FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 17, 2003
Contact:
Christal Karnaze, 202/387-8030
Leonard Minsky 202/387-0172

MAYOR GUTS DC PUBLIC LIBRARY SYSTEM’S FY 2004 BUDGET

WASHINGTON, DC - The DC Library System has once again fallen victim to the budget cutting axe of Mayor Anthony Williams. Williams’ proposed FY 2004 operating budget presented to the District City Council on March 17 slashes an additional $966,756 from an already depleted system, threatening the very existence of some of the District’s 27 libraries.

Williams’ plan also jeopardizes or eliminates approximately $19 million in capital funding to rebuild or renovate four area libraries ­ Anacostia, Benning, Tenley and Watha T. Daniel/Shaw ­ representing the first phase of renovating or rebuilding all the libraries in t the District.

Currently the DC Library System receives only 0.7 percent or $26,216,175 of the District’s $3.7 billion operating budget. In the l970’s that figure was 1.4 percent.

According to library officials, the cancellation of the branch rebuilding program means that the estimated $345,000 in attrition savings that the library expected to realize from having four branches closed during FY 2004 will not accrue. That projected savings in the operating budget will not happen if the capital projects are eliminated. As a result, an unexpected $345,000 in savings must be found elsewhere in the library’s operating budget. This action is in addition to the $966,756 discussed above for a total effective cut of $1.3 million.

The additional budget decreases will force library officials to make even more dramatic cuts in staffing, services, literacy programs, and essential building maintenance requirements. Maintaining an updated collection of books, reference materials and working computers will become an impossible task.

“Mayor Williams cannot claim to be ignorant of the desperate situation facing the DC Library System,” claims Ralph Nader. “We met with him in early February and made it very clear that cutting the library’s budget would have disastrous effects.”

In January Nader established the DC Library Renaissance Project to raise awareness of the crisis facing the District’s library system and organize grass roots support to persuade the city government for increases to the library’s operating budget.

“What I don’t understand is how the Mayor can come into office vowing that his top priority would be the District’s 37 percent functional adult illiteracy rate then strike such a devastating blow to the library system,” Nader said.

“In his l998 position paper entitled “Vision for the DC Public Library” the Mayor stated explicitly that: ‘Libraries are a main source of information and central repositories for community history and for information on programs and places for children to learn, expand their minds, and provide a foundation for their growth.’ How can these visionary ideas be accomplished when the District’s libraries are understaffed, under-stocked and closed during peak usage hours?” Nader asks.

On Thursday, March 20, the DC Library Renaissance Project will stage a rally on the steps of City Hall at 9 a.m. prior to the scheduled 9:30 a.m. library budget hearing. Nader will speak at the rally and testify, along with many other civic, business and community leaders, at the hearing.

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