Here is another news item on the Washington State Library. ____________________________________________________________________________ ___________________ State Workers Saturday, December 29, 2001 Library shutdown proposal angers longtime employees Closure would save about $9 million a year, at cost of about 140 jobs PATRICK CONDON, THE OLYMPIAN Originally published December 24, 2001 TUMWATER -- Librarians live in a world where decisions aren't made until data are consulted, scenarios are considered and logic is applied. That's one of the reasons why employees who work at the Washington State Library are so upset with Gov. Gary Locke's proposal to shut the whole operation down in an effort to save money in a tough budget year. "I was puzzled how someone could reach a decision on something so complex and important with no real information on what that decision will mean," State Librarian Nancy Zussy said. Zussy took a call Dec. 6 from Fred Kiga, Locke's chief of staff, who told her of the governor's decision. Up until then, Zussy said she had no idea closing the library was under consideration. Kiga told Zussy the decision was final. If the Legislature follows Locke's lead, Washington will be the only state in the nation without a state library. Locke's budget proposal, unveiled last week, includes a mix of cuts to state government and revenue-generating proposals to make up for a $1.25 billion budget shortfall. The library's yearly budget is about $9 million. 'Tough decisions' In asking Locke and members of his staff why they targeted the library for elimination, Zussy said the common refrain is, as she put it, "Times are tough, and we have to make tough decisions." Of the roughly 835 people who would face layoffs in the Locke budget, about 140 work at the library. "It seems we're being stuck with by far the biggest portion of the layoffs," Zussy said. While some senior state employees who face job elimination might be able to transfer into new positions being proposed by Locke, that may not be an option for many library employees. "The skill sets we have don't necessarily translate into the new jobs being proposed," said Diane Mitchell, a librarian. The new jobs proposed by Locke include prison guards, laboratory specialists and auditors. Mitchell has worked at the library since 1975. She has two kids in college, a retired husband and is two years away from retirement herself. "This is very sobering," Mitchell said. "I don't know what's ahead. We've taken some risks to stay with the State Library and in state government, because we have a commitment to the people we serve, and to public service. We're trying to make things better for the state and for the residents of the state." Another librarian, Gayle Palmer, has worked at the library for 15 years and has two kids near college age. "You worry most about your kids, and are they going to be able to get by? Are you going to be able to help them?" Libraries in communities and at colleges are also facing cutbacks in a time of government drawback, Zussy said, and won't offer much in the way of employment opportunities for laid-off state librarians. "We have ties in this area," said Marlys Rudeen, another librarian. "I don't want to leave." Questions unanswered As much as Zussy and other library employees are worried about losing their own jobs, though, they speak with even more passion about the prospect of the State Library dissolving and not being able to offer the services that many state agencies and others have come to rely on. Questions abound over Locke's plan. If the library shuts down, what happens to the nearly 3.5 million books and other items in its collections? Locke has suggested that the library's holdings would be relocated to universities and other institutions throughout the state. But that would be a time-consuming, expensive process, Zussy said, and the Locke plan includes no money for such an operation. "We just keep hearing, we'll work those details out later," Zussy said. "We'll see." Some argue that libraries have grown irrelevant in the age of the Internet, but Zussy counters that the role of libraries if anything grown even more important as filters and selectors of reliable information. Additionally, she said, less than 10 percent of the information that the library gathers for state agency researchers can be found online. Earlier this month, the library moved from its traditional home in the Joel Pritchard Building on the Capitol campus to a temporary headquarters on Capitol Boulevard in Tumwater, to make room for legislators displaced by the Legislative Building renovation. That cost about $1.5 million, Zussy said, money that will have been wasted if the library shuts down in the near future. What's next Zussy has already compiled a list raising dozens of other concerns and questions, a list that will be a basis for what she says will be an all-out effort to head off Locke's plan. Zussy said she would paper lawmakers with voluminous information about the library and the services that it offers. "If the Legislature does ultimately decide to go along with this, I want to at least make sure that they're making an informed decision," Zussy said. "We really feel the governor's office made this decision without the proper information. We won't let the Legislature do that." The Olympian Copyright 2001