCME thinks $3,000,000 to keep libraries open on Mondays is such an insignificant amount, why doesn't it donate it for that purpose?

Regarding the closure of libraries on Mondays and firing staff: I can't help being puzzled that we allow these men in leadership make decisions that dimenish the quality of life for the people in the community. They seem to be inhuman when they disregard and disrespect that we have basic needs and rights written in the Constitution. Are the words inalliable rights, for the republic, for the people by the people, just wishful thinking? When we elect people in hopes that they can be trusted with the welfare of the common citizen is it a perpetual dream deferred?
I seems that I have wasted time and money, which I really don't have a lot to spare, attaining a higher education. Its funny, because a wise elder once said that you only need an eight grade education to make it in the world. These people in power display lack of intelligence that suggest that they dropped out before 8th grade.
On Chicago Tonight 1/9/12, I heard them sit there and say that they did not want to fire people, and that there are other ways to manage the budget because money was available from other sources. However, they still insist on closing the library on Mondays and firing employess at a time when people really need their jobs.
Maybe these "Leaders" should be required to take massive doses of Ginko for brain power, my 8th grade grandson could take their jobs and make more humane decisions than all of them. It is senseless, what we allow them to do. What can we do, what power does the community have to prevent this kind of maddness?