A trend that needs to be discontinued
Yes, the $5,000 that East Washington will not be contributing to Citizens Library this year will not sink it. The library gets support from other municipalities and school districts, the state and private supporters.
But it strikes a distinctly sour note and is part of a disquieting trend of communities that have long been served by Citizens Library deciding that they no longer need to pitch in as much for its operation. In order to retain a seat on the library board, East Washington would have to contribute at least $3,500 in the coming year.
We can only hope that this is a trend that stops right here and right now.
East Washington had been signaling for weeks that it was going to withdraw its contribution to the library, with members of borough council arguing that the community is confronting pressing needs, such as roads that need to be mended and a borough building infested with mold and lacking hot water. But before the Monday night vote to scratch a contribution from East Washington’s budget, council member Matt Boice pointed out it would have taken only 0.5 percent out of it.
And this happened in one of Washington County’s most well-heeled communities. What would that have cost each resident over the course of a year? A cup of coffee? A hamburger at a fast-food restaurant?
East Washington is following a path blazed – if you want to use that term – by Trinity Area School District, which withdrew its funding for Citizens Library in 2014. North Franklin, South Strabane and Canton townships have reduced their share in recent years. It’s a shame that they don’t seem to appreciate the value the library brings to the area. It’s not only a center of lifelong learning, but also a community center. Residents without access to computers can use the ones available to patrons. Children can acquire socialization skills and be initiated into reading through story-reading sessions.
Both as a community and a country, we’d like to think we deeply value education. Decisions to bleed a library dry of funding call that notion into question.