This is how we CAN have nice things

For all of the "smaller government" and "taxes are too high" talk that we all hear, day-in and day-out, there are actually good reasons for having robust, smart government:  Government that coordinates; government that practices efficiency (yes I went there); government that gets the job done.

Why do I think this?  Because there are lots of things in our daily lives that we take for granted AND that no one else is willing to do.  What things immediately come to mind that everyone wants and that government provides?  Familiar things like fire service, policing, trash removal, running water / sewer, and road repair.  Then there are more esoteric services (if you can call them that) that have made and continue to make modern civilization possible.  Things like a public education system, support for sciences, art, and higher education; and even libraries.  What's an efficient, coordinated way state government can help each and every public library in Kansas?

This is a quote from the State Librarian's budget presentation yesterday:

Last year the State Library asked one of the database vendors – Gale CENGAGE – to compile the cost for individual subscriptions, in short, what would be the cost if every library subscribed on its own.  That figure was $24,767,699 – nearly $25 M.  The statewide contract with this vendor is $632,000 so cost avoidance is over $24M.

The numbers are so wildly disparate, they almost don't make sense, do they?  The State - the STATE GOVERNMENT - can save taxpayers $24,000,000 by spending a mere 3% of that sum instead of pretending to be fiscally responsible by eliminating programs they perceive as being frivolous or unneeded.


Will all libraries in the state subscribe to Gale CENGAGE online resources with individual contracts?  Of course not.  Many simply will never be able to afford such tools.  But it wouldn't take many individual contracts to start bumping up against that $632k.  The State of Kansas can provide every library and by extension, every citizen these tools for a bargain price.  Funding for the State Library has been cut by an appalling 30.6% over the past 5 years.  Funding for the statewide databases will disappear entirely in the next year if a decision is not made.  I hope our legislators understand the tremendous economy of scale that can be achieved in this instance and decide to do the right thing by funding the State Library at a proper level.