Libraries and Librarians Are Endangered Species: What You Can Do to Help

The Huffington Post - In April my mother called to say a cost-cutting move threatened to close my hometown's local library. The town council of Cedar Grove, New Jersey needed to trim the budget by $600,000, and by eliminating library funding council members thought they saw an easy cut. There were no unions to deal with, and the library line item in the budget of $490,000 for the remainder of 2010 was large enough that it could wipe out a huge chunk of the budget deficit. As one councilman noted, the surrounding towns had libraries; people could use those.

But residents responded -- in force. By the end of the first standing-room-only meeting, it was clear that the town was going to have to rethink its plan. Read more.