The
Public Library is a Vital Component of Public and Private Education
We state unequivocally that the public
library is a fundamental component of the public and private school systems in
our community. Fairfax County Government
places education first on its list of priorities. Our public library must be an indivisible
part of that priority. A creative high
performing public library is an indispensable pillar supporting the education
structure in this County as well as providing crucial support to parents who
choose to home school their children.
The
Public Library is an Essential Service
We support the Fairfax County Federation
of Citizens Associations’ effort to introduce and pass legislation in the
Virginia General Assembly to categorize the public library as an essential
service in the Commonwealth. We will
work with Delegates and Senators who represent Northern Virginia to enact this
proposal into law.
Restoration
of Funding Needed Immediately
Everyone loves the library but libraries
cannot live on love. Adequate and stable
funding is required. Public libraries in
jurisdictions surrounding Fairfax County score higher on every measure of
output. We believe that the residents of
Fairfax County want and deserve a high performing public library on par with
their neighbors. We call upon the Board
of Supervisors to reverse years of diminished funding by adding the $2 million
requested by the Library Board of Trustees last year to FCPL’s FY2016 budget.
Opposition
to Staffing Cuts for Fiscal Year 2016
All agencies were directed by the County
Executive to submit proposals to cut their FY2016 budgets by 3%, equaling an
$800,000 loss for FCPL. We oppose the
proposed elimination of 21 merit positions, positions which deliver direct service to the public, to
accomplish a $500,000 reduction in the Library’s budget with the remaining
$300,000 coming from unspecified savings in personnel expenditures. We support retaining and filling these
positions to remedy the staffing shortages the Library is now
experiencing. The number of unfilled
positions has made continuous use of overtime necessary and has seriously
weakened staff morale.
Restoration
of the Library’s Print Collection
Since
2004 in a deliberate action to downsize the library, the collection has
sustained a net loss of over 400,000 holdings.
That’s the equivalent of four regional libraries’ worth of books.
Nonfiction books—religion, history, philosophy, art, art history, geology,
physics, poetry, engineering, mathematics, travel, and biography represent the
record of our culture and our civilization. In an effort to create a
collection focused only on popular reading materials, nonfiction books were
systematically removed from our library. We support the restoration of the
library’s collection of nonfiction print books to one worthy of the highly
educated residents of Fairfax County.
An
Exceptional Library Director is Needed to Take the Library Forward
We support the Library Board of
Trustees’ Search Committee in its declared intent to conduct a nationwide
search for the best-qualified candidate to become FCPL’s new Director. We urge the Committee to select a candidate
with a proven record of successful outreach and connection to public and
private education, the business community, and the philanthropic sector. The new Director must demonstrate the ability
to articulate a clear vision for the future direction of a public library that
can win support, both popular and financial, from our political leaders and our
diverse community for the long-term security and success of an institution that
serves everyone.
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