If you want to help libraries, spend a few minutes today writing to your State Senator and your State Assemblyperson to ask for their votes in favor of libraries. State funding for libraries has been stagnant for seven years and now the Governor is proposing a 5% cut.

State funding is vital to the Southern Tier Library System (STLS). STLS provides a variety of services to 50 member libraries in a 5 county area. They catalog and process all books, videos, DVDs and audiocassettes. New books and interlibrary materials are received three times a week through their delivery service. Member libraries are connected via dedicated phone lines to the main computer at their headquarters near Painted Post. The technology department keeps the software and hardware in working order. They provide Internet access. The staff offers professional consulting services. In 2003, STLS cut 30% of its personnel.

Everyday people use the services of STLS here in Wellsville. Currently, one person is writing a novel. She is borrowing newspapers on microfilm through interlibrary loan to research the facts of an actual event. Another person, who is a family man, is using State-funded databases to write a school paper on longevity. Many people use MEDLINE to find answers about their prescription drugs and other medical questions.

This "Spotlight on the Library" article was written by Mary Jacobs, the David A. Howe Public Library director. Articles are written and published monthly in the Wellsville Daily Reporter.

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