Political "Winners"
In a grim funding season, some politicians stood up for libraries
By Francine Fialkoff, Editor-in-Chief -- Library Journal, 9/15/2009
As John Berry points out in "No Villains" (p. 24–25), politics doesn't produce clear-cut heroes and villains in library funding—nor in some other issues, as we've seen with the various versions of the health-care bill making its way through Congress. In the current economy, political incumbents—and library directors—are being forced to make bad decisions, the former slashing funds to libraries, the latter coping with cuts by reducing staff, hours, and materials.
Still, there are some notable exceptions to what Berry calls "the ambiguous politics of library funding." LJ's call for readers to name "winners" and "sinners" in their locales netted a number of good guys, political leaders and others who helped restore budgets or support library initiatives. Here are a few:
Mike Fasano, Florida State Senator (R). As Berry describes, state aid to libraries was zeroed out, and library advocates responded fiercely. But they also had a champion. "Fasano continues year after year to fight for funding for libraries, to sponsor and work valiantly to pass bills in the Florida legislature that strengthen libraries," wrote Florida directors Linda Allen, Pasco County Library System, Hudson, and Susan Dillinger, New Port Richey Public Library.
Mary Murphy, Minnesota State Representative (DFL), led the effort to ensure that $4.25 million annually from a new sales tax aimed to preserve Minnesota's history and cultural heritage would support cultural programming in libraries. "[She] understands the central role that libraries play in a community's civic and cultural life," wrote Susan M. Nemitz, director, Ramsey County Library, Shoreview, MN.
Peter Buckley, Oregon State Representative (D), stood against the tide washing away school libraries and school librarian positions. His bill not only directs all state public school districts to address strong library programs in the annual improvement programs they must file but also authorizes the Oregon Department of Education to give grants for school libraries, said Mary Ginnane, youth services manager, Eugene Public Library, and Carol Dinges, school librarian, Lebanon High School, presidents, Oregon Library Association and Oregon Association of School Libraries, respectively.
Connie Green, city manager, and Jonathan Watson, director of community services, Killeen, TX. While $35,000 for new materials may not seem huge, Watson recognized "how the loss of such a significant chunk...would impact our citizens and our attempts to retain state accreditation. Green managed to exempt the library's book budget from the cuts.... [He] clearly recognized the need for the library to continue to provide exemplary service in this economically challenging time," said Deanna Frazee, director of library services, Killeen City Library System.
Max Wilson, county supervisor, Maricopa County Library District, Phoenix. "Wilson's perseverance and dedication cleared the way through a political mire to make it possible to build a brand new LEED-certified library, saving taxpayers more than $1 million by building it on [spectacular] county park land," Audrey Brownell, fund-raising officer, Maricopa County District Library, told LJ. The 29,000 square foot White Tank Branch Library, opening in September 2010, also will serve as a nature center for the White Tank Mountain Regional Park.
No list would be complete without Worthington, OH, librarian Amanda Knapp. She created SaveOhioLibraries.com, which went live June 21, just two days after Gov. Ted Strickland announced 30 percent budget cuts to the Public Library Fund (in addition to 20 percent already made). Douglas Evans, executive director of the Ohio Library Council, credits Knapp's "immediate response and selfless act" for galvanizing the public and mitigating the cuts.
The models these political heroes provide encompass a slew of strategies from working behind the scenes to going directly to the public to collaborating with other government entities. Underpinning each nomination is the belief that libraries play a crucial role in our lives and that we must support them unyieldingly. That belief doesn't come merely from a reservoir of good feelings about libraries that many profess. Rather, it also derives from librarians' hard work to prove to the political powers that libraries matter. They're our heroes, too.
