Last spring city and state budget seasons brought forth horror stories from all over the country regarding library service cuts. In the urban library systems the cuts proposed were very deep. The responses to try and meet the budget reductions were varied including closing branches, cutting collection budgets, shut down days, curtailment of schedules, etc. In Portland we had to close two of our branch locations (Reiche and Munjoy Hill) and almost a third (Riverton) which was saved at the last minute by a one year funding recommendation by the Finance Committee of the City Council. We were reminded this week that the cuts for many libraries will continue to play out during the year while away from casual observation. One of America’s finest library systems, Seattle Public Library, will close from today until reopening the day after Labor Day.
We at Portland Public Library exist in a true urban environment and it could well be argued, as a microcosm of a Seattle. I know what goes on in a week’s worth of PPL service to kids, businesses, families, neighborhoods, readers, technology users, etc. It is an astonishing range and amount of activity. In Portland we have managed to avoid the scenario facing Seattle but I can’t help but contemplate and commiserate with the people of Seattle and my library colleagues as one tries to calculate the human cost of a lost week. It matters.
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