Most Funding for the Indiana State Library Restored in Latest Proposed Budget

From the Evansville Courier & Press:

The Indiana State Library could avoid big funding cuts proposed by Gov. Mike Pence now that legislators are making changes to the state’s spending plan.
Pence’s budget proposal would have axed the state library’s funding by 24 percent, some $2 million, forcing the downtown Indianapolis library to eliminate many services, including its genealogy department that houses more than 100,000 items documenting Hoosier history.

Indiana’s statewide licensed database service INSPIRE was also on the chopping block because some government officials believed, incorrectly, that all of the material in the databases was easily findable and accessible on the open web.

But the latest version of the budget offered by majority House Republicans this week restores most of the library funding that Pence had aimed to cut.
“I think the governor’s office had a study looking at where there were alternatives but it just hasn’t been vetted enough…to make the change right now,” said House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Tim Brown, R-Crawfordsville.
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It’s not all good news. The current budget still cuts $150,000 from the library’s standards and certification program, which ensures that public libraries meet state requirements and maintain quality service for citizens.

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See Also From Jan. 27, 2015: Major Cuts Proposed for Indiana State Library Budget, Remotely Accessible Databases and Genealogy Department Targeted

Filed under: Funding, Libraries, News, Public Libraries