Libraries learn to do more with less

Local libraries are busy places these days.

Kids are out of school. Air conditioning beckons the sweaty. The unemployed need computers to find jobs, while those fortunate to remain on payrolls may be opting for DVD checkouts over first-run movie tickets.

Alas, libraries are not paid by the Curious George books they distribute or the number of mentally ill people they temporarily shelter. They’re reliant instead on property taxes, a revenue stream damaged by the housing collapse.

Two headlines at today’s Kansas City Kansan neatly capture the challenges of the modern librarian.

Library budget features near 14 percent cut
Last update Jul 23, 2009 @ 11:07 AM

 Usage of KCK Library breaks record
Last update Jul 23, 2009 @ 11:05 AM