Library ‘fire sale’? Library backers plan rally as City Council holds budget hearings
This Friday, as the City Council holds a preliminary hearing on the Mayor’s proposed library budget, a group called Citizens Defending Libraries (CDF) plans to rally at City Hall to protest budget cuts and the “fire sale” of library buildings.
The Mayor’s preliminary 2014 budget calls for slashing $29.9 million from Brooklyn Public Library’s operating support –- one third of BPL’s overall funding from the city.
While budget negotiations will likely restore some of thses cuts, city libraries have seen city operating funds reduced by $68 million since 2008, according to Center for an Urban Future.