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MBLC Celebrates 125 Years

1979

Proposition 13 vs. the library budget (cartoon with text). I have been familiar with libraries for some time. Ninety percent of the time you could shoot a cannon through and nobody's there (quote from Howard Jarvis, Information 13 newsletter). Californians thought Proposition 13 would nix tax dollars being spent on welfare. Instead, a Pandora's box has opened. Reports indicate that libraries have been dealt a severe blow in the action. Estimates show libraries being cut 61 percent. PArks, community colleges, and street repairs also appear on the casualty list, while welfare remains in excellent condition. Not one dollar has been cut from California's welfare budget to date.

1979 cartoon outlining Proposition 131


In February 1979, with the initiation of the New England Library Jobline, the BLC's Placement Office changed from referral service to multi-purpose personnel center. The job line averaged 50 calls a day.2

TODAY: The self-service Massachusetts library jobs board on the MBLC's website remains very popular today, with an average of 5-10 new positions posted daily. The postings we collect are often shared through other job sites as well, such as the Simmons SLIS Jobline.

What else happened in 1979?

  • The state of Ohio agrees to pay $675,000 to the families of people who died or were injured in the Kent State University shootings.3
  • A first class postage stamp cost $0.15.3
  • The Sugar Hill Gang released the first commercial rap hit, "Rapper's Delight," bringing rap off the New York streets and into the popular music scene.3

References:
1. Mediawrite (MBLC newsletter), January/February 1979.
2. MBLC Annual Report, 1979.
3. www.infoplease.com [link].