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.