Australia: “New South Wales Public Library System Now at Crisis Point”
From the Sydney Morning Herald:
Originally the state government paid half the cost of public libraries in NSW. By 1980 this had dwindled to 23.5 per cent. Now it is less than 8 cents in every dollar with councils picking up nearly 93 per cent of the bill.
The NSW Public Libraries Association says the public library system is now at crisis point and it has collected more than 70,000 signatures on a petition seeking a fairer funding model. “In the run-up to the last state election, the current state government said they would increase ongoing funding for public libraries. They have not,” says executive officer Lynne Makin.
[Clip]
…the state government’s contribution of $1.85 per capita to public libraries has remained unchanged for almost 20 years under both Labor and Liberal governments. According to the 2012-13 Australian Library Statistical Report, NSW government funding for public libraries is the lowest of any state or territory.
Read the Complete Article
Filed under: Funding, Libraries, Public Libraries
About Gary Price
Gary Price (gprice@gmail.com) is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area. He earned his MLIS degree from Wayne State University in Detroit. Price has won several awards including the SLA Innovations in Technology Award and Alumnus of the Year from the Wayne St. University Library and Information Science Program. From 2006-2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com.