Upper Darby Township & Sellers Memorial Free Public Libraries

The budget battle, that is.  Anyone following the news even a little bit knows that Pennsylvania still has no budget, even though one should have been passed by June 30th.  Gov. Rendell has now proposed an increase to the state income tax to help fund the expected deficit.  Support and opposition breaks almost perfectly  along party lines.

Caught in the middle of this are state employees and any group or agency that receives any amount of state funding.  For some of these groups, including state workers, the effect is immediate.  (You try telling the grocery store you’ll pay them with a state IOU!)  For others, like many libraries, the effect won’t be felt until 2010.

But the effects will be felt.  Already, several databases are scheduled to be dropped from the stae funded POWER Library offerings.  To my mind, the most valuable of these is the Consumer Health Complete database.  This resource provides a wide range of materials on nearly any health conidtion or subject you can think of – and in terms laypeople can understand.

This is the first loss – many more could come.  And even a budget settlement in Harrisburg doesn’t guarantee library funding.  Please help us continue to serve our patrons – you – by contacting your state representatives and Gov. Rendell and urge them to provide level funding – not increased funding – just level funding for libraries. 

Just in case you’re wondering if others feel the same way, check out what the some of teen supporters did last week to make the case for library funding.