The New York Library Association calls the veto “devastating” and has asked its members to write legislators to request an override, “as the cut in state funds generates a comparable 5% cut in Federal Library Services and Technology Act funds” that may jeopardize summer reading programs and electronic resources. State library funding has been frozen since 1998 at $88.9 million.
Other programs Pataki vetoed included $15 million for school districts and their libraries and $450,000 to the New York Public Library for its Science, Industry, and Business Library and its portion of a City University of New York initiative that helps high school students prepare for college through extra academic assistance.
State lawmakers have until December 31 to override any or all of the governor’s vetoes, the Associated Press reported August 20. In May 2003, the Legislature voted to restore $13.3 million in library funds cut by the governor.
Posted August 27, 2004.