Library Day in Albany

When I saw that 17 protesters had been arrested in Albany yesterday, I thought "Oh, no! The library lobbying effort has gone too far."  But the protesters were folks who wanted--reasonably in my opinion--NYS to maintain the so-called "millionaire's tax," which Governor Cuomo and the Republicans want to let expire at the end of the year.  Library Day in Albany was actually two days ago, not yesterday, and apparently went well.

Here is what Rebkkah Aldrich of the Mid-Hudson Library System reported:

"We had over 20 member libraries represented – 60+ people from the MHLS region! But I know many of you were there with us virtually through calls your legislators, use of the NYLA Online Advocacy Center, and expertly timed letters to the editor… the support out there in the MHLS region for library advocacy this year has been tremendous – and very necessary.

"It was fantastic to be waiting for a meeting with a legislator yesterday and to hear their staff picking up phone calls from library supporters who were calling with the same messages we were there to deliver in person – it really proved that there are a lot of people out there who care about libraries and who are watching legislators behavior towards our issues. Two legislators told us that they’ve heard from more library supporters in the past month than have from any other group of constituents!

The day went pretty well, we saw most legislators at some point in the day, others of us had face time with legislative aides but that’s ok – most seemed to really get what we were saying and were encouraging that we continue to speak up which is a good sign – it means there is still hope. MHLS will be following up with all legislators, making sure they get another dose of our messages via letter, calls and visits. We’re going to make appointments with some key legislators in their local offices to continue to press our message."

She also suggested that now is a good time to ask your local legislators to visit your library.  We did this at the Pleasant Valley Library a couple of times recently (Marc Molinaro was the visitor) and, in addition to lots of good advice, we also ended up with a Member Item that Representative Molinaro sponsored. We have invited Sen. Steve Saland, who previous also sponsored a member item for us, to visit, but could not work out the dates.  Given the general budget-cutting madness that is going on at all levels of government, it is more important than ever to keep in touch with our representatives.

And, by the way, I agree with the arrested protesters that the "millionaire's tax" should be kept. We need to pay for services with taxes instead of abandoning needed services because we refuse to pay for them. Keep that in mind when the next Chapter 414 campaign starts.