Vote for legislators who listen
MARY F. BOBINSKI Director Amherst Libraries
It's just a few weeks until Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 7. We are reading and hearing that voter apathy

brings about lower voter turnout. Some say that legislators do not listen to what people want, and what can we do about it? Vote! Vote for legislators who listen to what people say they need and want, and you will make a difference.

Our public libraries are filled with educated people, and these are the people who do make their needs known and who do vote. Legislators are supposed to listen and provide for the needs of their constituents. We were fortunate last year to have our elected officials support Williamsville Library in the town budget to help it survive until the Buffalo & Erie County Public Library could fund the system adequately.

For the first half of this year, Williamsville Library circulated 59,772 materials, had 2,259 people who used computers, accommodated 1,493 children in programs, had 35 meetings in the community room for 230 people, and so far, out of 37 libraries left in the system, it is number 17 in circulation in 2006 and going higher.

In spite of a reduced request for Williamsville Library due to funding from other sources, no funds were allocated for this purpose in the supervisor's town budget for 2007. We know that this is a difficult budgetary period, but we also know that our elected officials manage to find millions for various projects. Why aren't all the legislators listening? One would think they learned after the library crisis in 1976 when thousands of people all over the county led by the Citizens to Save the Libraries petitioned, wrote letters, and filled Daemen College with crowds overflowing onto Main Street, blocking traffic. Yes, the library system was saved. But over the years it has been bled more and more.

This year the Buffalo & Erie County Public Library System has distributed flyers, "Help Write Your Library's Next Chapter," with enclosures giving the details on each library. These brochures, which are available at your local library, show the staggering loss and state that for every $1 received, the library returns at least $6.63 in services. Nationwide, two-thirds of adult Americans visited the public library last year (approximately 135 million). More than eight of 10 (85%) believe public libraries deserve more funding. More than half (52%) believe support for public libraries should be $41 per capita in local tax support. (The national average is around $25; Erie County's property tax provides less than $23 per capita in 2006, less than the average retail cost of one hardcover book).

In a recent online survey of Buffalo & Erie County Public Library patrons, 85 percent of survey participants believe the Library deserves a restoration of some Erie County property tax funding - from as modest an increase as $5 more per year to as much as $25 (or more) per year, based on the average property tax assessed on a $100,000 dwelling. Of all those who believe restorations are in order, 68 percent (57.6 percent of total respondents) believe the increase should be at least $25 per year.

Tell your community leaders that you support proper funding for public libraries, then vote for legislators who listen and give their constituents what they want.

And, those thousands of people who use Williamsville Library and voiced their concern for this branch last year, filling the Town Hall auditorium, halls and streets, need to remind their legislators, again, by writing and calling to tell them that this library is an important part of their lives.