Lobby Day update
Rebekkah Smith Aldrich (MHLS)
[please excuse the cross-postings]
Next Tuesday (March 11th) is Library Lobby Day in Albany.
Our messages:
q Restore the $5 million
o Ask legislators to restore the $5 million the Governor left out of his proposed budget that the legislature included last year.
o Libraries are still playing “catch-up” from the flat funding of the 1990s and the cutbacks in the early part of this decade.
q Make one-time allotments permanent.
o Ask legislators to take Governor Spitzer’s proposal for one-time increases for systems and public library construction to the next level and make them permanent:
- $3 million for Library Systems
- $14 million for public library construction
q “Close the gap”
o Urge legislators to “close the gap” in library and system by funding the NYLA Proposal:
- Support Book Aid for All Libraries ($7.6 million increase in aid for public libraries to purchase books and materials.)
- $5 million for Statewide Internet Library (formerly known as NOVEL)
Your help is needed to
tell the library story to our state legislators.
The appointment
schedule is now available online at http://midhudson.org/funding/advocacy/08schedule.pdf
*BE SURE TO CHECK FOR
UPDATES ON MONDAY, MARCH 10 – the schedule is subject to change
If you
or representatives of your library are planning to attend, please let us know by
registering online at http://calendar.midhudson.org/ - we’ll directly email
the most up-to-date schedule to those who are registered with us.
There is still room on the bus – to download the flyer visit http://midhudson.org.
Also, Don’t forget to contact your local officials electronically regarding library funding: http://capwiz.com/ala/ny/home/.
It is vitally important
that legislators hear from their constituents of the need for increased funding
for libraries and systems. Only you can give that perspective.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rebekkah
Smith Aldrich, Coordinator of Member Information
Mid-Hudson Library
System
103 Market Street
Poughkeepsie, NY 12601
845.471.6060 x39
FX:
845.454.5940
http://midhudson.org