Spring is here, and once again Florida’s legislature is making a run to cut state aid to public libraries.
On March 21st the Senate Transportation, Tourism and Economic Development Appropriations Subcommittee proposed entirely eliminating State Aid to Public Libraries and Library Cooperative funding.
The total amount is a tiny portion of the state budget, only about 22 million dollars.
But the money is vital for public libraries to continue to provide their services.
If the proposed cut is in the final state budget, Franklin County could see a cut in state funding plus an equal amount in federal matching grants.
That would be a huge hit to the county library’s budget.
And there would be another indirect effect in that the Wilderness Coast Public Library System, which is fully state funded, would no longer be able to provide grant writing and technical assistance to the libraries it serves in Franklin, Wakulla, and Jefferson Counties.
Wilderness Coast also provides bookmobile services to the three counties as well as high speed internet for the library computers.
Library supporters are asking people to contact members of the Senate Transportation, Tourism and Economic Development Committee as soon as possible to ask that the funding stay in the budget.
A list of contact information for Florida’s senators can be found on the news page at oysterradio.com.
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