NEW CASTLE Patrons, programs pay the price of library cuts

Local state lawmakers say some of the library funding should be restored.
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR NEW CASTLE BUREAU
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- Mary Ann Kushner isn't sure where she will take her four sons on Saturdays now that the New Castle Public Library isn't open.
"This is awful," she said. "Of all the places in New Castle that need a bigger parking lot, it's the library. People are drawn there in the evenings. It's just a really healthy center for our community."
Beginning this week, the library has reduced its hours because of state budget cuts.
"We feel very bad for the patrons. We are just caught in the crunch. When you cut back [state funding] 50 percent, there are things we can no longer do," said Don Nicolls, president of the library's board of directors.
A look at figures
Earlier this year, Pennsylvania lawmakers passed a budget that cut state library funding in half from $75 million to $36.7 million.
While libraries in Lawrence County get money from the county and local municipalities, state funding makes up a big part of their budgets.
New Castle Public Library is especially hard hit because it is a district center that provides training and materials for libraries in Lawrence, Mercer, Butler and Armstrong counties, said Susan Walls, head librarian at the New Castle Public Library.
The cut in district center funding went from $479,000 last year to $239,000 this year -- about one-third of the library's overall budget, Walls said.
In addition to reducing hours, the funding drop has also meant staff cuts.
Two vacant positions were eliminated, one part-time worker was laid off and hours were reduced for two full-time employees, Walls said.
Many programs have also been put on hold, including the Beatnik Cafe, a monthly event where people can perform.
Patrons' reactions
For violin instructor Jim Stephenson, the Beatnik Cafe is the only outlet for his students to perform publicly.
"Gov. Rendell has no idea what this is all about. In Philadelphia, you have everything going on. We don't have that kind of situation here. The opportunities aren't there for children in pockets like Lawrence County. They are stuck," he said.
Others, like Paul Cook, 80, of New Castle, look forward to evening and weekend activities at the library.
"I get videos and they have different speakers come in. I wouldn't miss that for anything. It's wonderful to go out and meet people. The library is my second home," he said.
Malinda Dess and her 7-year-old twins, Kevin and Nichol, go to the library three or four times a week for story hour and to check out books.
"The kids look forward to their nights at the library. With them being cut, they will have nothing to do," she said.
Dess also worries what her 16-year-old son, Michael, will do when he returns to school in the fall. A part-time job takes up his time after class and he often goes to the library in the evenings to use the computers, she said.
The Legislature passed the budget that included the library cuts in the spring, but local lawmakers say there is some hope that funding could be restored to libraries and other programs.
Lawmakers are in Harrisburg this week trying to iron out a new education package.
Gov. Ed Rendell used his line-item veto power to reject $400 billion in education funding. He is asking the state House and Senate for more money to create new programs such as full-day kindergarten and smaller class sizes.
Legislators' views
But state Rep. Chris Sainato of New Castle, D-9th, says he won't vote for any new programs unless some money is given back to libraries and other social services cut out of the original budget.
"I'm not jumping to create new programs when a lot of my people aren't getting existing services," he said.
State Sen. Gerald LaValle of Rochester, D-47th, is confident libraries will get some of their funding restored.
"Libraries will be in that mix. It's a matter of how much money," he said.
Until then, the New Castle Public Library has been urging its patrons to contact lawmakers to let them know the importance of their libraries.
"Libraries are one of the last institutions that are actually free. If libraries go by the wayside, there isn't going to be much for people to do," librarian Susan Walls said.
cioffi@vindy.com