Friends of Bezazian

Make some noise to defend our library and our community!

You’ve probably heard that Chicago faces a 2026 budget deficit of more than $1 billion and that in the next few days, our representatives on City Council will be making some tough choices.

For all of us who love and use the library, there’s a lot on the line.

Without new revenue sources, we risk severe cuts to CPL staffing and services.

We need to make sure new resources are approved so that our libraries can be funded at the level needed to serve our community.

But the proposed budget also cuts CPL’s book budget in half and calls for "quiet layoffs," i.e., eliminating
89 full-time-equivalent staff positions.

We need to make sure these cuts don’t happen.

Last year’s CPL budget already cut 52 freshly-vacant positions from our library. With the 2026 layoffs, our city’s library system will be down 141 positions compared to 2024 levels. Our own Bezazian Branch is currently understaffed by two clerks and a children’s associate, and these positions would never be filled.

In fact, systemwide, the vast majority of the proposed staffing cuts are librarians and library associates, clerks, and pages—the people we count on for both the resources we need and timely access to those resources.

And those resources aren’t just books or DVDs. They’re quality programs for all age levels; support for literacy, lifelong learning, and employment; access to expensive subscription-based materials like magazines or reference works like the Oxford English Dictionary; vital information about social services, housing, and community organizations; even access to the internet.

Filling the budget deficit by cutting our public goods and nickel and diming working-class communities is unacceptable. Chicago is a world-class city. We deserve a world-class library.

Ten minutes of your time can get the job done.

Please write/call/talk to your alderperson, the Mayor's Office, and library commissioner Chris Brown.

Do it today.

Tell them how much you love the library and want to see it fully funded and fully staffed. Tell them you support new, progressive sources of revenue to make that happen!

Was there a program you recently attended where you learned something new? A good book that changed your perspective? Did you need to print something in a pinch? Maybe you used the library’s digital resources to read the news, trace the evolution of a word or concept, or find a job. Maybe you saved $58.99 on your last library visit alone, leaving you more money for groceries and bus rides and school supplies.

Tell them.

Every letter, every email, every call in support of our library matters, and the more calls and emails and letters there are, the better.

THANK YOU!