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Final City Budget Reverses Cuts to Library;
Money Restored to Maintain Book Budget
and Keep Libraries Open Sundays

Proposed reductions to the Los Angeles Public Library’s 2008-09 budget, including a $2 million cut in the book budget and a reduction in staff resulting in the closure of 8 regional branch libraries on Sundays, have been reversed in the final city budget adopted on June 4, 2008. The budget also funds the furniture, equipment, books and staff to open the city’s 72nd branch library, the new Silver Lake Branch, in a community that currently does not have a library.

The cuts were originally proposed in response to an estimated $400 million deficit facing the city in 2008-09. The Mayor and city Council restored funds to the Library’s $120 million budget during the budget review process.

The Los Angeles Public Library serves the largest population of any library in the country through its Central Library, 71 branch libraries, over six million books and other items, state-of-the-art technology, and its Web site (www.lapl.org). These resources and its more than 18,000 public programs provide everyone with free and easy access to information and the opportunity for life-long learning.

 

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6-9-08