WHERE do you think that money comes from in the first place? We tend to think that money fed back to us by the political bureaucracy comes from trees. It costs less to raise it and spend it locally than to send it to Harrisburg for them to dole out in exchange for votes. J Davis ----- Original Message ----- From: "Joe & Stephanie Grohol" <joeandsteph@cqservices.com> To: <PABLAIR-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Thursday, April 10, 2003 10:30 PM Subject: [PABLAIR-L] Update: Proposed PA State Budget Cuts for PA Libraries Hi, All....I am writing this email to just give up a heads up on an article that I saw in my home town's paper on what Ed Rendell is proposing to do....we do have a leeway..this proposed cut has to go through the State legislature and all before it goes through, but just wanted you to know what is going on....since myself (Stephanie) works in a local library. Here is the article: "State Budget Axe Falls Heavy on Libraries It Could Mean Cutting Staff, Hours Locally By Wes Skillings This is one National Library Week in which there is not much cause for celebration, thanks to the cuts in Gov. Ed Rendell's 2004 budget which slashes state aid to Pennsylvania's libraries in half. It appears that Rendell, who touts himself as the education governor, has tried to make up for his own revenue shortfall, some of which was inherited, by taking away half of the $75 million now allocated to our public libraries when the checks are cut next year. That cut will be across the board to local libraries and in Wyalusing, for example, the previous state aid of approximately $11,000 will be sliced to $5,500 in 2004--a huge impact on a small-town library. In its current budget, the breakdown in state aid Wyalusing received was about $4,000 in quality library aid; $5,000 in the Incentive for Excellence program, and $2,000 under equal distribution. "It is likely staff will need to be cut, hours cut, the materials budget slashed, and othe r services such as interlibrary loan and programming downsized," reported Bradford County Librarian Diane Sadler. Sadler was referring to the Wyalusing Public Library, but her prognosis applies to most other community public libraries in rural Bradford and Wyoming Counties as well. "Wyalusing has been hit already with local cuts and shrinkage in investments and donations," Sadler said, adding that "(with) these further decreases in revenues the library ...will have no choice but to make serious cutbacks." This is not just a Wyalusing problem or a county problem, it is a Pennsylvania problem, and The Philadelphia Inquirer in a Saturday editorial predicted "a nightmare for patrons" of libraries all across the state if the Rendell budget package holds. "The stunning reversal of state support after decades of pernicious neglect threatens any hope of progress," the commentary, delivered on the eve of National Library Week, stated. "Instead, Pennsylvania is slam med backward to a deplorable distinction as one of the nation's cheapest stewards of public libraries." For example, the newspaper reported that the Philadelphia Free Library, thanks to the announced cuts, will have to lay off 40 people, close seven branches and cut public access to hundreds of computers, as well as abandoning Saturday hours. The impact for large and small libraries alike will also jeopardize other funding, such as federal matching dollars and grants and loans that require local incentive matches. "Resources that the Wyalusing Library depends on such as the county library (system headquarters) and the Brown Library in Williamsport (District Center) for rotating collections, providing interlibrary loans, continuing education, program support, will be cut and not able to continue support services to Wyalusing Public Library," Sadler predicted on the local front. "These cuts for Wyalusing could be as serious as shutting off the comp uters for hours at a time to save on the electricity bill. Wyalusing's budget is already lean. This is meat that is being cut off the bone. "Students will have limited access to research materials. Businesses will not be able to run in and borrow the library equipment on a whim, and the wonderful programming such as summer reading programs will be limited in scope. Wyalusing Library will be competing with other organizations for the donated dollar and that will take a lot of the librarian's time." That burden will fall on Wyalusing Librarian Kristin Smith-Gary, who, for the time being, has deferred comment on local repercussions from the projected state aid cuts to Sadler. The one hope of salvation is the public, the people who rely on their community libraries from everything from their weekly reading fare, research needs, computers, audio books and various other programs. Library organizations and advocates will be aggressively bringing their concerns before the public and urging the news media to editorialize that voters need to urge their state legislators to do something about stemming this project slash in state funding to our libraries. "The battle is not over until June 30," Sadler notes.. "We have until then to make the public aware of what the cuts mean and how it affects them personally." There is some good news regarding funding to our local libraries, notes Sadler. She reports no projected cuts for the POWER Library program, which means databases will likely be maintained. Money for interlibrary loan is still funded. However, reimbursement for interlibrary loans is only a small percentage of the actual expense to a library. The other problem with dealing with such significant financial cuts is the so-called standards required by the state, such as the hours a library has to be open and the programs it is required to provide. "There is no move to cut some of the standards that small l ibraries found burdensome," said Sadler, pointing to longer hours, weekend hours, higher materials acquisition (12 percent of operating budget, plus built-in increases to that). There are also enforced standards for continuing education hours and even the number of librarians required. The Bradford County Library, based on the population it serves, is required to have three professional librarians, all of whom require a minimum education and certification. Last year, for instance, the county library hired Stephanie Farr to fill that third professional slot. "We will still be held to those standards," Sadler reiterated. The legislature and Gov. Rendell say that critical issues are services to the unemployed, improving pre-reading skills and funding for education, she notes. "What agency serves all three groups better than the library?" That is the article....hopefully this won't go through and all....just letting all know what is going on...and I hope the administrator is ok with me sending this along..... Stephanie Grohol ==== PABLAIR Mailing List ==== Please direct any questions or comments regarding this list to rjwnlw65@aol.com --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.467 / Virus Database: 266 - Release Date: 4/1/2003