Hi List... I thought I would forward this message from Pam Cooper President of the Florida State Genealogical Society. I thought she did a good job of explaining the situation. Jim Florida's Historical Treasures Are at Risk Pam Cooper, FSGS President I have provided you with some very important information based on conversations that I had with Florida State Archives staff; Executive Director of the Florida Historical Society, Nick Wynne; Librarians on the Florida Library Association listserv; Jim Schnur, Special Collections & Archives, Eckerd College; Robert Austin, President of the Florida Archaeological Council and reading many, many documents now available on the Internet. In addition, I have contacted and discussed this situation with David Rencher, chair of the Records Preservation and Access (RPA) http://www.fgs.org/rpa/ He asked me to write a report based on facts and it will be posted to the RPA web site. Upon his return from the American Library Association conference, he will make further contacts in the library field and ask for support from genealogists and historians all over the U.S. The most disheartening letter that I have read in the last four days is the letter from our former State Librarian, Barratt Wilkins. He just retired last month. Please read his email in its entirety at the end of this email. I am asking for your help. Please write, email, visit your legislators. Make them aware of this very grievous error that they are about to commit. We cannot lose Florida's treasures. The Florida State Genealogical Society board has unanimously approved joining a coalition to oppose Governor Bush's proposed budget regarding the dismantling of the Florida State Library and Archives. The coalition currently consists of the following organizations: . Florida Historical Society . Florida Archaeological Council . Florida Anthropological Society . Florida Trust for Historic Preservation . Florida Association of Museums A statement will be drafted the week of Jan 27. It will be discussed among the coalition chairs and the statement will then be finalized and sent to the Governor. Below are the details as I know them today. Facts 1. The Governor has proposed for the 2003-4 budget ZERO dollars for the State Library and Information Services http://www.ebudget.state.fl.us/dtlsearchissue.asp?service_id=45400100&pgm_component_id=0309000000&appr_cat_id=&issue_id=1001000 2. It has been proposed that the state library be eliminated and transferred to Florida State University in Tallahassee by July 1. 3. The proposed budget cuts 17.6 million from FSU's state funding and President T. K. Wetherell said "The way it looks is that someone wants us to assume a responsibility but with no money (provided)." In addition, FSU has limited parking, and their own library is lacking so much space that they use warehouses. The FSU library would need to hire more staff to facilitate the book processing and increased reference questions. 4. The Florida State Library and Archives division is now part of the Department of State and is responsible for the state library, the state archives, state record keeping and library development services/grants programs for public libraries throughout the state. 5. The proposal for the Bureau of Archives and Records Management is for the Records Management responsibilities will become a part of the Department of Management and the State Archives could fall under the parks department of the Department of Environmental Protection. 6. The FloridaMemory.com project will be in jeopardy. This site now contains the photographic collection (over 90,00 pictures), Florida Pension Application Files, Spanish Land Grants, Call and Brevard Family Papers, and many more documents of Florida's early history. 7. The Governor's budget must pass the Florida Legislature. Session will begin March 4. We still have time to change the tide. Below are newspaper articles via the Internet: Is state library about to die? - Tallahassee Democrat http://www.tallahassee.com/mld/democrat/news/local/5018483.htm Bush: Agency merger would save millions - Tallahassee Democrat http://www.tallahassee.com/mld/democrat/news/local/5000843.htm Library could be victim of Bush cuts - Orlando Sentinel http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/state/orl-loclibrary25012503jan25.story A LETTER FROM BARRATT WILKINS, RECENTLY RETIRED STATE LIBRARIAN OF THE FLORIDA STATE LIBRARY Folks: First, thanks to all for their good wishes on my retirement. I hope to see many of you at the Reception on January 30, so we can visit again for a short time. I am beginning to settle into my new routines, which includes time each day in surfing the Internet and WWW. During my searching, I came across the Governor's Recommended Budget for FY2003-04. I assume many of you have seen the e-version of this document by now. It came out on Tuesday. One of the most startling changes is the elimination of the Department of State and the Department of Community Affairs to form a new "Department of State and Community Partnerships". The two departments did have a combined workforce of 1026 FTE and a budget of $913,580,202. The new Department will have a workforce of 597 FTE and a budget of $740,738,101. ALSO, the divisions of Library and Information Services, Cultural Affairs, and Historical Resources are eliminated and NOT part of the new Department. In fact, it is difficult to find the word "library" in the recommended budget. The new Department has a new [Division of] Community Planning and Assistance, and within that new division there is a new unit called "Community Assistance Grants" which has the responsibility to administer grants for community development and revitalization ($91.2 million), cultural opportunities ($16.4 million for cultural and historic preservation grants), EDUCATIONAL SUPPORT ($45.6 million in library grants and library construction), executive leadership and support services ($10.1 million -117 positions to administer grants); and land resources ($82.3 million). Somewhere between 25 and 29 of the positions in executive leadership and support services would be assigned administration and support of library grants. "Educational Support" is made up of the following grants: State Aid to Libraries $32.4 million (no change) Library Cooperative Grants 1.2 million (no change) Library Construction Grants 5,996,157 Federal Aid to Libraries 5,996,157 It would appear that the only staff assigned to administer these grants would be the 25-29 positions in current Bureau of Library Development and Administration Service units, in the current Division of Library and Information Services. This would be the ONLY staff! I did learn that an error was made in the Governor's Recommended Budget, and that instead of State Archives and Records Management being transferred to the Department of Management Services, it is now proposed to be transferred to the Department of Environmental Protection under State Parks and Recreation. DEP is going to be the new home for Archives and Records Management and the staff will be reduced. I suspect that the Florida Memory program as currently funded would be in jeopardy. The state Library of Florida (Bureau of Library and Network Services) is slated to close effective July 1, 2003, with the layoff of all 36 employees in that unit. The collections are supposed to go to Florida State University, although that university does not have any room to house 10.7 linear miles of materials in the State Library. FSU Library currently utilizes two warehouses for its overflow collection. The closure includes the State Library's operations in the Capitol, called "Legislative Library Services". The antecedents of the State Library began with Statehood in 1845, and the creation of what became the State Library was among the first 15 acts of the new state's legislature. Much of the Florida's history is in the collections: Florida Collection - contains over 236,000 items including printed materials, state government document, maps, and microfilm reels. There is also an unprecedented 113-file drawer of pamphlets, manuscripts, and other materials collected by W.T. Cash, Dorothy Dodd, and State Library staff for nearly 80 years. The Florida collection contains materials acquired by the State Library before the Civil War and during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. [There is a rumor that this collection would follow the State Archives to State Parks and Recreation] General Collection - contains nearly 900,000 items including bound books, federal documents, periodicals, films, 9700+ videos with public performance rights, and materials in the legislative library service. [I have heard that one of the reasons to disburse this collection is because it only had some 70,000 circulations from its 330,000 bound books collection each year. While this may seem small in comparison to public libraries, when one compares the circulation to the other state libraries in the nation, Florida ranked 10th in circulation. Florida also ranked 2nd in the nation in reference transactions and 6th in public service hours. The State Library is a special library not a public library and can only be compared with statistics of the other state libraries.] The concept of the Division of Library and Information Services was to be a "one-stop shop" for Florida residents to have free access to information about Florida's history, culture, and life in all formats including visual images, and provide assistance in the development of library, archival, and records management services statewide. Questions for the library community: With the proposed elimination of the State Library and a cost savings of approximately $3 million annually, what happens to the state documents depository program? What happens to Florida's interlibrary loan network (FLIN)? Audio-visual services? And will public access to the collections be preserved in an academic setting? What is the definition of public access? With the elimination of FLIN, will libraries now be allowed to charge one another for interlibrary loans? What kind of access will be afforded to the State Archives? With a reduction in staff will lawyers, legislative staff, and other researchers have as easy an access to these resources as currently afforded? Will genealogists still have the public access they have enjoyed? Will the popular Saturday hours continue? How will new materials for the collection be acquired for the state's genealogy collection since a portion of the State Library's book budget is dedicated to that purpose? How will FloridaMemory.com be maintained in a DEP setting since it received some of its support from federal LSTA grants? When all of the institutions (State Library, State Archives, Legislative Library Services, Records Management and State Records Center) currently in the Division of Library and Information Services are no longer together, how long do you believe that "library grants" and the consultants in Library Development will survive? One only needs look at the experience in the Department of Education and the elimination of consultants for some insight about what may happen. When there is no longer a "State Library" presence in Tallahassee, embodied in the R.A. Gray Building, how fast will the visibility and support for library grants and programs disappear? What is going to happen to the Gray Building? Is it to become empty? I have been surprised with the SILENCE of the Florida Library Association about these matters since the news has been out for several days. Perhaps you should contact the FLA President and find out what response the Association is going to make to these proposals. I understand that a meeting called under the auspices of the FLA Legislative Committee on January 30 at the Leon County Library from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. to assist them in developing an FLA response may be having some difficulties. Are you planning to attend? Somebody needs to be asking questions. Although I am now retired, as an honorary life member of FLA I think I have the right to call this situation to the attention of a wider audience. For those receiving this email, I would appreciate your sending it to colleagues on library list serves and by other means. I no long have the resource to hit a few buttons and blanket the state with a message. Best wishes to all of you!! Barratt barratt.wilkins@mac.com Pam Cooper FGS/FSGS 2003 Conference Co-Chair < http://www.fgs.org > President, Florida State Genealogical Society < http://www.rootsweb.com/~flsgs/ > Chair, Librarians Serving Genealogists < http://www.cas.usf.edu/lis/genealib/ > P. O. Box 7066 Vero Beach, FL 32961-7066 .