I’ve written about Floridian public libraries and the looming threat to their funding before. Recently, they’ve had cause to breathe a little easier.
From Jasksonville’s Florida Times-Union:
While Gov. Rick Scott axed state funding for a host of programs when penning his budget, nearly $22 million set aside for Florida libraries remained untouched.
It is still early in the process, but the budgetary tea leaves now read better for library officials than many others who rely on state funding.
“I would have to think that it is good news that the governor chose not to cut the funding,” said Barbara Gubbin, director of the Jacksonville Public Libraries. [full article]
Ummm… you think? What a quote. Another conspicuous quote is missing, though.
One reason Scott may have held library funding steady is because a decrease would have affected $9 million in federal matching dollars…
It’s unclear why Scott did not cut library funding, or what role the federal match dollars played in his decision. Scott’s office did not return calls or e-mails seeking comment.
It would have been nice if the good governor had gone out on a limb and supported the libraries he was saving . Insted, he had his office cloak it in some baroque funding shell game. I guess libraries shouldn’t hold out for uneqivocal support from politicians.
Gubbin says at the end of the article, “We have faced cuts before, and kept it in there. We know how to work the system.” Right on! Gubbin’s attitude is great. Touchy-feely appeals to the inherent value libraries are not enough.
Help is out there, too, at SaveLibraries.org. They’re blogging, collecting resources, and otherwise tweeting the 2011 world of Libraries Under Siege.