State Librarian Testifies

Earlier this week, the State Librarian of Kansas testified before the Kansas House of Representatives' Education Budget Committee regarding funding for Kansas libraries.  Here is a .pdf of her remarks.  A good illustration of something reaching a "tipping point" is the withered budget for the "State Aid grant program".

First a little background:  The "State Aid" grant program is money distributed directly to libraries in Kansas and is intended to supplement local budgets and help raise the level of library service across the state.  We in Hutchinson have been fortunate over the years and haven't been in desperate need for these funds, but they do help and we use them for their intended purpose - to raise the level of service we provide.

To return to the tipping point idea; the budget for State Aid has dropped from $2.7 million in 2002 to $1.7 million in 2011.  The money is distributed based on population served, so it was never much for smaller communities anyway, but that small amount has shrunk by about 36% in less than a decade.  The Legislature and the Governor have arrived at the moment where they need to decide if libraries are worth anything to Kansas.

Here's what a snapshot of library service means to Kansans on a daily basis.  In one day:

• 39,037 people visited their local library (roughly 10.1 MILLION visits per year!)
• 75,827 items were checked out (roughly 19.6 MILLION loans per year!)
• 4,411 questions were answered
• 10, 859 people used the Internet (roughly 40% of those have no other Internet access)
• 1,945 people found help searching for a job (that is over 500,000 job searches per year!)

I suppose my point is, how else could you provide that amount of service for such a paltry sum?  Granted, all of those libraries services are primarily supported by local tax dollars.  Many small libraries rely on State Aid grants to provide that "extra" that helps some of those 500,000 job searches turn into job offers for the patrons they serve.  The prime example of this is the statewide database subscriptions.  Only the largest and strongest of our State's libraries could afford these on their own.  Learning Express Library is one that many job seekers and students would sorely miss if the State Library couldn't fund it.  It provides scores of practice tests for academic and occupational certifications.

If the State Library "tips"; if our State leaders cut more; they might as well cut the whole thing.  There is a point at which a service becomes non-functional and the State Aid program is nearly there.  When funds or manpower or delivery methods become so curtailed as to be a waste of the remaining money spent on it, a decision must be made.  I would argue that in the tight budget they are looking at, the State should dump a few million EXTRA into the State Aid grant program and the state-wide database system.  Many people are, quite clearly, using their libraries for help during our economic recovery.  How better to lend a hand to people who are seeking out solutions to their problems?  These are the motivated ones - give them a leg up instead of tripping them up.  Libraries, especially public libraries can and will help them succeed.

So that's my rant-for-the-week.  Thanks for indulging me.