From the Union Tribune San Diego by David Garrick
The Library Foundation SD says proposed budget cuts to the city’s 36-branch library system would be crippling and worsen a track record of chronic underfunding.
Mayor Todd Gloria’s proposed budget for the new fiscal year wouldn’t close any branches or reduce hours of service, but it would slash money for events, technology, employee training, and donation matching.
The reductions in events and technology funding would hit branches in low-income areas particularly hard, said Patrick Stewart, the foundation’s chief executive.
“It proposes crippling cuts that decimate programs at every library, extend the system’s already unreasonable waiting list times, and hamper technology access in communities of concern,” Stewart said.
