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.