Library Services in Jeopardy

Dear friends:

Some of your public library’s most critical online resources are being threatened by proposed budget cuts at the state level. In this time of rising unemployment and home foreclosures, the use of public libraries is also increasing. In many communities, libraries are the only source of free Internet access. With the state moving more information online and expecting citizens to comply, more people are coming to the library to file taxes, to file for unemployment and public assistance, pay bills online, and to find small business start-up information.

Some of the most valuable resources available to our citizens are available through MeLCat and Michigan eLibrary. MeLCat is a statewide Inter-library loan system (as opposed to a regional one), making over 37 million items available to every Michigan citizen. Michigan eLibrary comprises an invaluable set of resources. These resources include Learning Express Library, providing online databases on certification and training for dozens of civil service jobs (police, fire, nursing, etc.) as well as help with preparation for tests like the GED, ACT, and SAT. Research databases provide full-text access to hundreds of thousands of journal articles. Over 28 million articles were downloaded from those subscription databases in 2008 alone, an 80% increase over the previous year! Funding for MeLCat and MeL databases are provided jointly with state funding by the Library of Michigan and matching federal LSTA grants from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. Federal LSTA allocation for libraries is re-calculated every year based on state aid to libraries. Currently, Michigan provides $10 million while LSTA matches it with $5 million in federal grants. In other words, for every two dollars cut in state aid to libraries, we lose an additional dollar of federal grant funding. More importantly, we risk destroying the entire MeL and MeLCat cooperative programs, which have a potentially devastating impact of over $70 million, which is what it would cost the citizens of Michigan for each individual library to duplicate the services offered.

State legislators are proposing such a cut in state aid. Please contact them and ask them to seriously reconsider. Then ask your friends to do the same. A letter like the following will work:



I am writing to ask you to please seriously reconsider reducing state aid to public libraries to under $10 million. In this time of rising unemployment and home foreclosures, the use of public libraries is also increasing. In many communities, libraries are the only source of free Internet access. With the state moving more information online and expecting citizens to comply, more people are coming to the library to file taxes, to file for unemployment and public assistance, pay bills online, and to find small business start-up information. Federal LSTA allocation for libraries is re-calculated every year based on state aid to libraries. Currently, Michigan provides $10 million while LSTA matches it with $5 million in federal grants. In other words, for every two dollars cut in state aid to libraries, we lose an additional dollar of federal grant funding. More importantly, we risk destroying the entire MeL and MeLCat cooperative programs, which have a potentially devastating impact of over $70 million, which is what it would cost the citizens of Michigan for each individual library to duplicate the services offered. To ensure the continued availability of these services, I urge you to maintain state aid to public libraries at the current rate of $10 million.

Sincerely,

Tim West
Greenville, Michigan




You can locate your Senator here: http://www.senate.michigan.gov/FindYourSenator/michigafys.asp

You can locate your Representative here: http://house.michigan.gov/find_a_rep.asp


For Greenville residents:

Senator Alan Cropsey
1005 Farnum Building
P.O. Box 30036
Lansing, MI 48909-7536
(517) 373-3760
SenACropsey@michigan.gov

Representative Mike Huckleberry
S1089 House Office Building
P.O. Box 30014
Lansing, MI 48909-7514
(517) 373-0834
MikeHuckleberry@house.mi.gov