Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives Johnnie Byrd (R-Plant City) reassured Floridians that there is “huge support” in the legislature to save the state library, the Tallahassee Democrat reported February 21. Gov. Jeb Bush, in his 2003–2004 budget proposal, had recommended eliminating the Division of Library and Information Services and dispersing its collections, a measure that must be approved by the legislature before it adjourns May 5.
Responding to a question following his February 20 speech to the Economic Club of Florida in Tallahassee, Byrd, a close political ally of Gov. Bush, said, “The answer is, no, I don’t think the Florida House of Representatives is going to abolish the state library. . . . Whether we have the same number of positions, how that is done, I can’t answer that question because it is a member-driven process and I do support it.”
Grassroots support for the state library is strong. The Florida Library Association launched a Save Your State Library public-relations campaign February 3 that has flooded state legislators with e-mails and letters. The Florida Historical Society posted an electronic petition in support of the library February 10 that accumulated more than 12,000 signatures in 11 days.
FHS and the Florida State Genealogical Society co-hosted a summit meeting of about 75 historians and researchers at the Cocoa Civic Center February 19. The group is considering filing an injunction against the governor’s office, investigating violations of the state’s sunshine law, and proposing an amendment to the Florida constitution to prevent state historical collections from dispersal or destruction, according to the February 20 Fort Pierce Tribune.
Meanwhile, President Ray Ferrero Jr. of Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale revealed he was finalizing an agreement to take over the state library’s circulating collection of 350,000 books. He estimated the collection would take up most of the NSU library’s currently empty fifth floor and most of the fourth floor. “We’ve told them that if we have to build out, we expect some compensation from the state,” Ferrero said in the February 20 Miami Herald.
Posted February 24, 2003.