A 10% loss in state funding will likely result in the termination of 15 full-time employees at the University of Michigan Library in Ann Arbor, effective July 1. Library officials made the announcement in late March in response to Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s proposed $36.5-million decrease in UM’s appropriation for 2003–2004, the Ann Arbor News reported March 26.
Sixteen vacant library positions are also slated for elimination, and 11 full-time positions will be reduced to part-time. The library cuts were the most announced for any department of the university, which could trim as many as 200 staff positions campuswide.
University Library Director William Gosling said the library’s public-relations staff would be eliminated. In addition, expenses are to be cut for equipment, supplies, computers, maintenance, travel, and staff development for a total reduction of $2 million. The library’s total budget this year is $38.7 million. “That’s quite a hit,” Gosling told the News. “Patrons may see a slower response time in some areas, including shelving of some materials, cataloging of new materials, and interlibrary loans.”
Michigan’s woes are only the latest in a long list of other state financial crunches affecting libraries, although some hold out hopes for relief:
Posted March 31, 2003.