There's still time to make your voice heard...

This is a letter that I wrote to Governor Rendell, Mayor McMahon and my local representatives, Michael O'Pake and Thomas Caltagirone. It's not too late to express your opinions (outrage? horror? disgust? at the very least righteous indignation?) regarding the situation.
The Pennsylvania Library Association has a Legislative Action Center that includes some helpful tools to expedite your letter writing, including several sample letters and an elected official finder.
Regarding the city's budget, the next council meeting will be held October 12; I'm sure the council members would love to hear what you have to say.

As a Reference Librarian at the Reading Public Library, I am seeing first hand every day the importance that libraries have in this uncertain economy. Our Internet computers are busier than ever with people filling out unemployment forms, creating resumes, searching for jobs, filing their tax returns or continuing their education. These people do not have the means to buy a computer and maintain an Internet connection, yet many employers require an online application to be completed, and I've heard horror stories from patrons who have tried to file for unemployment compensation by phone or by mail. These people come to us for help; I can’t count the number of times a patron has told me that they were referred to the library by businesses or other government and social service agencies because we would help them.
Now, the Reading Public Library is facing the closure of its three branches and bookmobile. This is the article from the Reading Eagle 9/25/2009 entitled "Funding cuts force Reading library to close three branches, shelve bookmobile," http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=158634. Only the Main Library will remain open; however staff cuts will force patrons to accept severely curtailed services even there.
The libraries are lifelines to citizens in need; we are not just purveyors of the latest Danielle Steel or James Patterson novel. In a depressed economy where so many other state services are being compromised, we are a place where people are able to exercise control over their lives, whether it be by applying for a job (and if you have never used a computer in your life, filling out an application online is a monumental feat in itself), or by learning how to use a computer, or by getting homework help, or by checking out a book on healthy diets or investment advice, or by engaging in a myriad of other constructive programs we offer.
As Carl Sagan in Cosmos said most eloquently, “the library connects us with the insight and knowledge, painfully extracted from Nature, of the greatest minds that ever were, with the best teachers, drawn from the entire planet and from all our history, to instruct us without tiring, and to inspire us to make our own contribution to the collective knowledge of the human species. I think the health of our civilization, the depth of our awareness about the underpinnings of our culture and our concern for the future can all be tested by how well we support our libraries.
By forcing our libraries into this position, we are turning our backs on the health and future of our community.
Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Jennifer Balas Bressler