Usefulness of the community Partner

The Community Partner aspect of this course was very useful, and was one of the most fun experiences of my college career so far. This aspect of the class also helped me to better understand the terms and topics discussed in class as it provided a real world perspective on them. The fact that I could relate what we learned to how it is  applied in the real world of local government and local politics gave me a better foundation for the class in general and overall understanding.Working with my CP also helped me to better understand an issue that has always piqued my interest,but I had no idea how to get involved. This working relationship I have established with the Public Library of Brisbane will hopefully continue throughout the coming Summer.

The Brisbane Library and the Governor

The city of Brisbane does not have a governor instead it has a mayor and a city council, who combined make decisions for the future of the town in accordance with the needs and wants of the community.  The power of the mayor is completely at the will of the individual. The current mayor has a weak position because he is not very vocal and lets the city council decide most of the issues, and does not usually stray away from what they suggest. However the mayor before the current mayor was very vocal at meetings and was often seen talking to the residents of  Brisbane on a daily basis. She was a vital part of all community functions not simply as the person who delivers the speech. According to the library's administrators the current mayor is not very forthcoming with solutions for the future of the library and does not seem very invested in the fate of the library it's self. While Brisbane does not have a governor it's city council has  the capacity to create change within the community and on occasion so to does the mayor.

The Constitution

The Brisbane Library is not constitutionally mandated, in fact it is not mandated by the constitution for a town to even have a public library, although they will be found in every town. The Public library is only mandated under the local constitution, which makes it easier for Public libraries to be taken away as they are only there as long as they can afford to be. This makes the tightness of funds even more problematic. With no legal safety net the digitalization of libraries seems the only way to keep a form of open learning for communities that are facing budget cuts. as Public Libraries are only answerable to the local constitution and the local council, the library would have to start gathering citizen support if it wished to gain any help from the local government.

The Public Library and Taxes

My CP does not have the authority to raise revenue through taxes, as it is not in their capacity to do so, however the little bit amount of money the library does receive from the local government is raised by a tax on the citizens of brisbane. If the Public Library wished to establish either a new tax specifically for them or two get a little more funding from the money gained from taxes, the library would have to send a representative to either town hall or a community meeting to plead their case. This red tape the library has to go through to receive  any sort of fiscal support from the local leaders, has made upkeep of the library very difficult and is why the institution relies so much on personal donations.

My CP and Budgeting

Before working with the Public Library I assumed that the Public Library would be given it's own section in the overall yearly budget of the city. however upon asking the employees the library is kept up primarily through donations and a few government programs. In order to research my paper I looked  into the budget of Brisbane for 2012-2013 to find the exact number of funds spent on the Public Library. When looking I discovered that there is no specific government funds outlaid for the library, it is put into another fund allocated for teenage programs and children programs. These findings further illustrate that Public libraries are losing their prominence in the community, the lack of appropriate funding by the local governments is appropriated by a large donation of donations and a large network of other Public Libraries that rely on one another for support, for example instead of having too buy new books for the library's collection they can simply borrow from one another cutting back costs. From other conversations with employees and volunteers of the library it has come to my attention that direct funding for the local government comes only when there are specific building repairs to be made. However this lack of substantial funding increases the difficulty for libraries trying to stay relevant and their abilities to provide for their constituents are severely impaired.

The Public Library and the Judicial Branch

The Brisbane Public Library does not deal with the judiciary aspect of our government, it is no where near the Public Library's jurisdiction to arrest an individual or engage with the prison system. However since reading this chapter and listening to the Dolores Huerta talk it has come to my attention all of the issues facing our prison and judiciary system. How judges are elected in some instances, such as elected by a governor, could lead to less accountability by the people, Where the merit system allows judges to be held accountable to the people and in theory to not feel the need to support the legislation of the governor simply because he got him the position, even if it does not follow the will of the people. In regards to the prison system the Dolores Huerta speech spoke on the high number of delinquents serving very severe and long prison sentences for very petty crimes such as theft. Dolores Huerta went more into the racial stereotyping of the prison system, however I think prisons have become a money making/ profit making machine. Instead I think child law breakers who have not committed a very egregious crime should be put in an educational program or rehabilitation program rather then prison to stop the cycle of those kids going back to prison shortly after being released.

Interfacing Entities of the Brisbane Public Library

The Brisbane Public Library interfaces with other local entities, they work with political organizations to gain funding, they let the organizations meet and put up their posters and flyers and most of those organizations give substantial donations to the Public Library. The Brisbane Public Library will also work with other Public Libraries, in exchanging books and DVD's. This sense of community between San Mateo County libraries is not unique to the Brisbane Public Library, this system has been in place since Public Libraries started to use computers and a automated system that organizes the contents of their library and their check out system. However this interfacing with other San Mateo county libraries is specifically beneficial to the Brisbane Library because of it's small size, without the relationship it has with other Public Libraries it would not be able to meet the needs of it's constituents because it would not be able to hold all the books, computers or DVD's that they want in the space the library occupies.