CM K
A4 | THURSDAY, DECEMBER 27,2018
I Baldwin Bulletin
» www.bbnews.today
Opinions
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Send letters to wil@BBnews.today by 1 p.m. Monday.
Library and
animal services
are not pawns
In recent weeks and months, the Baldwin County
Board of Commissioners and Milledgeville City
Council have been meeting in regards to service
delivery strategies, as required by state law, to
make sure there is coverage of all important entities
within our boundaries.
While these meetings typically lack excitement,
this round has left a bad taste in people’s mouth. A
taste that has soured, because after the two sides
could not come together on an agreement, the
county commissioners voted to remove funding
from animal control and the Twin Lakes Public
Library system.
We aren’t going to join in with the finger pointing.
It’s the job of the officials we have elected to come
together and serve our best interests. Instead let’s
focus what this means if no compromise comes
about.
Let’s start with the library. We aren’t amongst
the highest literacy rates in the state, our education
system continues to need room for improvement
and we definitely want continued growth in our
area.
What industry will want to come to our area if we
can’t even sustain a library? If the industry comes,
this would easily be a reason for several employees
to find residences in neighboring counties rather
than ours. That’s the opposite of what we need.
It would also eliminate options for children
after school to keep them out of trouble, not to
mention the image it gives us when the community
with “Georgia’s Designated Public Liberal Arts
University,” a school who has given us novelists like
Sherrilyn Kenyon and Flannery O’Connor can’t
maintain a library over bickering.
Animal control is also something you shouldn’t
mess with. Overcrowding is a problem. Stray
animals throughout our community are a problem
and a potential danger.
Rescues and volunteers can only do so much to
fight a problem that continues to grow year after
year. Going back to industry, stray animals on our
thoroughfares and our citizens being harmed aren’t
going to do our image any favors.
We know these conversations are ongoing and
the deadline is July for an agreement, but we are in
the waning days of 2018 and the time is only getting
closer.
We encourage the city and county both to do
right by all of its citizens, to remember that the
county includes the city and the city aids the coun
ty’s sustainability and complete this strategy with
funding for animal control and the library.
These are not two areas to ever play hardball
with.
^Baldwin Bulletin
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II II
Wait! It can t be over yet! I demand a recount!
to provide public services
STEPHEN HOUSER
Twin Lakes Public Library director
Recently, I presented the
impact of the proposed library
budget cuts at a county commis
sioners meeting. I’ll admit I
was unprepared for what came
next, deeply moved as commu
nity member after community
member stepped forward to share
with commissioners the place
that the library holds in their
hearts, families and lives. There
was Whitney Brown, mother of
two said “I need you to know how
important this library is to local
families. Without the library,
these families wouldn’t have
stayed in Milledgeville. It’s what
connects us all together.”
Jim Bohannon, ex-Marine, said
“I urge you to look at our library
not as a liability on a spreadsheet,
but as an asset to our community.
It’s critical to every function that
you have on your budget sheet.”
Craig Callender, professor, said
“The library encourages early
reading, which allows our chil
dren to succeed as students and
informed citizens.”
These testimonies brought
home to me just how many people
we impact daily. The Twin Lakes
Library System is a vital and
important part of this commu
nity. We provide great economic
benefits to taxpayers, add value to
taxpayer’s dollars with grants and
partnerships and work diligently
to increase literacy levels. More
than this, as I found out clearly
at the commissioners meeting,
our work improves the lives of the
community that we serve.
Since our founding in 1938,
our public library has played a
key role in promoting lifelong
learning and literacy levels, both
of which greatly impact the long
term economic health of this
community. We also focus on
immediate economic improve
ments, which is why, as part of
our new Hancock Branch (next
to City Hall), we included plans
for a business incubator to serve
the needs of entrepreneurs, small
businesses and our future genera
tions of business leaders.
Partnerships like the incubator
are something that we excel
at. We work with local schools,
daycares, tutors, and nonprofits
to serve children and young
adults. For example, we recently
partnered with Communities
in Schools and the Board of
Education as part of the $2.5m
Wraparound Baldwin grant,
funds from which will pay for
summer library programs at
housing authority homes. We
work with community groups
and businesses to bring classes
and events to our patrons, part
nering with a local yoga studio
for free yoga classes. These
partnerships also help to add
value to taxpayers’ dollars. The
valuable contributions of both
the Friends of the Library and
the local businesses help support
our Summer Reading Club.
And, in the last four years, we’ve
received over $800,000 in public
and private grants. Even though
grant funding cannot support
our day-to-day operations, it has
funded building projects, literacy
programs, technology purchases
and our business incubator.
Our Summer Reading Club
just celebrated its 80th year. With
summer reading and programs
like Prime Time Early Literacy,
our library works hard to instill
a love of reading from a young
age. As former First Lady Laura
Bush said, “Libraries allow chil
dren to ask questions about the
world and find the answers. And
the wonderful thing is that once
a child learns to use a library,
the doors to learning are always
open.”
Research shows early literacy
is hugely important to gradua
tion levels and later employment.
According to the American
Education Research Association,
a student who can’t read on grade
level by 3rd grade is four times
less likely to graduate by age 19
than a child who does read profi
ciently by that time.
Also fundamentally important
is the role that our library plays in
building and creating community
here in Milledgeville and Baldwin
County. Our library draws people
of all ages, backgrounds, income
and education levels. Our patrons
interact daily with each other
across all these differences. We
have adults, families and seniors
who attend our yoga classes,
book clubs and computer classes.
We have teenagers who come
here every afternoon for STEM
programs, to study and to spend
time with others in a welcoming
environment. We have chil
dren who come here with their
parents for story times, for books
for bedtime reading, or for our
Summer Reading Club events.
Our library creates a place for
this community, and I believe
this is why our patrons are so
passionate about us. To be sure,
there are many who feel that the
public library is outdated in the
age of Google - that somehow
people no longer read our books
or utilize our services. None of
this is true. We had over 110,000
visits to our local library branches
last year, with over 149,000 items
being checked out. We have main
tained this level of library partici
pation for decades. For those who
wish to use library services from
the comfort home or school, we
currently offer 15,000 ebooks and
audiobooks, and we are working
on new streaming video and
music services for 2019.
We also expect use of our
resources to grow. A 2017 Pew
Research study identified
Millennial (18-35 year olds) as
being more likely to use public
libraries than any other age
group, with over 53 percent
of Millenials having been to a
library or bookmobile in the
previous year.
The lack of a library services
agreement and the resulting
budget cut, set to take effect July
1,2019, would put at the risk the
existence of the public library in
Baldwin County. I appreciate the
previous support and funding
that we have received from the
City of Milledgeville and Baldwin
County, and strongly urge
agreement on library services
and funding, so that our library
funding remains sustained and
stable into the future. The quality
of life for the people, families
and communities that we serve
depends upon it.
State and Federal Elected Officials
Rep. Jody Hice (R)
1516 Longworth House
Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: (202) 225-4101
Fax: (202) 226-0776
Rep. Rick Williams (R)
Room 607, Coverdell
Legislative Office Building,
Atlanta, GA 30334
404-656-0887
Rick.williams@house.ga.gov
Sen. Burt Jones (R)
407 East Second St.,
Jackson, GA 30233
Phone: (770) 775-4880
Fax: (770) 234-6752
Sen. Johnny Isakson
(R)
United States Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510
(202) 224-3643
Gov. Nathan Deal (R)
203 State Capitol
Atlanta, GA 30334
(404) 656-1776
Web/e-mail:
gagovernor.org
Sen. David Perdue
(R)
B40D Dirksen Senate
Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Phone: 202-224-3521
