Turn the page, please

It’s a sad story that’s recently been written by County Executive William Steinhaus’ office — that $125,000 earmarked for Dutchess County libraries will not be coming through as anticipated. That means programs slated for the summer will be downscaled or, worse yet, canceled.

As summertime is always pivotal for young students who don’t have much reinforcement to keep their reading skills sharp without the discipline of regular class work, the prospect of cutting library programs is not a good one. This could mean fewer or no new books and reading initiatives, fewer or no new reading-related entertainment and fewer or no new social/educational programs. All of these summertime incentives are crucial to attracting young readers to their local libraries. Without the expected county funding, libraries will instead have to scrimp and save just to do the basics and maintain what programs they already offer.

As one county library director put it, there’s research proving library programs help prevent the “summer slide,� which is the learning loss that occurs during the summer when children are not at school. Our local libraries work very hard to fight such losses, and they can use all of the county’s support — fiscal and otherwise — to ensure success.

Yes, some programs will be left intact, thankfully, but not at full capacity. And others will be totally erased from the summer’s agenda. Our local libraries just can’t be expected to pick up the county’s tab when their budgets are already stretched so thin. We agree with Mid-Hudson Library System Director Josh Cohen, who said that when comparing the effect of the county’s cuts on its overall budget to the effect on area libraries, the reductions just don’t make sense.

“The amount they’re cutting will not make a significant difference to the county, but it’s big money to the libraries,� he said.

He’s right. Reneging on the $2,600 that was due to the Amenia Free Library, and slated to fund its summer program, makes a big difference in terms of what it can now offer to young readers. As Amenia Librarian Miriam Devine said, the library is “totally devastated� by the county’s cuts.

Our libraries provide important services, not only to our young but to people of all ages. They strengthen our communities and engage the public in thoughtful and insightful discussion. The money the county is saving by withholding the $125,000 for summer library programs is a small price to pay for the huge benefits Dutchess County residents would gain otherwise. The bottom line is that priority should have been given to the Mid-Hudson Library System. We would like to see this story’s end rewritten.