On March 14th, an Executive Order has the potential to reduce or eliminate funding for the federal Library Services. This will not hurt large libraries in big cities that are powered by tax dollars, but will severely limit the number of staff, books, e-books and audiobooks that are available for smaller towns that rely on grant money.
Here is what libraries are saying
“For us, it will be Georgia Pines–our entire circulation system software. This software allows people to search for books not only at our local library, but at other libraries in the state. If our library doesn’t have a book, we can place an available book in another library in the state on hold and they will deliver it to our local library and call/text when it is ready to pick up. In addition, if this funding is gone, it will also get rid of our summer reading program. Hundreds if not thousands of children in our county participate in the summer reading program because the school district participates in it as well and makes it a contest. This means children are actually READING during the summer. Adults participate in the summer reading program as well. And that’s just two of the items that would be gone.”
Specifically, IMLS funds our Summer Reading Program, PINES, GALILEO research databases, the Library for the Blind and Print Disabled, and other early literacy initiatives. Without this funding we could lose our circulation software and the statewide Interlibrary Loan service available through the PINES network. Georgia communities benefited from $5.2 million dollars in federal library funding last year.
Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins Monday announced a pause in funding pending an investigation into a platform that provides content to K-12 school libraries across the state. They have paused Overdrive Libby and Overdrive Sora, and no new materials will be purchased.
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.