This appeared in the April 5th Tallahassee Democrat. I would like to thank everyone who took time to write and email Gov. Jeb Bush to leave the Library in Tallahassee. For people not familiar with Florida politics there has been a movement for 30 years to get the capital moved from Tallahassee, in the Florida Panhandle, to Central Florida - namely the Orlando area. I was going to include another comment about the movement but it mentioned "Mickey Mouse politics." Thank you again. Belva Gurr State Library's collection likely to stay in town By Bill Cotterell DEMOCRAT SENIOR WRITER It looks like the State Library won't be losing its books to Broward County. In adopting its version of the budget for next year on Friday, the House turned down Gov. Jeb Bush's $2 million proposal for moving the library's collection to Nova Southeastern University. There never was a provision for that in the Senate budget bill, so the issue is apparently off the table when inter-chamber negotiations on the $52 billion spending package begin next week. Dead things have ways of coming back to life in the hectic final days of a legislative session. But resurrection requires support of Senate presidents and House speakers - which the library initiative does not have. "I hope this is the last we hear of it," Rep. Loranne Ausley, D-Tallahassee, said as she left the Capitol after the budget vote. "I hope the governor will get the message that this is an important treasure, and he'll stop trying to mess with it." When Bush announced his budget plans, book lovers and librarians across the state deluged lawmakers with phone calls and letters demanding that the library be left alone. Library supporters set up a Web site and staged a demonstration last month at the Capitol and R.A. Gray Building, where small groups of sign-waving pickets clustered every Saturday morning to protest the plan. "The State Library is essential and vital to the ongoing effort to preserve our rich history and stimulate life-long learning among Floridians," said Rep. Bev Kilmer, R-Quincy. "With over 1 million holdings, the State Library provides an invaluable role in the archiving and management of Florida's government records." House Speaker Johnnie Byrd, R-Plant City, said he had not discussed the library with Bush. But with neither chamber including the move in its budget, Byrd said "I would think it would not come back" in the House-Senate negotiations. Senate President Jim King, R-Jacksonville, said before the session started that the library wasn't going anywhere. Jenny Nash, a spokeswoman for the Department of State, said Secretary of State Glenda Hood is committed to increasing the library's circulation - no matter where it is located. "We'll market the library to get people to know that it's there," she said. "A lot of people don't know the State Library exists." Bush proposed the move in his budget, which called for cutting more than 50 positions and relocating the library's circulating collection to save money. He and other supporters of the move also have contended that the books would be more useful for more people in a major urban area. Opponents saw it as a step toward breaking up the museum, archives and other cultural resources that are kept in Tallahassee. Several state employees also complained that they used the library frequently for research on laws and regulatory matters. The governor's office countered that the information could be looked up online or transmitted electronically. "That was the backbone of a lot of our research and reference service in state government," said Barratt Wilkins, who retired in January after 26 years as state librarian. "This makes my retirement worthwhile. I never would have been able to do anything to save the library if I still worked in the department." Kilmer and Ausley said the outcry from librarians and state employees was instrumental in preventing the library move.