AADL Library Services Threatened by Governor's Executive Order to Abolish State Library
On July 13, Governor Granholm issued an Executive Order abolishing the Department of History, Arts and Libraries, as part of her effort to reach a balanced budget for the next state fiscal year. It is understood and accepted that hard decisions must be made, and that all departments of state government should be expecting to find savings and efficiencies.
It is not clear how abolishing the department dedicated to promoting Michigan history and the arts, and supporting all libraries in Michigan will result in significant savings; the Governor has indicated that there is an unfunded plan to move the collections to repurpose the State Library building. Library services, when separated or isolated from a larger system, and placed in a bureaucratic environment, will wither.
How will this proposed plan affect you? The State Library administers the services of the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped. AADL is a sub-regional service provider and has been since February of this year. The plan as proposed moves the Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped from the Library of Michigan to the Commission for the Blind. It is not clear if any funding will follow the move, and the Commission is facing the same cuts as all other state departments and agencies. If services from the Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped statewide are to remain stable and funded, the Governor, and our legislators, should be made aware that the proposed move is a threat to its existence.
The Library of Michigan also administers the group purchasing of databases that are made available to all libraries statewide for reduced costs. Any library cardholder or Michigan citizen with a valid driver’s license can access those databases from anywhere in the world. If the resources of the Library of Michigan are dispersed or eliminated, and if the State Aid to Libraries allocation is reduced, then access to these databases will disappear. Only the larger, most affluent communities will be able to consider locally funding these resources. Even at AADL, continuance of the currently available set of resources will not be possible.
The very popular statewide interlibrary loan program via MeLCat is also administered through the Library of Michigan, and paid for through a match of State Aid allocation with Federal funds. Each $1.00 of state funding for this service is matched with $.50 of Federal funding, and the total to fund this statewide delivery service is in the millions of dollars. This service is also threatened if the Library of Michigan is abolished, and State Aid is reduced.
It is an irony that in a time when all are calling for efficiency, resource-sharing, consolidation of services, and collaborations to save and find money, a state institution that has led statewide programs that work for the benefit of all Michigan citizens, and which help to provide the critical tools needed for our workforce to reinvent itself, is threatened because someone has the very uncool and uninformed notion that libraries are obsolete.
The Ann Arbor District Library opposes Executive Order #2009-36, and supports funding of State Aid to Libraries at the current level of $10M.
Josie
Please consider contacting your State Senator and your State Representative.
Comments
I know you don't always find it pleasent dealing with me, Josie, but you have to admit, when I get on a tear, I see red and start firing off letters like there's no tomorrow and that's just what I did. I contacted both our Senator and my reperesentative about this bright idea of the Governor's and lit into both of them like I'd been shot out of a cannon....politely, of course....but...and, I know I don't have to tell you this....I made my position clear. :)
I hope everyone who enjoys the services of the library joins me in writing to the Senator and their reperesentative to hopefully stop this moronic idea.
Oh and P.S. The Governor has her own web site where you can express how you feel on issues too. Quoting from the web site:
"If you wish to either express an opinion about a state issue or send a comment to the Governor, please fill out and submit the form below. You should not use this form if you require a response. All comments will be reviewed, tallied and reported to the Governor and her Executive staff."
Shoot something off to her too, I did. The address is:
http://www.michigan.gov/gov/0,1607,7-168-21995-65331--,00.html
messa,
I am glad that you care enough to state your opinion to me, and to the Governor. Thanks.
This is a letter that I sent to Governor Granholm, and I urge you to also write her and your state representative.
Dear Governor Granholm,
I recently heard about Executive Order #2009-36 and its plan to virtually demolish all state libraries in Michigan because of the budget. As a former student and avid patron of the library, I must say that I did not believe it at first.
The basic function of libraries serves students and professors alike as well as those of us who love to read. The quick and vital reference to knowledge and information is a basic right to all individuals, whether they happen to live in Michigan or elsewhere.
Library access is vital to the functioning of any government. I do agree that something needs to be done about the state budget, but to cut funding to the libraries is an extreme and medieval idea, something that I would never have thought any state would fathom to do. There are far more and less vital state programs that would probably benefit from a lot less state funding, but I wholeheartedly assure you that the libraries are not one of them.
The literacy rate in Michigan, as compared to other states like, for example, Nebraska is not as high as is could be and it would help the children and adults of Michigan if the libraries would be granted a "stay of execution" instead of this plan. I wonder what previous governors would have done to trim the budget beside take away basic library privileges from residents of Michigan? Certainly, there has to be another way.
As it stands, I don't see how Michigan can benefit by cutting funding altogether to the libraries. Cut the casinos, the federal state employees salaries, or even tourism, but the library? Unequivocally, no. Knowledge is the foundation of a great civilization, and libraries are a vital part of America. Do not cut funding to the libraries.
Sincerely,
A Very Concerned Citizen
Thanks for the sample letter--I also wrote a letter to the senator. We just moved to the area and one of the most impressive things to me has been the library system. We are there every week and it would be a shame to see it lose funding.
Josie:
I plan to write letters to my representatives and to the Governor. I find it very hard to believe that a person who professes to support education would propose to break-up the Library and to disburse its collections. Even more ironic is reality that very little money will be saved in relation to the budget deficit the State faces. And the long term costs of her proposal are incalculable. When I voted for Granholm I expected more of her.
Regards,
Dick Dougherty
halalheather,
Including your letter in your post so that others may see your comments, and perhaps use them is very thoughtful. Thank you for supporting libraries.
farahgre,
I'm very happy to know that you are enjoying the library system in Ann Arbor, and that it has been a welcoming place to you as a new resident. Thanks, too, for writing to elected officials in support of libraries.
Dick,
Thank you. The message that little will be saved, or perhaps nothing will be saved, if this EO is enacted, is a very important part of the message.
Josie
Time is running out. Unless both the Senate and the House take action against it by September 11, the Executive Order takes effect. The most hopeful outlook would be passage of a Senate Concurrent Resolution (SCR 18) that would reject Executive Order #2009-36. However, this resolution would have to be approved by a majority vote in each house. The next best chance is contained in a series of Senate bills (SB 503-527) that would transfer all the functions of the Department of History, Arts, and Libraries to the Department of State. If neither of those, pass, the House has a resolution (HR 140) asking the Governor to keep the library collections together rather than dispersing them hither and yon. It wouldn't have the force of law but it would send a strong message.
None of these potential actions directly address the severe budget cuts, but keeping everything intact provides a more hopeful outlook. By now Governor Granholm should be receiving the message that Michigan residents value their state and local libraries.but it is unlikely that she will rescind the Executive Order. Thus, if legislative action isn't taken by September 11, it's all at risk.
Connie0 is exactly right, and I appreciate her sharing this information with all of us.