Posted February 10, 2006.

Pennsylvania Libraries Would Get 23% Boost in Governor’s Budget

Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell has called for a record increase of 23% in state support to public libraries. In his $25.4-billion 2006–2007 budget, announced February 8, Rendell recognized libraries as “critical assets that supplement the learning in our school systems” and proposed adding $14.1 million to bring the state library subsidy to an all-time high of $75.5 million, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported February 9.

“This is terrific news,” Hazleton Area Public Library Director James Reinmiller said in the February 8 Hazleton Standard-Speaker. “It appears it would restore all the cuts made in 2003 and give us an additional amount beyond.” The 2003–2004 budget slashed library funding by 37%, forcing 75% of the state’s libraries to reduce acquisitions, 43% to cut hours, and 34% to trim staffing.

Gladys Maharam, deputy director of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review that the library would use the extra money to visit more schools and daycare centers and expand its homework assistance program.

Rendell’s budget also calls for a 4% boost in community college operating budgets and a 4.5% increase for state-owned universities. The governor expects to pay for the added funding with the additional sales and income-tax revenue the state estimates it will receive as the economy rebounds, according to the February 9 Tribune-Review.

Posted February 10, 2006.