Response to Ithaca Times' July 13th Editorial

To the Editor, Ithaca Times

The July 13th Ithaca Times editorial inaccurately characterizes the request of the library for contingency funding. Neither the Tompkins County Public Library nor the County Legislature refered to this request as an “emergency.” The request for $26,000 of contingency funding to meet immediate and pressing technology needs from the County’s $1 million contingency budget met the criteria for which the money is to be used: for unanticipated and/or unexpected necessary expenses.

While the decision to migrate to a new computer system was underway in 2004, it wasn’t until January of 2005 that Polaris was chosen. By mid-March we were able to fully understand its technological demands. The system was implemented last week. The timing of this migration did not fit neatly into the county’s budget process.

Your editorial asserted that the library’s basic business is books—and that the purchase of electronic equipment to replace out-of-date and outmoded technology should take a second place to books.

Times have changed. Books and information resource materials are available both in hard-copy and digital format. Computers and their software are absolute essentials if we are to have books in our library. We use computers to check to see if we own a book, to place a purchase order, to track its costs, pay the invoice, catalog the book, check it in, and check and it out. We use computers to provide access to our patrons to the wide array of digital information resources. Library users require computers to find out if we own a book, to place a hold on a book, to check on their library account, and to access catalog and information resources. Technology in libraries is not an optional extra, it is a critical piece of our infrastructure.

We are grateful for the support of those county legislators, both Democrat and Republican, who understood that mid-year requests are sometimes necessary and defensible.

Janet Steiner
Library Director