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Those words are part of a letter written by a Quarryville resident in support of Lancaster County libraries, which face drastic cuts in the proposed Pennsylvania budget.
The state budget proposed by Gov. Ed Rendell calls for a $1.75 million cut in direct library subsidies statewide. That would mean a loss of $50,000 for Lancaster County's 14 libraries.
"That's a best-case scenario," said Susan L. Hauer, administrator of the Library System of Lancaster County.
The state is looking to reduce aid to the state library by 50 percent, which Hauer said would "decimate" the state library and reduce library programs by $4.8 million overall.
The cuts also would result in a loss of nearly $1 million in federal matching dollars.
Total state spending on libraries and associated programs is just under $95 million.
A rally against the cuts has been set for 10 a.m. Saturday at the Lancaster Public Library, 125 N. Duke St.
"We've had budget cuts in the past," said Hauer. "What's different about this year is that libraries will have to close. Hours will be cut and services curtailed."
The slumping economy has depressed state revenues and made existing budget woes significantly worse. To meet the state's expenses, Rendell is proposing a 16 percent boost in the state's income tax, the largest hike ever. Senate Republicans proposed their own budget, which calls for drastic spending cuts and no tax hikes.
While Rendell's proposed budget is bad enough, Hauer called the GOP plan "devastating for everybody." It reduces direct library subsidies by $37 million, or 50 percent, statewide.
Hauer sees a tax hike of some kind as the only way out.
"The conservatives are dug in, and they're saying no tax hikes," Hauer said. "There's no way we're going to get to a deal without any tax hikes."
The fallout from any budget cuts would vary for each library.
"We'd have to assess the situation based on what the final budget is," said Joyce Sands, interim executive director of the Lancaster Public Library. "The possibilities include cuts in programs, reduced hours and the inter-library loan service, which might be reduced or eliminated."
The library's Duke Street Business Center is also "in jeopardy," Sands said, because it is 100 percent state-funded.
Also at risk is the state-funded online Power Library, heavily used by both public and school libraries and home-schoolers.
Of particular concern to libraries is the fate of summer reading programs. The Adamstown Area Library has more than 900 children signed up, while Ephrata Public Library has more than 1,000, plus nearly the same number of teenagers. Budget cuts would likely force cutbacks in those enrollments.
At Ephrata, which receives $280,000 in state funds, library director Joe Zappacosta said cuts would curtail some children's activities next year. For example, he said, the library recently hosted a "hugely successful" concert by local entertainer Steve Courtney.
"Things like that will be harder to get," he said. "They're expensive events."
Budget cuts are nothing new to Adamstown Area Library director Kathy Thren. Her facility got $98,000 from the state last year, which is about the same amount it received in 2003.
"The state slashed the budget in 2004," she said. "Then very gradually, little by little, it came back so that now, in 2009, we're back to where we were six years ago. So, in fact, we have never gotten an increase, ever. Now they want to cut us back again. It's unbelievable."
The facility that might be most affected is the Manheim Township Public Library, which is building a new 20,000-square-foot facility in Overlook Park. State funding "will be a big factor" in that project, library director Katrina Anderson said.
Plans call for funding at the new library to jump from $311,000 to about $700,000. The facility needs to increase its holdings substantially and wants to go from three computers to as many as 50, including 20 laptops.
Drastic cuts now would impact staffing, hours and the book and technology budgets, Anderson said.
"Across the board, it would bring our services down to a level that makes us shudder to imagine," she said.
E-mail: lalexander@lnpnews.com
