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Loading...Save Toronto’s Public Libraries
“We’re going to be outsourcing everything that is not nailed down,” declared Toronto City Councillor Doug Ford on February 6, 2011.
A short while later, his brother, Mayor of Toronto Rob Ford, launched a review of all Toronto’s city services, with the goal of privatizing or shutting down municipal services as a way to save money.
Libraries For Sale?
The Toronto Public Library and its local branches are a core target of this review, and it seems likely that the City Council is planning to privatize some or all of its operations, as has already happened in several American cities.
As a result, local branches of the Toronto Public Library would almost certainly be closed. Some or all of the Library’s operations would be privatized, leading to higher user fees, fewer books and less access to the information and other vital services that are offered for little or no cost. In addition, ongoing cuts to library staff would be accelerated.
Act Now!
The people of Toronto need our help to prevent the threatened privatization of their public libraries.
Click here to sign our petition telling Toronto’s Mayor Ford that libraries should not be for sale.
And thank you.
Photo Credit: andrewrennie via Creative Commons
Read more: camden closes libraries, canada, human rights, libraries, library privatization, toronto
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http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/save-torontos-public-libraries/
I read consistently, I am fortunate to be able to borrow my books from friends, and I can buy books that I want to keep. If there is a book out of print, or hard to find, I can go to a library and get it there. I love the feel of a book and turning the pages, I know with technology I could get it with one of those readers, however I prefer the old fashioned way of reading. I like a real book.
A library is more than a collection of books in a building, it is a place to let your imagination roam freely.
With internet it seems faster to do research work but costs somehow. This makes public libraries still important.
We in Victoria, Australia went through this in the 1990s. Staff in the public library network I was working in at that time had to submit a bid for the tender to run the library (in effect, applying for our own jobs). The in-house bid was successful, albeit at reduced working conditions, obviously the point of the exercise. Several years later the Supreme Court of Victoria passed an order that the council had to refund library staff the money they had forgone being paid at the reduced rate. So it was all for nothing anyway. The only people that benefited were the consultants who came & harangued us about embracing the brave new world.
No! No, no, no, no, no! Don't you dare!
Rob Ford would reconsider if he ever picked up a book.
The class warfare has spread to Canada. The billionaires have a seething hatred of everything public, and can be considered literally public enemies.
They're trying to turn advanced countries into third-world countries where most people are in poverty, and everything is run by and for the wealthy. They hate taxes and public services. Look for them to trash Canada's splendid health-care system next.
Also look for them to corrupt Canada's voting system like they're corrupted the system in the US. Voting is a way for the people to exercise control of their government, which is intolerable to the wealthy.
This is a vicious class war, and the wealthy OWN the mass media (and everything else). We need to stay informed; knowledge is our best defense against this international fascist conspiracy by the billionaires.
Rob Ford is a regressive neanderthal who shouldn't be allowed to operate a hot-dog cart - he's probably just pissed about libraries because he can barely read "The Cat In The Hat" without moving his lips and following his finger. If he hadn't been born into a family business, he would probably qualify as a ditch digger.
I prefer privatizing to the constant mil levy's that our district library keeps trying. Instead of instituting reasonable fees and practices, their typical response is to ask for more money...kind of like our federal government!
In our district people can check out 99 books for 3 weeks...taking them out of circulation for other patrons. They can put up to 50 books on hold for free and then after causing all the effort of pulling the books, sending to appropriate branch, shelving in hold area, the patrons fail to pick them up!!!! And no charge is levied.
And here's the icing on the cake. We have a 3 day late "grace period" where no fines are imposed and the paltry fine after that is 10 cents a day....recently and reluctantly raised from a nickel!!!!
Yet guess who is again begging for money?
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