Vermont’s State Librarian Reports on a 14.7 % Cut to State Appropriation For Libraries

A report by Vermont State Librarian Marti Reid about the funding cut appears in the new issue ( (May 2015) issue of the Vermont Dept. of Libraries newsletter.
From Reid’s Article:

… and looming over all of this discussion [about “front burner” issues in Vermont] was the need to reduce State spending to meet a whopping $113 million budget gap. In the final days there was a flurry of attention given to new taxing options and a focus on revenue, but the budget as passed necessarily put the ax to some critical programs across state government and was nothing to cheer about.
The Department of Libraries did not fare well [during the legislative session which ended on May 16]: our FY16 state appropriation of $2,342,682 is a reduction of $403,967 (-14.7%) from our current FY appropriation. The only good news came in the final days when the Legislature returned to our budget $67,000 that had been slated to be cut, the result of advocacy from the Board of Libraries and others. This $67,000 will be used as a pass-through grant to the Vermont Law School so that their library can take on legal reference services for the public. I am grateful to leaders in the House and Senate who recognized the essential need for public access to legal information and a trained law librarian — and to the Law School for stepping up to the plate; it will help ease the pain of pending cuts to be made in services now provided at the State Library here in Montpelier.

Read the Complete Article (786 words)
Background: Connecticut and Vermont Libraries Await Decisions on Budget Cuts (by Lisa Peet, Library Journal (April 29, 2015)
Background: State of Vermont’s Public Law Library on “Chopping Block” Along With Other Potential Cuts to State Library Services (March 21, 2015)

Filed under: Funding, Libraries, New Issue, News, Public Libraries, Reports, School Libraries