[Ohio-talk] My letter text if it helps

[Barbara Pierce]

Here is the letter I wrote to the members of the finance committee. It is
modeled on Deborah's text, but it works better for us outside the Cincinnati
library catchment area.

Dear Senator Wilson: 

Cincinnati's Library for the Blind has a rich history.  More important, it
is an information lifeline to over 5,000 patrons with disabilities in
southern Ohio.  I am a blind library patron living outside Cleveland, so I
know how important library service is to print-disabled people.

Because the funding allocated for this library was not requested last fall,
plans are now under way to merge Cincinnati's Library for the Blind with the
one in Cleveland.  Please do not let this happen. 

Instead restore the funds that should have been allocated to the Cincinnati
Library for the Blind, $535,000, as the line item it has always been in
Ohio's budget. While that amount represents significantly less funding than
has been allocated in the past, it would be far better to have reduced staff
and reduced hours in Cincinnati than to have no library at all in the area
and the patrons served by an over-worked and under-funded Cleveland staff
that will not be able to do the job they will be asked to do.  

It has only recently come to the attention of leaders in the blindness field
in southern Ohio that this merger was not necessary.  Blind patrons were not
notified of budget hearings or any opportunities to prevent this service
from being eliminated.  If the merger occurs, service to blind people
throughout the state will be significantly diminished. Remember that it is
the only access that most of us have to books and magazines at all.

I realize that the time is short and hope that you will grant this request.
Again, this is not a request for additional funding, but simply for the
funds that were originally allocated to the Cincinnati Library to be
returned to their original purpose.  

Sincerely,

Barbara Pierce, President Emerita
National Federation of the Blind of Ohio
237 Oak Street
Oberlin, OH 44074