Librarians and their fans see “red”

 

 

HARTFORD – About 200 librarians and their supporters this afternoon rallied in the Capitol to fight for $2.3 million that Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s budget would take from state libraries.

In particular, the red-clad citizen lobbyists, during an afternoon full-court-press, want $1 million returned to continue the popular inter-library loan program called ConnectiCard.

Maxine Bleiweis, executive director of the Westport Library, said that the cuts would hinder the missions of libraries throughout the state.

“I’m mad that after almost 40 years of extreme cooperation over the borders of 169 towns, our governor’s budget throws away the simple elements that allow equal access to learning,” she said. “I’m mad that we’ll be wasting far more taxpayers’ money than we’ll ever save if we don’t have a way to borrow over our borders. I’m mad that the haves will have and the have-nots will have not.”

During a noontime news conference in the Legislative Office Building, lawmakers who are members of the tax-writing Finance Committee said they would work to restore the funding. ConnectiCard subsidizes the costs of shipping books from one library, which has a particular book, to the library where a reader requested it.

Rep. Hilda Santiago, D-Meriden, vice chairman of the finance panel, said she thought that lawmakers have gotten the message. “We will be working to try to put them back in, but we need to hear from the constituents that this is very important,” she said.

Malloy’s proposed cuts include $335,000 in state support of the Connecticut Library Consortium, which purchases discounted library materials; and $1 million in grants to public libraries, including urban libraries.

Rep. Jonathan Steinberg, D-Westport, another member of the Finance Committee, said that his town’s library is almost taken for granted. “All those things that we now go to libraries for, are somewhat at-risk,” he said. “We are facing a crisis if we do not act together.”

Rep. Gail Lavielle, R-Wilton, also a finance-panel member, recalled her lifetime of learning, including annual nostalgic re-reads of the iconic “Harriet the Spy.”

She said the ConnectiCard saves millions of dollars in costs throughout the state. “This is such a small investment for such an enormous value,” she said. “It’s not rocket science.”

The legislative response to Malloy’s proposed two-year, $40-billion budget is due by the end of the month and the legislative adjournment date is June 3.