Pennsylvania Governor Proposes Historic
Increase for Public Libraries
Governor Tom Ridge proposed a $32 million increase over two years in state support to public libraries in his February 2 budget address to the General Assembly, raising the current level of $30 million to $62 million in Fiscal Year 2000–01.
Library officials hailed the governor's announcement as the best thing to happen to libraries in 30 years. “It is truly a breakthrough proposal signifying the governor's deep commitment to the vital role that libraries play in educating our citizens and growing our economy,” said Barbara P. Casini, president of the Pennsylvania Library Association.
Ridge's proposal also restructures the formula the state uses to compute how much support individual libraries receive, giving local communities incentives to make bigger investments, according to the February 3 Allentown Morning Call. Some of the recommendations of a 1997 task force of the Pennsylvania Library Association are incorporated into the governor's proposal.
Posted February 8, 1999.
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