Students writing a research paper can no longer completely depend on Montgomery County Public Libraries to carry the books they need. Ever since the recession led the Office of Budget Management to cut county library funds, the system has struggled to purchase new books and replace worn-out ones.
MCPL purchased about 310,000 books, 12,000 audio books, 28,000 DVDs and 8,000 CDs in July 2009, said Barbara Webb, the library system’s chief of collection and management. She expects the library to be able to purchase only half as many new materials this year.
Because the recession robbed them of much of their income tax revenue, OBM administrators were forced to reduce the libraries’ budget, along with those of nearly every other county-run organization, according to their 2012 fiscal update.
With the current freeze on the libraries’ spending, Webb must ask the county council before she can order anything new, from books to toilet paper. As the first quarter draws to a close, she’s drafting a proposal asking for more funds in the second fiscal cycle.
The libraries’ 2008 annual budget of $6.3 million is now barely $3 million, which Webb said isn’t sufficient.
“We have no money even for basics,” she said.
Bethesda Library manager Kay Bowman agreed that budget cuts have created difficulties for the library.
“With our budget cut, we’ve reduced our hours, and we’ve reduced our collection,” she said. “We simply don’t replace books as often as we used to, so we have a lot more worn-out books sitting on the shelves.”
But sophomore Abby Lederman said she doesn’t expect the cuts to greatly impact students’ access to information.
“I’m sure the cuts will affect the library, but there’s just so much available online now,” she said. “I’m sure everyone will be able to do research online.”
There will be long-term consequences of these budget cuts, including gaps in the collection of reference and circulation materials, Webb said. The libraries are buying only a small percentage of the titles they normally would if funds weren’t so low.
“I have no idea when the budget will go back up,” she said. “But it’s not looking good.”
