Alaska’s public libraries sound alarm over abrupt loss of state grant funds

3 weeks ago

ARTICLE AD BOX

Libraries crossed Alaska are scrambling aft learning a cardinal authorities assistance was being slashed six weeks into nan fiscal year. Small libraries guidelines to beryllium deed nan hardest and, successful immoderate cases, whitethorn beryllium forced to adjacent their doors entirely.

RELATED: Rural libraries struggle to trim services aft authorities reduces grant

There’s nary moving h2o astatine nan organization room successful Cooper Landing. The log compartment was built successful nan early 1980s and is adjacent to nan Kenai River, which rushes by connected an early autumn morning.

Inside, logs crackle successful a wood stove while Virginia Morgan shows a patron really to usage nan library’s website. Morgan is nan library’s unpaid director. In that role, she’s responsible for overseeing room operations and keeping nan building running.

Cooper Landing sits connected nan slope of Kenai Lake and boasts astir 220 year-round residents. Despite nan town’s size, nan room circulated 2,300 pieces of media past fiscal year, including 1,215 books, 515 videos and 206 videos. More than 150 group participated successful room programs that year, from book clubs to writer visits.

Over nan past 2 weeks, though, Morgan’s occupation has besides included advocacy.

That’s aft nan authorities announced it will trim backing for room operating grants by astir 75% this fiscal twelvemonth from much than half a cardinal dollars to $150,000.

Multiple librarians person criticized really nan authorities collapsed nan news — successful an email that began pinch good wishes and season’s greetings. Morgan says she almost missed it.

“If we knew location was only $150,000 moreover going into this program, I mean, we should person known that earlier nan informal notification connected nan 16th of August,” Morgan said.

State lawmakers created nan Public Library Assistance assistance programme successful 1981. The programme utilized to grant grants up to $10,000 and required a section lucifer for immoderate grant complete $5,000. In 1998, that maximum magnitude was reduced to $7,000.

In caller years, libraries astir nan authorities person received $7,000 a twelvemonth from nan program. Awardees are required to lucifer that amount. For smaller libraries, that lucifer usually comes successful nan shape of unpaid hours and organization fundraisers.

Near nan Cooper Landing library’s beforehand desk, Craig Mullett scans a wall of DVDs. He’s a part-time resident of nan unincorporated town, and says nan room is arsenic overmuch astir organization arsenic it is checking retired media.

“To me, a room is simply a batch much than a spot pinch bookshelves,” Mullett said. “It’s a spot wherever group meet each other, it’s a spot wherever you tin get connected nan machine if you’re having problem pinch your Wi Fi, you tin possibly get progressive successful section organization worldly — in, like, unpaid activities.”

Mullett is 1 of galore group who’s worried astir nan library’s future. Some smaller libraries opportunity nan nonaccomplishment of assistance costs could mean nan quality betwixt staying unfastened and closing their doors.

Cindy Mom chairs nan Seldovia Public Library Board. Seldovia is located southbound of Homer and tin only beryllium accessed by vessel aliases plane.

“We could proceed to run nan measurement we person been connected nan PLA for 2 aliases 3 years, but past we person thing successful reserve,” Mom said.

Mom says nan nonaccomplishment will effect nan 90-year-old library’s expertise to bargain materials and connection services. Many residents and visitors usage nan library’s net and telephones because Verizon is nan only bearer that useful successful town.

“I’m nan 1 correct now who gets to determine what we buy, and I person a agelong wish database that I was excited about, and now I can’t bargain anything, and I besides can’t bargain nan things that group suggest,” she said. “So we return recommendations from folks of things they want to spot successful nan postulation and can’t do it. So that’s very frustrating.”

In Ninilchik, it’s a akin story.

Director Heather Smith says their 72-year-old library’s yearly operating fund is betwixt $30,000 and $40,000. That intends nan authorities assistance mixed pinch nan library’s lucifer request makes up astir half of its yearly operating budget. As successful Cooper Landing, Smith says nan organization room is astir much than checking retired materials.

“We besides person members of nan organization that mightiness not person a lukewarm spot astatine location during nan winter, and they travel here, and they travel successful present to sit, person a cup of coffee, usage nan internet, and, you know, conscionable consciousness for illustration they are a portion of nan community, and that would beryllium lost,” Smith said.

The room already reduced its hours this month. Without nan assistance funding, Smith says they’ll person to unopen their doors this winter.

The melodramatic alteration successful room assistance backing isn’t owed to a gubernatorial veto aliases legislative vote.

Instead, it has to do pinch soul budgeting. In emails to librarians and authorities lawmakers, nan Department of Education and Early Development, aliases DEED, says yearly assistance amounts dangle connected nan magnitude of money disposable for nan programme and nan number of libraries that apply.

This year, nan section says it only had $150,000 to springiness retired to 82 libraries and room branches, down from much than half a cardinal dollars successful caller fiscal years.

It’s not clear why nan backing was cut.

Multiple section and section labor did not respond to circumstantial questions astir nan simplification and wherever nan money is being spent instead. A nationalist accusation petition for nan division’s fund for nan existent fiscal twelvemonth has besides not been filled.

The authorities doesn’t person designated backing for nan room assistance grants. Although nan grant’s been steadily awarded astatine nan max magnitude of $7,000 per room branch successful caller years, there’s nary designated money for nan program.

Still, librarians said they’ve travel to trust connected nan backing each year. This year’s simplification wasn’t announced until mid-August — six weeks into nan fiscal year.

“The $7,000 was usually a guarantee, and that was really we paid our existent bills and made judge that we would person energy and each of that passim nan year,” Smith said. “The different money comes up from conscionable donations. That is thing that we, connected a regular basis, person to conflict for monthly.”

Last fiscal year, nan authorities programme gave money to 79 libraries, astir half of which had yearly budgets little than $50,000. Another twelve libraries had budgets little than $14,000.

Librarians aren’t nan only ones looking for solutions.

Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor Peter Micciche echoed nan library’s concerns astatine Tuesday’s borough Assembly meeting.

“What they don’t understand is libraries each complete nan authorities tally pinch volunteers that springiness their clip each time to support them running, and that $7,000 evaporating is nan extremity of nan world for astir of our agrarian libraries,” he said.

Sen. Jesse Bjorkman, a Republican from Nikiski, went to nan gathering arsenic well. He said nan Legislature afloat funded nan room section and nan determination to trim assistance backing was internal.

“We person not been capable to place why that money near that programme aliases wherever it went to only that nan money was not fixed initially to that assistance program,” Bjorkman said.

Some librarians opportunity they won’t request to unopen down tomorrow. But they are making different arrangements.

In Cooper Landing, volunteers are preparing to tie from savings and up their inquire done nan Kenai Peninsula Borough’s Community Assistance Program. They’ve besides sent retired a missive to nan community, explaining nan business and issuing a telephone to action.

Morgan, nan room director, is optimistic.

“In reality, yes, we will find a way, I guarantee you, because … we person dedicated volunteers,” she said. “We person a dedicated organization who knows nan worth of our library.”

In a Tuesday missive to authorities lawmakers, DEED Commissioner Deena Bishop said nan room section is looking astatine wherever they tin dress up nan assistance backing wrong nan budget.

Source Alaska Public