Passing on our latest news on library-related budget issues. (This is a good time to promote our Postcard Party in the Park this week!! Join us Thursday, and share your voice in postcard form!)
Governor Vetoes GOP Budget Bills:
As promised, Governor Dayton vetoed a slate of GOP budget bills last Friday, including the E-12 bill. The Governor’s veto letter on the E-12 bill notes the insufficiency of 1.5% annual increases on the general education formula. He’s calling for 2% annual increases. That may not sound like much, but the difference is nearly $100 million. The repeal of his signature voluntary pre-K program (VPK) program is another reason for his veto of the GOP E-12 bill. You can read the rest of his veto message to the legislature here:
Once again all of the state’s budget business has piled up into the last week of the legislative session. Skeptics assume we’re heading toward a complete breakdown and a June special session. Others remain optimistic that with a $1.5 billion surplus they’ll be able to modestly satisfy GOP appetites for tax cuts and DFL spending requests.
We want to be sure you have access to all the library news and events out there, so will periodically pass on things that may be relevant to you. This is a call for people who can share their innovative strategies for good library service when resources are tight! The ALA Annual meeting will be in Chicago – hopefully close enough that some people can attend to take part in a HUGE library event!! If there is enough interest, CMLE will rent a van to drive people there, and back at the end of the conference.
This kind of event can be a valuable part of your professional life (and it’s always fun!); so start thinking of some strategies now for your own attendance! Participation in a panel like this one or others we will pass on as they arise, or creating a poster to share, can be a great way to give back to the profession – as well as good justification for attending!
No matter what you do in the library field, there will be something for you at the ALA Annual Conference. With a general attendance of about 25,000 people, there are people there who like what you like and do what you do! There will also be webinars and materials available for people who are #ALALeftBehind; so you do not need to attend physically to get the benefits!
Barbara K. Stripling is the current ALA President, and she is making a point that I fully support about the importance of thinking beyond our “siloed” view of the type of library we work in and/or support. Stripling maintains that academic, public and school libraries together support lifelong learning, and that they form an ecosystem that works together to serve people of all ages. As Stripling describes the serious threat to school libraries, it is understandable that stressors in that sector, place stress on the entire “library ecosystem.”
Read Stripling’s article which provides great examples and information about impact to the entire ecosystem when school libraries are cut. She concludes with ….” We all deserve the right to libraries and must understand that, when one part of the ecosystem is under threat, we all pay the price.”
