Seed Money Works!

There is new evidence to demonstrate the impact and importance of federal library funding under the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA). It is difficult, if not impossible, to establish a causal link between federal funding and the progress of state library agency funding from other sources. Working Paper 2, The Impact of Federal Funding on State Library Agencies: The LSCA to LSTA Transition, clearly shows a 'positive correlation' between LSTA funds and other state library agency funding. Its author, Bruce Kingma (associate dean, School of Information Studies, Syracuse Univ., NY) puts it even more emphatically: 'It is the strongest evidence anyone will ever find that seed money works!' Pending federal library legislation and more on the study are reported later in this issue (see 'LSTA Inches Ahead in Senate, with Slight Gain in Funding ,' p. 16).

The study is the second in a series being developed by the State Library Agency Steering Committee. The committee, a subgroup of the Chief Officers of State Library Agencies (COSLA), seeks new ways to use data from the annual 'Survey of State Library Agencies.' The survey is a joint effort of COSLA, the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES), and the Statistics and Surveys Office of the National Commission on Libraries and Information Science (NCLIS).

Librarians must applaud this relatively rare team effort by COSLA, NCES, and NCLIS. It shows the way to use existing data to make more effective public policy for libraries. At times like these, when the competition for federal dollars is heightened by other major needs, a very skittish and declining economy, and great fear among the populace, evidence like that in the study is crucial. LSTA is currently up for both reauthorization and a FY03 appropriation. The study and data like it can go a long way toward making the case with legislators and politicians for the importance of federal library support.

The study indicates that seed money works and that federal dollars, with appropriate matching requirements and maintenance of effort rules, can and do attract money to libraries from other levels of government and other sources. We need as much of this kind of evidence in support of the federal role in library support as we can get.

Almost as important, the study gives us a healthy demonstration of the productivity that can result from teamwork that crosses federal turf boundaries and brings state and federal officials together in the cause of good government. Denise Davis, director of statistics and surveys for NCLIS, described the commission's role as 'host,' but it goes much deeper. NCLIS also is disseminating the study from its web site (www.nclis.gov/statsurv/surveys/stla/reports/reports.html).

With the commission's support, the study is not only easily available, it escapes the taint of being a self-serving product of the state library agencies. It involves NCES and thus brings the U.S. Department of Education into the mix.

NCLIS, of course, has come under the gun. It faces eight vacancies awaiting White House appointments and, worse, a 'drop dead' order from the Bush administration. Despite that, what's left of NCLIS still works to carry out an important part of the mission it has pursued for decades, providing empirical data to support good public policy decisions about libraries and information. 'It is good federal policy to provide funding to the states for library development,' said embattled NCLIS chair Martha Gould. 'This fosters innovation, new partnerships, and enhanced library service in America.'

Be grateful for this new evidence that federal seed money for library service does the job. Be doubly grateful that federal agencies, including the much-maligned NCLIS, and their counterparts in the states can work so effectively together to study the data they have collected and use the results to support better public policy decisions. This is very good news for libraries and librarians.

jberry@reedbusiness.com

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