Alvie, I could not get the link to work. I found the article and had a site shorten the link. It will take you to the site, then forward. It was such an important article, I hope you don't mind. http://makeashorterlink.com/?W27665633 I do think the suggested closing goes more to his philosophy than to the class size amendment, though. Before someone jumps down my throat, though, think about it. Read his inaugural speech this time. A quote: "There would be no greater tribute to our maturity as a society than if we can make these buildings around us empty of workers, silent monuments to the time when government played a larger role than it deserved or could adequately fill." He wants government buildings empty, and wants government out of the business of funding things. He said it himself, I did not. This is a statement of fact, not a political view. I did not vote for the class size amendment for reasons of my own, but this is serious. This will probably happen if people do not speak up. Would it be better at a college? My opinion is no. Would a university with its own funding being cut be able to preserve such a library? Funding is being cut drastically to universities. How will the move of the library be handled financially? This is not being caused by the bullet train or the class size amendment, it would have happened anyway. No one mentions that the class size costs would be spread out over ten years, in other words divide by ten. It is so much more serious than just genealogists. People with catastrophic illnesses are being left without medical care or access to their drugs. The library is only a very small part of it. Thousands more state workers will be laid off. In fact, many already have. If you go to www.congress.org and type in your zip code for the state, you can find the phone numbers and email addresses for your state congress people. It is easy to use. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Alvie L. Davidson CGRS" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Friday, January 24, 2003 7:34 AM Subject: [FLORIDA] Florida State Library Closure?? > > > > TALLAHASSEE -- Gov. Jeb Bush warned voters for months that a constitutional amendment to reduce class sizes would be exorbitantly expensive. On Tuesday, he named his price. > The Republican's proposed state budget for 2003-04 would require hundreds of millions of dollars in spending cuts for universities, juvenile crime prevention and health care for the poor. University tuition would rise by up to 12.5 percent. The governor proposes closing the state library, which would save $3-million and eliminate 41 jobs. One proposal is to transfer the library and its extensive collection of state historical materials to Florida State University, which wants the prestigious archive. > > Bush's spending proposal for next year faces exhaustive review by lawmakers, including Senate hearings aimed at generating public opposition to his plan > > > > The full article can be found at: > > http://www.sptimes.com/2003/01/22/State/Bush__Tough_times > > > > Gloria Colvin, Florida Library Association Communications Coordinator, provided us with additional information. She says: > I have verified the following with the Secretary of State's Press Office. While details are still emerging, it is clear that under the Governor's budget plan the Division of Library and Information Services would be eliminated. Parts of the Division would be retained and moved from the Department of State to other state agencies. The Library Development arm, which administers the federal LSTA program and State Aid to Libraries, is slated to be incorporated into a newly formed "Department of State and Community Partnerships." The state archives will be moved to the Department of Environmental Protection, and the records management function will move to the Department of Management Services. The library itself, which provides library services to state agencies, libraries throughout the state, and the general public and manages the State Documents Program, would be eliminated all together with its collections dispersed. > > > > What does this mean to Florida genealogists? As George Miller, Florida State Genealogical Society board member, has said: > > > > We need to obtain as many facts as possible so as to evaluate the full impact of this announcement to genealogists, particularly as pertains to the state historical records and the Florida Pioneer Descendant Certificate Program records we have placed with the State Archives. That will help us determine the 'next steps.' > > On obtaining a full understanding of the issues, we may communicate with the FGS/NGS Records Preservation and Access Committee (RP&AC) and request assistance and guidance. We could use some guidance on how to make sure that materials are preserved in the 'right' environment(s) and remain accessible to all citizens. > If the collections are to be dispersed, the Librarians Serving Genealogists (LSG) organization should call a meeting of the library decision makers -- perhaps the heads of the major genealogical library collections -- and determine if there is any way to obtain the archival records that are of genealogical significance and find a home for them. A good case could probably be constructed in favor of placing these types of records in a place where they can be accessed and used. > > Alvie L. Davidson CGRS > Lakeland, Florida > http://www.floridadetective.net > "Keep smiling and keep 'em guessing what you are up to!" > > > --------------------------------- > Do you Yahoo!? > Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now > >