"State Library cuts take shape"

Last night Charles Thompson wrote an article for the Penn-Live in which he chronicled the meager results of our all-staff meeting yesterday. The headline is "State Library cuts take shape".

A longer, more detailed, version showed up this morning in the print Harrisburg Patriot-News, and online under the headline "Budget would cut public's access."

Thanks, Mr. Thompson, for getting the word out!

This morning's version includes this:

Library staffers would not comment publicly about Wednesday's meeting, saying they'd been told to direct all press contacts to the Education Department press office. Privately, several confirmed the details of the plan.

Education officials did not respond to requests for comment on the meeting, noting no plans are final until the budget is adopted.

And isn't that last bit part of the problem? Nothing is "final" until the budget bill is passed and the governor signs it. Legally, sure, that's the case. But some people would think that our staff has earned the right for a little decency and respect on this matter. Our lives and careers have been put into limbo since early February because we do not know whether we will have jobs after July 1st.

And, apparently, "education officials" don't care enough to give us more direction than this.

Most of us are 'doing the math,' or trying to, and attempting to figure out if we will be among the 21 who have jobs or the 30 who don't. (as a footnote, did everyone notice how the goal of a 50% reduction in staffing has now slipped to more like a cut of 60%?)

But while we can count up our own seniority, what we can't do is tell whether the state librarian's plans call for 3 techs or 7, for 2 assistants or 5, and so on. All we can really guess is that if we're the most senior person in our classification, we probably have a job; and if we're the most junior, we probably don't.

And that is really a pain. Would it be that difficult for the administration to share its plans for staffing needs with the staff at the State Library of Pennsylvania?

Job at HACC - York Campus

There is a "Reference/Instruction Librarian, Tenure track (12 months)" job posted for the Harrisburg Area Community College York Campus on the HACC web site.

It was posted April 4th. Closing date is April 17th. Desired start date is June 1st.

Advertised salary range: $45,625-61,375.

Don't all rush over there at once!

Is No News Good News?

To answer the title question, we think not.

Last word from the administration was that they would have a hit list (our term, not theirs) prepared and would begin talking to people at "the end of March, beginning of April". The end of March has come and gone. The beginning of April has come and is almost gone.

And still no word on plans for the State Library. No word on who has a job in the new fiscal year and who doesn't.

So, as we hear it, some people are actively looking for work elsewhere.

They, and just about everyone else on the payroll, are more on edge every day.

If people from the administration read this blog, you should know that there's no point in delaying announcements because you are afraid work will suffer. Work is suffering already. People are suffering.

Philadelphia Inquirer on Rolling Furlough Agreement

The Philadelphia Inquirer carries pretty much the same news about forestalling the rolling furloughs in an article today headlined "State, unions reach pact to prevent furloughs" by Angela Couloumbis and Mario F. Cattabiani.

Newspaper Coverage of Latest Deal

The Harrisburg Patriot-News for April 3rd carries a big story about the halt of the rolling furlough proposal.

Headlined Rendell, union leaders broker deal to avoid immediate furloughs and written by Charles Thompson, the story's opening sentence reminds us that "hundreds of workers still could be laid off this year." (That would include at least half of us here at the State Library.)

Because "this year, Gov. Ed Rendell proposed the elimination of more than 2,600 jobs because of the state's worsening finances. Many jobs will be eliminated through attrition, but Rendell has said layoffs might be needed."

That is, "with the Rendell administration projecting a $2.3 billion deficit by the end of the fiscal year on July 1, the deal does little to dim the prospects of pink slips for several hundred workers."

This isn't over by a long shot. But people's attention may well be distracted for the time being. Do what you can to keep the light shining on the decimation of the State Library of Pennsylvania.

No Rolling Furloughs (For Now)

Yesterday's news was that the unions and the governor's people came to an agreement over the rolling furloughs that were threatened recently (those were the ones where we would be forced to take off two unpaid days each month, or very roughly a 10% pay cut).

Here's how it is explained in an email that some of us got from our union:

SEIU 668, AFSCME and UFCW have reached a TENATIVE agreement with the Commonwealth that STOPS the Governor’s threats to impose rolling furloughs. This tentative agreement is dependent on a ratification vote of the unions’ members. The entire tentative agreement will be mailed to each member.

The tentative agreement includes the following:

1. NO rolling furloughs for the remainder of this budget year ending June 30, 2009 and the next budget year ending June 30, 2010. If any other furloughs need to occur, they will be done contractually.

2. A TEMPORARY 20% reduction in the Commonwealth contribution to the PEBTF effective April 2009 up to and including June 2010, to be repaid by the Commonwealth commencing in September 2010 in addition to the contractual obligation. Reserves in the PEBTF will be kept at a 1 month minimum.
If necessary, the Commonwealth will provide sufficient funds to ensure that this minimum. (There are currently 2 months of reserve funds)

3. There will be NO reduction in the level of benefits provided by the PEBTF.

4. There will be ongoing discussions to discuss any and all cost saving ideas, suggestions, and recommendations by the unions.

5. Includes an accelerated dispute resolution that includes arbitration in regards to this agreement.

The governor's press release pats himself on the back for the savings this generates:

Governor Edward G. Rendell today said his administration has reached a tentative agreement with some of the state’s largest employees’ unions that eliminates the immediate need for rolling furloughs of employees in those unions to help close the state’s budget gap.

The agreement to temporarily reduce the commonwealth’s health care benefit contribution rate by 20 percent will generate up to $200 million in savings over the next 15 months. The agreement also assures no changes in health care benefits for employees that are members of participating unions.

“This agreement is truly a win-win for employees and the state,” said Governor Rendell. “The temporary reduction in our health care contribution rate will provide us with enough savings to eliminate the immediate need to consider rolling furloughs for participating unions. This ensures that state government will keep running at the same pace for the people of Pennsylvania.”

The same release ends with these words about our managers (and others throughout state government) whose households are being hit by the state's budget situation:

The Governor has issued a pay freeze for all managers and non-represented employees, including the elimination of two step increments and a general pay increase scheduled to take effect between January 2009 and January 2010, a measure projected to save nearly $140 million through fiscal year 2010/11.

“I sincerely appreciate the incredible sacrifice by the commonwealth’s management and non-union employees and their daily dedication to serving the citizens of Pennsylvania without any increase in their pay,” said Governor Rendell. “These public servants often go unrecognized, but because of their hard work and efforts to continue to do more with less, Pennsylvania is in better shape than many other states.”

Surely, more to follow on all this. Some of us are pretty certain that the 'rolling furlough' ball is going to roll back onto the table before this is all over.

David Hoffman Speaks Out: "Don't close book on state library"

One of the former directors of the State Library of Pennsylvania, David Hoffman, has written a very welcome public indictment of governor Rendell's proposed gutting of the State Library.

In the April 2nd 2009 issue of the Patriot-News, (online here), he explains all the problems that will result - problems both for government and for Pennsylvania's citizens - from the budget slashing Rendell wants. Then Hoffman concludes by pointing out that the Library is administratively in the Pennsylvania Department of Education, and

Its function is certainly an educational one, but with the enormous problems facing public education in Pennsylvania today, the priorities of the department's leadership must be in guiding the school districts as they prepare today's student for the many roles they will choose following formal schooling.

Perhaps now is the time that the General Assembly should consider moving the library from the Department of Education and making it a legislative agency once again.

Now there's an idea! Sort of like the Library of Congress. It is certainly worth exploring (has the current secretary of education even been in the State Library?), though probably it can't happen in the next month or so and save current positions or revive our zeroed out book budget.

PA Library Association Online "Talking Points"

The PaLA has a number of online resources available for talking about the state budget.

The relevant (to us) core of their "Talking Points" is this:

Library users across the Commonwealth will be affected by the devastating 50% cut in the line item for State Library operations. In addition to providing support for legislators and Pennsylvania government officials, the State Library is the agency that collects and preserves material by and about Pennsylvania, including genealogical and local history information.

Other cuts in the Governor’s budget proposal affect important library services such as shared databases (POWER Library), interlibrary loan, and Ask Here PA, the state’s virtual reference service.

Don't legislators already know this stuff? I guess not.

Pages 3 and 4 of their FAQ on the state budget give a series of bullet points that help clarify the damage that will be done at the State Library of Pennsylvania by governor Rendell's proposed budget. Good stuff there! Readers, please send that FAQ to people who will do something helpful with it.

(Of course, there is some silliness in it, too. One of the bullet points answering the question "What does the State Library do for people in my community?" is this:

The Rare Collections Library is a treasure for all Americans and a special source of pride to Pennsylvanians. In 1745, Benjamin Franklin ordered the first volumes of British Law for use by the Pennsylvania Assembly. The collection has grown and includes rare volumes, maps and newspapers. The cost-effective techniques developed in the Rare Book Project and now used to preserve these materials assist local libraries and community organizations to preserve books, maps, pamphlets and other materials that are important to their community pride and history.

Most of us here don't see how this even helps in the Harrisburg community since they can't even get the new rare books room open to the public. Maybe the "cost-effective techniques" part is that if your community spends millions of dollars building along the lines of the model here, moves your books into it, and then closes it up to everyone for a year or more, then you save money by not having to provide any access to it.)

Pennsylvania Library Association Lobbying Help

The Pennsylvania Library Association's Executive Director, Glenn Miller, has sent out a letter (via e-mail on March 31st) to members saying (in part) that:

On PaLA’s behalf, along with our lobbyists from Greenlee Partners and some local librarians, I have been meeting with state senators and state representatives and staff, both in Harrisburg and in the district offices of some legislators. In general, we can conclude several things from these conversations thus far:

1. A number of you have contacted your legislators already and those messages are heard. Many more voices need to be raised.

2. The concerns we express about losing federal LSTA dollars clearly seem to ring true with legislators at a time when Pennsylvania is trying to maximize every dollar from Washington.

3. Legislators recognize the truth in our argument that cutting library funding in the midst of a recession is a really bad idea since libraries are busier than ever serving people hard-hit by this economy.

4. No legislator understands the rationale behind the proposed devastating 50% cut to the State Library.

The bad news is that the economic projections for next year’s state budget suggest that the deficit might be as high as $2.6 billion for Pennsylvania. Since under the constitution, each new state budget is required be balanced, this looming deficit presents a major challenge.

Did you note his point 4?? We, of course, don't understand the rationale, either. And they, of course, have to present a balanced budget. Just because they don't understand the rationale, that doesn't mean they will overturn the proposal. It's a no-win situation.

But thanks, Glenn, anyway. Thanks for trying. Maybe your lobbying will save a few of our jobs and thereby help a few more Pennsylvanians with their information needs.

Our SLOP Bucket Sighted

A blog titled "The Way of Improvement Leads Home" has commented on this blog, back on the 3rd of March.

The blogger, a Messiah College professor named John Fea, comments that

"I have blogged on this before and will blog on it again real soon. Unfortunately, historical and cultural institutions are often the first to go during times of economic crises. This is a shame, since during difficult times these kinds of institutions remind us of who we are as a people. Our shared past offers a source of strength and communal identity in times of trial."

He also issues an appeal to readers to speak out on our behalf.

Thank you!

Bless You SLA!

The Special Libraries Association (SLA) "sent a letter to Governor Edward G. Rendell on 17 March 2009 expressing strong concern over the proposed 50% budget cut for the State Library of Pennsylvania."

That's as reported Tuesday in the SLA "Public Policies Connections" blog.

It calls Rendell's budget slashing "short-sighted" and expresses the SLA's desire for postponing any huge cuts until there is

a detailed plan is produced and vetted by qualified information and policy experts who understand the critical nature of maintaining valuable services and access to information for current and future users.

The blog further reports that

SLA asks that Governor Rendell and his leadership team provide a detailed plan of how the State Library will function after such an extreme budget cut. SLA believes a more fully funded library budget will serve the interests of government, business, and private citizens and will save more money in the long run.

Good luck with that!

Here is a link to a PDF version of the March 17th letter from the SLA Chief Executive Officer Janice Lachance to Pennsylvania's governor Rendell.

Again, thank you Special Libraries Association!

HACC Training Announcement

NOT that any of us are currently unemployed ... yet.

But the news is out on PennLive that HACC has announced that it

is offering tuition-free retraining courses toward employment in jobs in demand in the region for workers who have lost their job since Sept. 1.

HACC has outlined as many as 35 short-and long-term programs that can lead to jobs for successful graduates, with classes starting as early as April. The courses will be offered throughout HACC's various campuses in the area.

There's a pdf brochure on their web site describing the program, but without details on just which programs are included. The news article says that

among the in-demand fields, the college will offer workers retraining in all health care programs and in manufacturing trades such as welding, electrical work, heating ventilation and air-conditioning and in building construction.

So it appears that if you're tired of books, magazines, and microfilm, this could be an opportunity at least to look into. Might keep you busy for a while anyway.

Announcement Looming?

So, what did we learn this week?

That "the plan" for what the State Library 'will look like' in the future -- and for staffing that Library -- will be completed at "the end of March or early April." Or, in other words, real soon

And then they will "start talking to people."

Unless, like so much else in state government, it drags on and on, misses deadlines, gets delayed, and happens in fits and starts.

Whenever the boom drops, predictions are that it will create a huge "us vs. them" split in the State Library staff. One side of the split will be the people thrown out onto the welfare rolls; the other side will be the people who still have a job to hang on to.

Avoiding that sort of thing is one of the reasons that the corporate world hands out severance packages and shows furloughed people the door. It is over and done with. Some in the Library are assuming that the administration will more likely expect soon-to-be-furloughed people to continue working full steam ahead right up to the end of the fiscal year. (That could be part of the reason for all the expressions of uncertainty -- "well, we just don't know what is going to happen....").

Anyway, when it happens, just try to remember that whichever side of the divide you're on, it wasn't the people on the other side's fault.

Add Rolling Furloughs for Us Non-Essential Employees

In Thursday's Harrisburg Patriot-News newspaper (and online at PennLive), we're reading about Rendell's current furlough idea: make other people do his work. As the story opens,

Leaders of major state government workers' unions were told today they need to come up with about $89 million in savings to help balance the state budget over the next 15 months.

And if the unions don't reach agreement on how to do that by the end of the month, Gov. Ed Rendell will make it happen through a mandatory two days of unpaid leave per month for non-essential employees starting in April and running through June 2010.

And we all remember who "non-essential employees" are. That's Rendell-speak for everybody but the highest paid people on his payroll, plus prison guards.

Based on the last furlough of nonessential state workers in 2007, Rendell's plan would likely affect at least 25,000 state government workers, except those involved in public safety or direct care of patients.

In other words, according to the furlough notices in the last few budget years, we're pretty much all "non-essential."

Two days a month adds up fairly quickly.

The rolling furlough plan would cost workers about six weeks' pay during the next 15 months.

That is, Rendell wants to whack our paychecks by nearly 10%. THEN put us out the door on lower unemployment.

Rendell Hires Old Friend at 100K per Year

We're pretty much speechless at reading this Associated Press story on PennLive at 10:55 this morning:

Gov. Ed Rendell is paying an old political hand $100,000 to spearhead a publicity campaign for programs financed with billions of federal economic-stimulus dollars.
Rendell's hiring of Ken Snyder as a subcontractor comes at a time the governor is calling for spending cuts and tax increases to avoid a state budget shortfall of more than $2 billion.

Snyder is a Philadelphia political strategist and media consultant who briefly acted as Rendell's press secretary when he first took office in 2003.

Administration officials say the hiring of the publicist is critical to getting the word out to people who can be helped by the $18 billion dollars that Pennsylvania expects to receive in stimulus money and benefits over three years.

Two down? How many yet to go?

Word on the street (or, actually, in the hall) is that one of our number has accepted a job elsewhere already -- although our sources also tell us that it isn't official yet, so has not been announced publicly.

Well, congratulations anyway!

And congratulations to our other departing colleague whose retirement had already been scheduled before the current devastating budget proposal reared its ugly head.

Opening Advertised in Dauphin County

We're not suggesting this is necessarily meant for you, but it could be of interest:

Posted 3/13/2009: Public Services Trainer, Dauphin County Library System, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

PUBLIC SERVICES TRAINER Dauphin County Library System – EAST SHORE AREA LIBRARY This position is responsible for the design, content, delivery and assessment of training for employees and volunteers in the library automation system, online catalog, public computing management software, general search strategies and orientations for all employees and volunteers as needed.This position requires a Masters of Library Science (MLS) degree and a minimum of 2 years Library experience. Prior training or teaching experience is important, knowledge of Horizon and SAM is preferred.Must have a valid PA driver’s license and willingness to work a flexible schedule.Starting salary $36,000. Send cover letter and resume or application by Jim Carlin, Human Resources Manager, Dauphin County Library System, 101 Walnut Street, Harrisburg, PA, 17101.EOE.Applications are available at all DCLS branches.jcarlin@dcls.orgDCLS -EEO

When applying, please mention that you saw this ad on LISjobs.com/Library Job Postings on the Internet.

Good to know that somebody's hiring! Just don't everybody flood them all at once.

Business Week Carried the Story

Guess we missed this one last week: Business Week reprinted the Philadelphia Inquirer story on March 5th in its online edition.

American Library Association Publicity

The e-newsletter of the American Library Association, 'American Libraries Direct,' for March 11th 2009 recognizes the plight of the State Library by publishing a link to last Thursday's article in the Philadelphia Inquirer. You have to scroll way down to the "Seen Online" section, but it's there.

They don't offer any commentary of their own on the situation here in Harrisburg, but at least it's more national publicity.

Go Back and Read the Comment

Please scroll down and read the comment that a reader in Virginia sent in to yesterday's March 11th post about the Centre County Times editorial!

It's both heartening and disheartening at the same time.

Centre Daily Times Editorial

Today's Centre Daily Times has an editorial titled "Higher priority given to trinkets" that speaks in behalf of saving the State Library.

The editorial begins

Imagine a Pennsylvania with no state library. Benjamin Franklin could not and, as clerk of the Assembly, was instrumental in creating it in 1754.

Ed Rendell apparently can, however, and his proposed budget, if passed by the current General Assembly, will be responsible for closing it in 2009.

Libraries, local museums — our history and our culture — these are the “nonessentials” targeted for elimination as lawmakers try to deal with a $2.3 billion revenue shortfall and a deepening recession.

While Rendell’s spokesman touts the governor’s “well-known” record of support for libraries and education, his priorities — revealed by how he proposes to allocate the state’s resources — speak otherwise.

Among the sacrifices, the apparently acceptable casualties about which Rendell wants to hear “no whining,” are life-enriching resources and programs that enable us to read — and find meaning in — more than just the Dow Jones industrial average.

That's pretty much what we feel, too.

The "trinkets" in the title, by the way, refer to the fancy desk sets handed out to legislators when they were sworn in earlier this year. Did you hear about that? Our legislature paid "$17,700 for holy books and souvenirs — a Harrisburg 'tradition,' repeated again and again and again" in January because "each member of the General Assembly, just for showing up and getting sworn into office, received a Bible, Torah or Quran and a nifty desktop pen set fashioned from a 3- inch chunk of coal." I mean, really? Some of our elected officials have to have a closet full of these from all the previous times they've been sworn in.

It would have been a little thing, sure, but they could have skipped that expense this year.

The editorial also mentions the Dan Surra hiring fiasco. And it wraps up with a plea that should be echoed across the state:

Lawmakers could start by paying for the commemorative items to which they feel entitled, a drop in the bucket, perhaps, but trends must start somewhere. Then they could tap into the state’s rainy day fund — money set aside for desperate times exactly as these. And they most certainly should eliminate the legislative slush fund they maintain to hold as leverage in the annual budget battle with the governor.

And if taxes have to be levied on smokeless tobacco and cigars, and on those who stand to profit greatly — and damage the state’s precious wild lands in the process — by extracting natural gas from the rock layer a mile below ground, so be it.

Then, when politicians boast about their support for indispensibles that enrich lives other than their own — as being among their priorities, we might believe them.

At the Library we're just trying to enrich people's lives, not our own bank accounts.

Basic Instinct: Concede or Get Laid Off

Hey, you can all rest easy, folks. We have it in print that the governor

said his "basic instinct is to save people's jobs. If there is a way I can do it and minimize the number of layoffs, I will take that."

That's in the Harrisburg Patriot-News on Monday March 9th 2009 at 2:57 PM under the headline "Rendell leans toward cutting employee hours, not jobs" by Jan Murphy.

What a relief!

Of course, he also says that if the unions don't give in to his demands for concessions before the end of March, then there

will be immediate layoffs or temporary shutdowns of certain aspects of state government that would cause many more workers to miss an occasional days' pay.

Seems to us that his basic instinct always comes back around to layoffs and furloughs.

Governor Makes a Mistake!

This just in! (Well, just in yesterday's Philadelphia Inquirer.)

"Budget proposal had error on state library staffing"

Amy Worden, whose story earlier this week caught national and international attention (see posts below), shares the following news with the world:

Apparently, doomsday has not arrived at the historic Pennsylvania State Library.

In his February budget address, Gov. Rendell proposed chopping library funding in half, from $4.84 million to $2.39 million, a steep cut in a lean budget laden with across-the-board reductions.

But yesterday, Rendell said a figure published in his budget proposal that projected a 90 percent staffing reduction was wrong.

Rendell said he would never allow staffing to get to the point where the library would have to close.

He said the library's 50 percent cut would mean a similar staff cut - from 56 to about 28 employees. But more jobs could be preserved if savings can be found in other areas, said his spokesman, Chuck Ardo.

One of Pennsylvania's four major research libraries, the state library was founded in 1745 by Benjamin Franklin. Across the street from the Capitol, it houses the state law and education libraries, and has one of the largest newspaper collections in the country.

State Librarian Clare Zales said she was assessing the role of the library with the goal of trying to balance materials preservation and access.

Nevertheless, she said, with fewer employees, hours and services will be reduced.

Library advocates say there is little doubt the cuts will have a "negative impact" on services such as interlibrary loans and research requests.

"It's not an operation loaded with people sitting around doing nothing," said Glenn Miller, executive director of the Pennsylvania Library Association. He said the smaller cuts would be "clearly a step in the right direction, and we welcome it."

As to the budget book figure, Ardo said, "We are trying to determine exactly where that number originated and how it got into the book."

Can any of you spell "backpedal"?

We all know how much Rendell loves libraries. He would never allow this kind of staff cut. Well, big whoop!

Should we breath a huge sigh of relief? READ THE ARTICLE, folks. Sure, our governor and Chuckles are mystified how the Complement section of the budget message decided (apparently all on its own) to whack 50 or 51 of our staff members. But he's only here going back to 'oh, maybe half of you are headed for unemployment!' I shouldn't think so.

This same article quotes an impartial library advocate (Pennsylvania Library Association executive director) as saying, "It's not an operation loaded with people sitting around doing nothing." You bet. So when half of those busy people are tossed out by the governor's backpedaling budget, the remaining half won't be able to pick up all their work because we're already too busy.

Does anybody else wonder why it took all the way from February 4th to March 6th for the governor to notice such a huge mistake in his budget?

Does anybody else wonder why the Department of Education's human resources folks have also been assuming the 90% staff cut was correct?

Does anybody else wonder what other sorts of retribution the governor will throw at us for exposing this particular budget goof?

Does anybody else wonder whether the announced end-of-March closing of the Resource Center over at the Dept. of Education building will now be un-announced?

Our Story Hitting the Big Time

After the Philly Inquirer article (see yesterday's post), the story got picked up by the Associated Press and spread abroad . . . and we mean abroad.

Thank you, International Herald Tribune, the Global Edition of the New York Times, for printing the AP release under the heading "State news of national interest" on March 6th 2009. In the section for the East, we are one of two stories:

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Under Gov. Ed Rendell's budget, the 263-year-old Pennsylvania State Library's appropriation would be slashed by more than half to $2.3 million for the year starting July 1. Library Commissioner M. Clare Zales said she can "keep the lights on," but may have to scale back the current Monday-Saturday operating schedule. The library's 56-person staff is likely to shrink.

We also made USA Today under the state news section for March 6th (where they print one news story from each state in 3 or 4 lines).

Harrisburg's Patriot-News posted it online at 3/5/2009, 12:36 p.m. EST under the headline "Budget cuts likely to hit Pa. state library hard."

The Lewistown Sentinel joins the chorus with the same headline on March 5th.

Then there's WHTM ABC TV channel 27 in Harrisburg.

And the Times-Leader from Wilkes-Barre, "northeast Pennsylvania's home page."

And Butler County's "Butler Eagle."

There is also "Library Stuff: a Weblog by Steven M. Cohen".

And probably others. Thank you ALL for publicizing our plight.

Philadelphia Inquirer Article

We're hitting the big time now. Toward the end of this week, Amy Worden of the Philadelphia Inquirer wrote an article in their paper headlined "Pa. state library faces budget cut". The online version is dated March 5th, the same as the paper version.

With nice photos!

The opening lines read:

The Pennsylvania state library, founded by Benjamin Franklin 263 years ago, has survived two wars and a catastrophic fire.

Now, library advocates fear, its latest threat may be its most dire.

In the face of a multibillion-dollar deficit, Gov. Rendell wants to halve the state library budget - from $4.8 million to $2.3 million - which could all but wipe out the 56-person staff.

Worden goes on the relate that "Library commissioner M. Clare Zales said she was scrambling to find other ways to reduce costs - such as limiting hours - and preserve more jobs." That current party line (cutting other things in order to cut fewer jobs) doesn't seem to have gotten through to the governor's office, though.

Read what the governor's spokesman says, and particularly notice what he does not say:

A Rendell spokesman said that the administration was committed to libraries and that it kept its promise to restore funding for the hundreds of local libraries that had a 50 percent reduction in 2003.

"Our support for libraries over the course of administration is a matter of public record," Rendell spokesman Chuck Ardo said. "Our proposal for this year is simply a matter of fiscal reality."

What was it he said about the huge proposed cut to their own State Library? [blank space here, because he said nothing]

The administration restored local library funding that had also been whacked by 50% some years ago? Way back in 2003. Wait a minute, didn't the current administration take power in January 2003? So, wouldn't that mean that the current administration was the group that cut the public library funding it is now patting itself on the back for replacing? Uh, yeah, right.

And wait a minute! Read further down in the article:

"The state library cut comes as Rendell is proposing trimming by 5 percent funding for 624 local libraries in order to save $2 million."

You restored funding that you had cut? And now you're cutting it again??

Your support for libraries IS a matter of public record. And that really isn't something you should be thankful for!

Well, this Philadelphia Inquirer article includes quotes from Glenn Miller ("They're obviously going to be crippled by this.") and Elliot Shelkrot ("I can't imagine how they would function as a library with five people."), both friends of the State Library. Thanks for the support, guys!

And Clare promises to "keep the lights on" (those would be the lights that were just all switched to compact fluorescent fixtures and bulbs after months of delays) even if we're really slashing hours. Good. Whoever still has a job will at least be able to see. Maybe by then the "heavily fortified rare-book collection" will finally be open for the public.

What Have We Learned?

At a staff information session held a week ago, human resources officials faced the full staff of the State Library. On our side, we pretty much had three simple questions:

1. Will my position be funded in the new fiscal year?

2. Will I be the person filling that position (or will someone else bump me out of it)?

3. When will I know the answers to the first two questions.

The answers were shorter than the questions: don't know, don't know, and don't know.

It took longer for them to tell us that, though. For the first question, we're told that our administration needs to determine 'what the State Library will look like' in the new fiscal year. [we're guessing something on the order of 'like a ghost town' ... and we hope we're just being cynical and not realistic] The answer to the second depends on the first to some extent. [although clear, updated seniority lists should be made easily available to all staffers; can't these be posted on the Inside PDE web site?] And the answer to the third question was really 'not for three weeks at the very least'.

There was lots of good will coming our way from the human resources people. They even made it sound like everyone who was going to be furloughed from the State Library by the governor would get placed somewhere else in state government after the civil service people review our resumes and translate our job experience into something else.

Lots of good will, as we said. Just not any real answers.

Allentown Alerted to our Plight

Back on the 13th of February one of the blogs by a reporter for the Allentown 'Morning Call' carried news of the impending disaster at the State Library should Rendell's budget plan be adopted.

The Morning Call's state house reporter John L. Micek blogs under the title "Capitol Ideas" and on Friday the 13th he wrote:

Now This Is Uncool.

Now, granted, we rarely have occasion to travel to the Pennsylvania State Library, which sits on the grounds of the Forum complex here in Harrisburg. But as a former library worker and big-time library fan, we were nonetheless disheartened to learn that it could lose most of its staff because of this year's budgetary carnage.

Fifty of 57 positions at the Library would be gone under Gov. Ed's budget plan, the Patriot-News reports this morning, prompting a "rethinking" of its role in the civic life of the state.

Rendell's spending plan would slash the library's budget in half, from $4.8 million this year to $2.4 million for the budget year starting July 1.

"The tough times we're in now mean we will need to fundamentally rethink the role of the State Library," Department of Education spokesman Mike Race told the newspaper. "That said, there clearly are assets and services we want to preserve, including hours of operation in which the library is open to public use. [But] until a budget is finalized, we can't speculate on exactly how services might be impacted."

According to the P-N, the Library houses an extensive general and legal reference collection and is perhaps the state's leading repository of Pennsylvania and U.S. government reports, from election results to postings of salaries of all state employees. It has a state-of-the-art rare-books room that preserves a collection of books and newspapers started by Benjamin Franklin.

Mostly copied from the local Harrisburg newspaper, to be sure, but if folks outside of Harrisburg hear about -- and care about -- what's in the offing here, well, maybe there's some hope.

"Budgetary carnage". We love it!

PhiloBiblos Blog on our side

Missed this one earlier: on February 15th the 'PhiloBiblos' blog wrote

Some really scary news out of the Keystone State this week, where Gov. Ed Rendell's proposed 2009-2010 budget cuts fifty of fifty-seven positions at the State Library of Pennsylvania. Funding for the library would be slashed by fifty percent, to just $2.4 million. "The State Library houses an extensive general and legal reference collection and is perhaps the state's leading repository of Pennsylvania and U.S. government reports, from election results to postings of salaries of all state employees.It also contains a state-of-the-art rare-books room that preserves a collection of books and newspapers started by Benjamin Franklin." (That collection is now online at LT here). Awful news, and I hope that the state can figure out a way to keep the library going in a meaningful way.

We hope so, too; we hope so, too.

It's not as ugly here in Pennsylvania (yet) as it is in Oregon, where this same blog reported that the Oregon Historical Society "library will be closed to the public after the 28th of this month [February], and current positions are being eliminated beginning on 13 March; some staff will be retained to manage photograph and film reproduction orders."

Center County Paper Editorializes on our Behalf

On Sunday February 22nd 2009 the Centre Daily, from up in State College, PA, published an editorial titled "Our View - Cultural identity is at Risk."

Okay, so it isn't completely about the State Library, but we get pretty high billing:

In tough economic times such as these, politicians, as they should, look for areas to cut expenses. But the first place they aim their axes -- libraries, museums and other "nonessential" cultural institutions -- easy targets though they may be, should be the last.

Under Gov. Ed Rendell's proposed budget, Pennsylvania's museums face layoffs, reductions in visiting hours and even closures. The staff at the State Library -- an important repository of legal reference works, government reports, rare texts and even a collection of books and newspapers begun by Benjamin Franklin -- would be gutted, with 50 of 57 positions eliminated and one person transferred. Community libraries and local museums, always in danger of having the lights turned off, could go dark for good. And that would be a disaster, not only for genealogists, history buffs and bibliophiles, but for everyone -- for society itself. To know where we are -- who we are -- and where we are going, we must first know who we were and where we have been.

Then they point out that, for example, $9.5 million of taxpayers' money has gone to the 'bonusgate scandal' (some in bonuses, more in lawyer's fees to investigate). BUT, the editors in State College add,

Of course, information like that will be harder to find when the State Library is all but closed. Historical perspective -- perspective of any kind -- will be lost when our legacy is locked away or sold to the highest bidder on eBay. So will our bearings, our sense of direction and, literally, our identity. Tough times are exactly when we most need the direction, perspective and wisdom our past provides. Those who view history and culture as dead, with nothing of value to offer to today, are not the ones who should be making critical decisions about tomorrow.

Thank you, friends of culture! Thank you, friends of free-flowing information! Thanks you editorial staff of the Centre Daily!!

Harrisburg Letter to the Editor

The (Harrisburg, PA) Patriot-News published a supportive letter to the editor on Saturday, February 28th 2009:

As a faithful patron of the State Library of Pennsylvania , I am greatly distressed over the possibility that come July 1, its doors might no longer be open or its hours greatly reduced.

Not only is the State Library a beautiful building with such a rich history, but it's also one of the leading libraries in the state for research material.

Much of the written heritage of our state is housed at this location.

To lay off these employees and close the doors to the library would be a slap in the face of Benjamin Franklin, upon whose collection of writings the library was founded upon in 1745.

I say, cut the pork barrel spending and keep the programs that benefit people, the taxpayers of this commonwealth.

The letter is signed by Kathy L. Fisher, Middle Paxton Township.

Members of the General Assembly, you don't want to be slapping the face of Ben Franklin. He wouldn't like it. Restore the Library's full funding. Now.

SLA's Public Policies Connections Blog Supports Us

Okay, then, the original post in the Special Libraries Association "Public Policies Connections" Blog, dated February 23rd 2009, is titled 'Pennsylvania 2009/2010 Proposed Budget Cuts Library Funds.'

The text of their post was picked up by the other SLA blog we just quoted, so we won't repeat it here.

Thanks for your support, SLA!

Special Libraries Association's Government Information Division Weighs In

The blog sponsored by the SLA's Government Information Division has a supportive post titled "SLA on PA State and Other Library Cuts".

It is citing the SLA Public Policy Connections Blog, 23 February 2009. And it pretty much tells our story:

News that Pennsylvania Governor Rendell’s 2009/2010 budget cut would cut library funds did not come as a huge surprise; budget cuts are sweeping the globe. The current recession is affecting businesses and individuals on every level, from mega conglomerates down to the self-employed business owners working at a desk that doubles as a breakfast table.

What may come as a surprise to many, however, is the proposed 50% budget cut to the Bureau of the State Library. Information about library services, under the Department of Education, begins at E14.20 of the proposed Pennsylvania 2009/2010 Budget. What is currently unknown is who and what will be affected by the proposed budget cut from 4.8 million to 2.4 million.

SLA is following this issue, and would like to hear from you as well. Please contact Doug Newcomb, Chief Policy Officer, with any news that you might have regarding this or other major budget cuts affecting libraries.

I'd suggest readers here also flood Newcomb with your stories about the effects of this budget proposal. The more information he has, the better advocate he and the Special Libraries Association can be.

Support Coming in from Alabama

Tammy [someone] who writes the 'Genealogy Simple & Fun' blog in Birmingham, Alabama copied out the Harrisburg Patriot-News story about our Pennsylvania State Library's impending demise in a post she wrote on Thursday February 19th 2009. She titled it "Most State Library jobs could be history." And isn't that the truth (at least so far as we know it right now)?

Tammy introduces the text of the newspaper article with this paragraph:

This would be a shame and not only for researchers but for people that don't have the resources at home. People use libraries for more than research, they use computers, read books, catch up on the news, etc. Then there's the employees, more on the unemployment line. What do they think, they can just find another job in this economy! There are other ways of cutting. I would look at the Governors salary first. This is just my opinion.

Hey, now there's an idea worth pursuing - trim Rendell's salary!

Thanks, Tammy! And write to the leaders of Pennsylvania's general assembly about the need to fully restore our budget allocation.

Genealogists Up in Arms (we hope)

The genealogists are rising! Watch out Rendell!!

In the February 18th 2009 "Genealogy Insider" blog written by Diane Haddad of Family Tree Magazine, there's a post titled: "Pennsylvania State Library May Face Severe Cuts." (It is tagged 'Libraries and Archives' in case you need that to find the post.)

Haddad includes links to a newspaper article and a number of web sites (we have removed the links below; go to her blog to follow them). She writes:

According to the Web site PennLive.com, the State Library of Pennsylvania in Harrisburg will see massive cuts if Gov. Ed Rendall’s proposed budget for 2009-2010 goes through.

Of the library's 57 positions, the plan would eliminate 50 and transfer one, leaving six staff members to maintain public access to the library’s resources.

Those resources include government publications, a book collection Benjamin Franklin started, historical newspapers, and a genealogy room with maps, state and county histories, church and cemetery records, and more.

The library’s budget would be half its current $4.8 million.

Read the PennLive article here and see the budget proposal on the Pennsylvania Library Association Web site.

What she writes is true. There will be HUGE crimps in the Library's ability to help family history researchers and genealogists. Microfilm lending could be cut. Weekend and evening hours could disappear. Purchases of new resources and of online databases will probably stop.

Library Journal Takes Our Story Nationwide (sort of)

The Library Journal has picked up the news about the threatened closing of the State Library of Pennsylvania. In an online story dated February 18th 2009, reporter Norman Oder writes about Rendell's having slashed the Library's budget in half.

The story is titled:"With 50% Budget Cut, Service at State Library in Pennsylvania Would Suffer." Unfortunately, Oder relied on a Dept. of Education press office spokesman for an evaluation of the news,

"“There will be an impact on service hours,” Mike Race, a spokesman for the state Department of Education, told LJ. “But we don’t know what impact it will have.”"

But, fortunately, Oder developed further information and inserted an update and correction to his original story. The final version of the story continues:

"While he said a local newspaper report that the library would lose 50 of 57 positions was not based on information from his department, the gubernatorial budget (see I-7 of this PDF) confirms that estimate."

[The PDF he links to is the governor's budget request, particularly the page from the Complement report where staff losses appear in black and white.]

But then Race races on:

"The line item, Race told LJ, does not break down costs for the library. Still, given that most items in the library are archival research materials, with newspapers representing the predominant current acquisitions, it’s a good bet much of the budget goes to staff.

“Nobody likes to see cuts in any sort of education funding,” Race said, “but we have to tighten our belts. In terms of public education, we determined the dollars we have to spend are best spent in classroom instruction.”"

Notice how he paints a rosy picture? Notice how he doesn't mention the 50 people who are heading to the bread lines, who will be collecting unemployment, who will be out on the streets? It's typical and expected that a press office spokesman supports the governor's plan. Whatever the plan is. It's required if he wants to keep his job.

Okay. Fine.

But don't also candy coat the fact that hard-working civil servants in the State Library are living in limbo now, not sure when or whether they will be forced out of work by this governor's budget.

Blogosphere Hum

John Fea from the Messiah College (Grantham, PA) Department of History has blogged about the threatened closure of the State Library of Pennsylvania by way of the firing or furloughing (same difference) of 51 of its 57 employees.

His blog, titled "The Way of Improvement Leads Home: Reflections on a first book and random thoughts at the intersection of American history, religion, and politics," has a short post on February 16th 2009 titled simply "The End of the Pennsylvania State Library as We Know It." Here's what Fea has to say:

"Educational and cultural institutions are being hit hard by the economy. Saturday's Harrisburg Patriot News, my "hometown" newspaper, reports that Pennsylvania governor Ed Rendell will be cutting 50 of the current 57 staff positions at the Pennsylvania State Library and the budget will be cut in half. A fight is expected.

"Sad news."

Well it is sad. And what is almost as sad is that the fight to save the Library will have to come from outside the Library, since the staff are not allowed to lobby state government for their own jobs. As citizens, and on their own time, they can write letters and whatever. But they aren't allowed to make any noises during the work day. They're supposed to be good little boys and girls, and accept whatever the governor throws their way.

That's sad news, too.

Law Librarians Made Aware

In the blog titled "Law Librarian Blog: A Member of the Law Professor Blogs Network" editors Joe Hodnicki and Ron Jones highlighted the impending death of the State Library due to the governor's proposed budget slashing.

As they put it:

Pennsylvania Governor's Proposed Budget Would Eliminate Almost 90% of State Library Staff

Can a state library operate if 50 of the library's 57 positions were eliminated? That's the plan under Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell's proposed budget for 2009-10. Details here. [JH]

[Their link for the details leads to one of the Harrisburg Patriot-News articles highlighted earlier in our blog.]

Well, we can hope that lawyers, law librarians, and law professors take up the campaign for us. Our jobs are at stake, sure, but with them so is the well-respected law reference work done out of our Law Library. The State Library of Pennsylvania serves as the main Law Library for Pennsylvania's capital hill crowd. (hey, wait a minute, maybe the governor is just trying to cripple the General Assembly by closing its access to the Law Library!)

We hope someone has alerted the folks who are planning to work in the new justice center in Harrisburg that their plans to make use of the State Library's Law Libray will have to be curtailed when Governor Rendell cuts the staff for the entire Library to half a dozen people.

Patriot-News in Print on Library Crisis

Friday the 13th was a lucky day for the State Library of Pennsylvania. Maybe.

This was the day that a longer print version of Charles Thompson's article appeared in the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Patriot-News. It came out under the headline: "Most State Library jobs could be history; Rendell's proposal would cut 50 of 57 positions, force 'rethinking' of role."

The core of the article appeared Thursday evening in an online version. This version of the article included quotes from several library patrons.

In this version of the article, Thompson opens with:

"The State Library could lose nearly all of its staff under Gov. Ed Rendell's proposed budget for 2009-10, and the proposed cuts are startling researchers who rely on the library.

"Fifty of the library's 57 positions would be eliminated, with one person transferred elsewhere in the state Department of Education, which oversees the library.

"That would leave a staff of six, presumably to maintain public access to the facility, which the administration has indicated it wants to try to keep open."

Mike Race, PDE press office spokesman, is again quoted with his 'hey, it probably won't be all that bad' official position.

Then Thompson continues:

"The State Library houses an extensive general and legal reference collection and is perhaps the state's leading repository of Pennsylvania and U.S. government reports, from election results to postings of salaries of all state employees.

"It also contains a state-of-the-art rare-books room that preserves a collection of books and newspapers started by Benjamin Franklin.

"Supporters of the library said it plays an important role during a recession as people without computers flood in to apply for jobs online. At lunchtime Thursday, the banks of public computer terminals were nearly full.

"Like proposed shutdowns of the Scotland School for Veterans' Children in Franklin County or the Governor's Schools summer enrichment programs, this proposed deep cut is causing deep concern with devotees.

"Joyce Barnhart, an amateur genealogist from East Pennsboro Twp., said the State Library can't be beaten for its breadth of research material and access to it."

While the existence of a "state-of-the-art" rare book room is questionable (it has never been open for the public's use, and half of the books are still in the old location with its window air conditioners and unfiltered air), it certainly IS true that library users, especially the genealogists, will lose out when the governor's budget cuts go into effect.

Tha article continues with more comments from genealogists, and then this remark (that sounds like it comes from the governor's press office):

"Rendell has said he is unhappy about many of his hundreds of proposed budget cuts and that he hopes for restorations of many funding lines when better times return. But he said he is focused on preserving public safety, social services and education."

Oh, yeah, real focused on education . . . as long as it isn't being done in or through a library!

The article included the obligatory "we aren't allowed to say anything" quotes from Library staffers:

"Workers at the library would not comment about their situation Thursday, saying they were advised by their supervisors to refer all questions to the Education Department press office."

(Bet you get praised for that later! Unfortunately, the press office will again say something like 'Oh, everything's fine. We support the governor and his budget.')

The article wraps up by quoting Glenn Miller of the PaLA (Pennsylvania Library Association). He's one of the "State Library advocates" who are, according to the article, vowing to fight for the Library. At this point, however, their fighting has been invisible to the library workers whose jobs are on the line. Why haven't they made it clear to State Library staff that PaLA is making a LOT of noise about this, and won't stand for it?

Patriot-News Breaks Its Silence

Charles Thompson finally broke the local newspaper's silence on the gutting of the State Library's staff complement. His story, titled "State Library to shed 51 jobs, leaving staff of 6," appeared online in The (Harrisburg, PA) Patriot-News on Thursday February 12, 2009 at 5:04 p.m.

Thompson writes:

"There is another cut in Gov. Rendell's proposed budget for 2009-10 that is starting to get a lot of notice: a 50 percent cut in funding for the State Library.

"The governor's proposed budget takes the library's funding from $4.8 million this year to $2.3 million for the budget year starting July 1. Fifty-one of the 57 jobs would be eliminated, with one person transferred elsewhere in the state Department of Education.

"That would leave a staff of six, presumably to maintain the existing stacks and keep some sort of public access to the facility.

"'The tough times we're in now mean we will need to fundamentally rethink the role of the State Library,' Education spokesman Mike Race said.

"'That said, there clearly are assets and services we want to preserve, including hours of operation in which the library is open to public use. (But) until a budget is finalized, we can't speculate on exactly how services might be impacted.'"

This version of the story garnered many comments (some much less helpful than others). The PDE press office spokesman seems to be soft-peddling the furlough. At this point, nobody in the Library has heard anything different from what we were told on February 4th.

A longer version of the story appeared in print the next morning.

Library Plight Makes the Blogosphere

The story about Gov Rendell's destruction of the State Library of Pennsylvania by way of firing almost its entire staff has made a splash in another blog besides ours.

The blog titled "By The River; American Politics & Culture in the Early 21st Century" picked up the story with a February 11th 2009 post titled "Rendell may close State Library."

The blogger is Harrisburg writer David DeKok. He is a longtime journalist, currently with the Patriot-News, and wrote a book called Unseen Danger: A Tragedy of People, Government, and the Centralia Mine Fire.

The blog post begins:

"I went over to the State Library in Harrisburg this morning to look up some old news clips. To my surprise and then shock, the librarians were in mourning. They told me it is likely that Gov. Rendell, the scourge of culture, will either close the library entirely or reduce it to a caretaker staff. They were called into a meeting recently and told employment would be cut from 57 to 7."

Well, clearly the mourning librarians he talked with didn't know he was a reporter, else they would have automaton-like directed him to the Department of Education press office.

But listen to what else DeKok says:

"It is an outrage that Rendell would even consider closing the State Library, the largest library in south central Pennsylvania."

Indeed! And then:

"The State Library houses an unparalleled collection of newspapers on microfilm from around the state, dating back to the 19th and in a few cases the 18th centuries. It is immensely valuable to researchers of all types."

Indeed again!! And finally:

"To trash this collection, or give it away piecemeal, would be something a barbarian would do. But then, Rendell is from Philadelphia and his set believes we're all hicks here anyway."

GIVE THIS MAN A PRIZE! He sees the light!!

But how do we get others to see it, too? Write your state legislators. Write the governor. Get your public library boards to write. Flood Harrisburg with your comments, remarks, and complaints. They must hear your voices!

WHTM-TV 27 Misses the Big Story

On February 6th 2009, WHTM channel 27, the local ABC affiliate, missed a chance to break the BIG library story in Pennsylvania.

It's online story, titled "Libraries Face Cuts under Governor's Budget," fails to mention the massacre at the State Library of Pennsylvania.

The television folks do pick up that various public libraries in their viewing region will lose funding under the governor's proposed budget:

"As part of his preliminary budget released Wednesday, Rendell called for a 2.3 percent cut to public libraries across the state, reducing funding from $75.75 million to $74 million.

"The cuts will affect counties differently. For example, Franklin County stands to lose $20,000 if the budget passes, while Lancaster County will lose $50,000 and Juniata County will lose about $900."

Well we think that is a shame. Library use always goes up in hard economic times. These tough times are NOT the time to cut public library funding.

But the story only includes the huge cut to the State Library of Pennsylvania in its next-to-last line. One of the public library directors

"says for now, most county libraries should be ok, though cuts could come as early as next year. The State Library in Harrisburg won't be so lucky - it faces a 50 percent cut of $2.45 million."

Okay then, Franklin County loses $20,000 (maybe half a position). Lancaster County will lose $50,000 (a full position). Juniata County misses out on $900 (a couple dozen books). But the State Library of Pennsylvania stands to lose a full $2.45 million, (or 51 out of its 57 staff members) and it's merely called not so lucky?

Where's the outrage? Why aren't the tv cameras in the library, or better, in the governor's office?? How could Rendell claim with a straight face that he is an education supporter???

First News

It was the morning of February 4th 2009.

The Commissioner of Libraries had called the entire Office of Commonwealth Libraries staff together for a mandatory meeting.

What could it be about? The governor's budget announcement that would be coming out just before lunch? Perhaps.

Or perhaps it was to tell us that 51 out of 57 of us were going to be fired -- make that "furloughed" -- by the governor's proposed budget.

Ah, yes, that's what it was. The decimation, the virtual closing of the State Library of Pennsylvania, or OUR State Library of Pennsylvania.

Many of us listened to the governor's budget address that morning. Oddly, he did not use "the f word" ("f" as in "furlough") once.

The part where the State Library staff is wiped out is buried deep, deep within the budget. More on that later.