Essential Estrogen

The Iowa Library Association knows it is in the midst of a battle when it comes to state funding, but the organization is hoping its grass-roots call will motivate thousands of library patrons to join the front lines.

Gov. Chet Culver has proposed an 18-percent cut in library funding in his 2009 budget. The ILA is quick to point out that while the overall budget has increased by 6 percent, the cuts facing Iowa's libraries are percentagewise among the deepest in the budget. Culver has proposed cuts to library funding totaling just over $1.19 million -- $135,000 from the state library, $259,442 from Library Service Areas, and $725,000 from Enrich Iowa. The cuts could also affect school media centers, although the exact impact has not yet been determined.

"The Iowa library community is really disappointed with the cuts that are in the governor's proposed budget," said Sheryl Bissen, ILA immediate past president, during a phone interview on Friday. "When you look at the total dollar amount proposed -- the $1.19 million -- that's really a small dollar amount in terms of the entire budget. But, to Iowa libraries, in terms of percentages of our budgets, it is a pretty significant amount. Iowa libraries have always been known to be really conscientious and conservative with their money so that every dollar counts. So to cut 18 percent from the the support structure that allows Iowa's libraries to continue to provide services is really a severe cut."

In response to the proposed cuts, the ILA has made available through its website and membership e-mail list informational postcards and information sheets for library patrons. Librarians throughout the state have been encouraged to distribute the materials to patrons who use a computer, check out books or visit their library. The goal is to have 100 messages sent per library per week until the budget issue is resolved.

"To those of you that have not yet contacted your legislators and the Governor yet about the proposed cuts in the Governor's budget for libraries, this should explain the urgency of the situation the library community is up against," Amy Campbell, lobbyist for the ILA, wrote in a newsletter to supporters.

Campbell then described why enacting a balanced budget this year will be "especially tricky" for legislators:

1. The budget already has $570 million in increased expenditures built-in because of actions taken last year on school funding and teacher pay increases. If all other programs and employee salaries were frozen at current levels, the budget would need to increase by $570 million.
2. The Revenue Estimating Conference has estimated that revenues to the state will grow by much less than $570 million. In fact, after factoring in the state's spending limit of 99 percent of revenues, there is a hole of about $350 million.
3. The governor's budget has more than $100 million in revenue enhancements, many of which legislators are unsure they have the votes to approve. Failing to approve those suggestions will increase the hole in the budget.
4. The federal government is cutting back on several funds the state has previously relied upon.

"Let's be adamant, yet polite," advised a memo from Mike Dargan, government affairs committee chair of the ILA, while encouraging librarians to voice their displeasure with the proposed cuts. "Politely remind [Culver] that Iowa's libraries are a key component of our education system. School libraries teach Iowa's students to locate and evaluate information ... and public libraries provide community-based opportunities for life-long learning."

Dargan, who works for the Waterloo Public Library, has a personal stake in this fight. The Waterloo and Cedar Falls public libraries combine their current Enrich Iowa distributions to subsidize a popular outreach program to the elderly known as Third Age Project. The program provides book discussion groups and nostalgia kits to local nursing homes and shut-ins. If the proposed cuts are taken directly from this stream, the result would be a loss of $12,2688 for Waterloo and $7,449 for Cedar Falls, effectively gutting the program.

Libraries throughout the state use Enrich Iowa funds for a variety of purposes. Some, like Waterloo and Cedar Falls, use the money to fund local programs. Some of Iowa's more rural libraries -- more than 70 percent of Iowa's libraries are in communities of fewer than 2,500 people -- spend their allocations on additions to their existing book collections. The ILA has developed a spreadsheet that shows, community by community, how the proposed budget cuts will impact libraries throughout the state.

"It is every voter's responsibility to let his or her elected officials know how we feel about these things," Bissen said. "We need to let them know the direct impact on each of our independent communities."

While Bissen said she could not provide an exact number as to how many postcards and calls had been made to Des Moines by library patrons and staff, she added that both she and others associated with the ILA have been told that state legislators and the governor's office have been contacted by many who are concerned about the cuts.

In the last 10 years, visits to Iowa libraries increased by 30 percent, with more than 16 million visiting a public library last year. Nearly 63 percent of all Iowans have and use a public library card. In 2007 more than 27 million items were checked out of public libraries.