24/03/2024
Public Library Funding is under threat again. This time it is the Allen labour government who is reducing funding to public libraries in Victoria.
Please contact your local member and the Minister for Local Government to let them know the importance of funding our public libraries. There is an editable email below, but you are welcome to personalise this.
Public Libraries Victoria (PLV) is our peak body and needs your help to support our sector’s State Budget Submission, not only to grow funding for public libraries, but to protect library funding from potential budget cuts. PLV has therefore drafted the below email for you to customise as you see fit and send to your local Members and/ or the Minister. Your support is much appreciated.
Here are some relevant email addresses:
Melissa Horne, Minister for Local Government
[email protected]
Ella George, MLA for Lara; [email protected]
Christine Couzens
[email protected]
Alison Marchant
[email protected]
Darren Cheeseman
[email protected]
Whether people are borrowing books, accessing free literacy sessions, or getting out of harsh weather and avoiding high energy bills, is on the frontline of supporting the many locals doing it tough. Thousands are battling the cost of living and juggling work, study, and family commitments.
Shockingly, the Victorian Government has just slashed funding for library infrastructure by more than half. Important projects that sought to extend, upgrade, or build new libraries are now not eligible at all.
Now is the time to support public libraries like ours, not cut funding. Victorians are looking for libraries to open for longer, expand online services, deliver more literacy sessions and education programs, and make more books and other resources available for loan.
But Victorian Government funding for public libraries has been falling in real terms for years – it is not keeping pace with inflation nor this demand on library services. Especially as our population grows.
Ahead of the 2024/25 Budget, we are asking you to join us in calling on the Victorian Government to better fund public libraries.
Giving people the opportunity of lifelong learning, access to the internet, a sense of belonging and social connection, is only fair. Together with other public libraries across the state, we are calling for:
· A $4.5 million boost to the Living Libraries Infrastructure Program over 3 years, to deliver: much-needed refurbishments; the digital infrastructure required of modern libraries; and replace old semi-trailer trucks with efficient alternatives for communities that rely on mobile libraries.
· An increase to the Public Libraries Funding Program of $15 million over 3 years, to arrest the decline in State funding and help libraries deliver the extra services demanded by Victoria’s rapidly growing population, keep pace with inflation, and allow libraries to open more often and open for longer.
Extending access hours will mean that every Victorian can access a safe space and the resources they need, when they need them. And reversing the cuts to infrastructure funding will ensure full accessibility for people with disability, provide appropriate facilities for parents and breastfeeding mothers, and equip libraries with the digital infrastructure we need.
https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/libraries-are-about-democracy-not-just-books-20181009-p508k7.html
