“You guys rock,” says Library Board of Trustees Chairman

Last month we asked "Who Needs Libraries, Anyways?"

Second and Fourth graders at George H. Mitchell Elementary School in Bridgewater have resoundingly answered that question by raising more than $20,000 for their town's public library.

“The children learned that they could do something worthwhile to support their community and they improved their reading at the same time,” said second-grade teacher Lisa Ohman.

[Library Director Betty] Gregg says the money raised by the children will be used to purchase [over 1000 books and other] materials which will, in turn, free up money in the regular library budget with which she hopes to hire a part-time children’s librarian. The library was recently decertified and lost its children’s librarian and children’s programs to budget cuts. [Full Story]

The library saw a disproportionately large budget cut following the failure of a tax override last October, suffering a $328,000 budget cut. The hours were slashed to just 15 per week from 52. [Full Story]

These disproportionate cuts stem from libraries being one of the very few local budget items not mandated by the state.

What's that old song? Teach your children? These students are teaching us that we need to take a long look at our communities, and find a way to support the public structures that make them healthy, vibrant places to live.