education

Library funding stagnate

While the government's budget will spiral upward significantly next year, funding for the country's libraries will stay the same, just as it has for the past two years.

The government will again spend $410,620 on the country's 58 public libraries in 2009, the same amount that was budgeted in 2007 and 2008.

According to Héctor González, finance director for the Ministry of Education, which funds the libraries, this money is used to pay payroll, rent and basic services.

Of the 58 libraries, only three are located within Panama City. These are the Biblioteca Nacional Ernesto J. Castillero, in San Francisco, the Eusebio A. Morales, in Plaza 5 de Mayo, and Omar Torrijos, in the district of San Miguelito.

For Nitzia Barrantes, technical director of the Biblioteca Nacional, the number of facilities is not nearly enough.

Barrantes said that if people had a library near their home, they would be more inclined to read. She added that the amount given to libraries by the government is not nearly enough to adequately fund the existing facilities.

Many of the libraries have to rely on private donations to survive.

Edisa Frago, director of Eusebio A. Morales, said that in 1987 the ministry purchased 10,000 books to start the library's collection. Since then, all additional reading material has been donated.

Barrantes said that the government should create an independent library system.