Washington State Library
Faces Hard Times
A supplemental 2001–2003 state budget approved by the House February 21 spares the Washington State Library from closure to the public as early as April 30. The measure exempts the library from an accelerated schedule of cuts to state agencies anticipated in Gov. Gary Locke’s 2003–2005 proposed budget, unlike the more stringent Senate proposal passed in January. However, the library will soon face draconian cuts if the governor’s biennial budget goes without opposition in the state legislature.
If the proposal is adopted, reference service to the public and interlibrary-loan service to local libraries would be eliminated, effective July 1. Funding reductions would jeopardize as much as 50% in federal LSTA funding for school and public libraries in the state, reduce library staff by 62 librarians and library assistants, and eliminate access to many online indexes and full-text journals.
In addition, if the library cannot maintain its current 40 hours of public access weekly, it will have to return a large part of its federal document depository collection, the Seattle Times reported February 27. U.S. Superintendent of Documents Judith Russell noted in a letter to the library that its U.S. Serial Set documents would either have to be returned to Washington, D.C., or transferred to another library.
Secretary of State Sam Reed, whose agency now runs the library, will have to work with other state library supporters to come up with an alternative funding plan.
Posted March 3, 2003.
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