Hawaii Board Rejects Monthly Two-Day Closures, Furloughs
Gordon Flagg 09/14/2009
http://www.ala.org/ala/alonline/currentnews/newsarchive/2009/september2009/hawaiiplanbstalls090409.cfm?persistent=&expy_dt=

The Hawaii Board of Education failed to approve a proposal September 3 to address a $5.7-million cut in funding by closing all public-library branches at least two days a month and furloughing employees twice a month. The plan also called for the elimination of 72 vacant job positions (which would curtail use of temporary workers in those posts), a reduction in operating hours, and intermittent temporary branch closures due to staff shortages. The plan was submitted by State Librarian Richard Burns after the board rejected a proposal in July to permanently shut five branches and directed him to present a new plan to that did not include library closures.

Cutting libraries down is now something states are doing. It’s either dealing with shutting some down, closing some for a period of time and also making changes with how their books are arranged and disbursed. According to the article the Hawaii Board just rejected another plan brought towards them to help with their library crisis. With this happening now people in the system are being temporary laid off twice a month and branches being close two days a month. That hurts people with families they have to take care of. I thought a library would never be the one that has to shut down. It’s a public and state operated. People use it mostly everyday to check on something from current news to even thing in the past that may be relative today. I feel as there are other ways to help the Hawaii Librarian system rather than just closing some branches. Students lose the ability to go to library now and not worry if its going to be close tomorrow or if the library in their city will be close for good.