LIBRARIES ALSO ON BUDGET AGENDA

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, January 11, 1993                   TAG: 9301120388
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A-6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short
LIBRARIES ALSO ON BUDGET AGENDA
IN YOUR COVERAGE of the Virginia budget hearings that are being held around the state, you included some misinformation. Evidently, the person writing the articles was not able to attend the Harrisonburg hearing on Dec. 30, because the articles state that the issue that dominated the hearing was the teacher-pay issue.
Of the 57 people who spoke at the hearing, 25 spoke in support of public-library funding, nine spoke for mental-health concerns, eight spoke for teacher-salary increases, and five spoke for extension services. Smaller numbers spoke for the arts, veterans' affairs, and other issues.
Last year, when the same 50 percent cut was in the governor's budget for libraries, there was accurate coverage of the large number of "ordinary citizens" who came out in support of one of their favorite institutions, the neighborhood public library. Some of the local people who attended the hearing on behalf of our public-library system have been expressing disappointment to me that the Roanoke Times & World-News has failed to mention libraries as a major issue this year.
Public libraries use state aid to purchase library materials, so a cut of 50 percent in a single year will be very upsetting to our many users. New materials are the lifeblood of a public library. LINDA L. KRANTZ Library Director Rockbridge Regional Library LEXINGTON

by Bhavesh Jinadra by CNB