Contributor Opinion by Gayl Selkin-Gutman

The following contributor opinion is by Gayl Selkin-Gutman, president of the Rockville Library Advisory Committee. She sent it along as an email originally, and I have reformatted it as an "opinion piece."

If you listened to the last edition of Rockville Central Radio, you know that we discussed the fact that the Montgomery County Council appears poised to do away with a subsidy that makes free parking at Rockville Library possible. This contradicts a 2006 policy that the Council passed making parking free for all library patrons throughout Montgomery County.

My own opinion is that ending this subsidy, which I am told is $84,000 per year, is a bad move and sends the wrong message about the worth of public libraries. Libraries can turn areas that are otherwise strictly commercial in nature into civic hubs -- witness what is beginning to happen in Town Square. This move would work against that, treating this important public institution as just another shop in a commercial center.

Enough from me. Here is Gayl's note:

Dear Friends of the Library, Rockville Chapter and Members of the Rockville Library Advisory Committee,

As you may have heard, on Tuesday, May 13th the County Council plans to consider a hastily proposed resolution to eliminate the library parking subsidy. This means that the policy adopted in April 2006, enabling Montgomery county library patrons to park for free near all of the county's libraries could be rescinded. The Rockville Library Advisory Committee seeks to encourage library use, and we support free parking at all county libraries. We believe that this resolution is the wrong way to go.

If you support free parking at the county’s libraries, please take the time to send an email, or contact your Council member to let them know of your support for this policy.

Following are some important points:

• The policy was established after significant input and deliberation - and should not be rescinded without allowing enough time to adequately inform the public, provide opportunities for sufficient input and understand the impacts of such a change.
• Requiring paid parking at only two of the 22 branches will deprive some county residents of equal access to their libraries.
• Imposing a parking fee would discourage library use for many patrons for whom driving is their only viable option for getting to the library.
• Many daytime library users, senior citizens on fixed incomes, the poor or the disabled, simply cannot afford to pay for parking

Thanks for your interest and support of the Rockville Library.

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