Governor Proposes 18% Cut in Library Services

Governor Culver's FY 2009 budget includes an 18% cut in state funding for library services. Should this proposal stand, the following programs or agencies will see cuts: State Library, $135,000; Library Service Areas, $259,442; and Enrich Iowa $725,000.

Enrich Iowa, which directly funds Iowa's libraries, provided $16,921 to the Waterloo Public Library in FY2008. Should the governor's cuts stand, the WPL's Enrich Iowa allocation for FY2009 will be a mere $4,653: a reduction of $12,268!

Such a cut will have a significant impact on the services that the WPL will be able to provide to library patrons. If you would like to express your opinion on the validity of this proposed reduction in state aid to libraries, contact the governor via his online comments form.

Your state legislators must pass the final budget and could rescind this reduction. To express your opinion on the governor's proposed cuts, use the online at the Iowa Legislature's "Find your Legislator" site.

For details on how the cuts will affect Iowa's libraries across the board, visit Mike's Library Blog.

Thanks for your support of the Waterloo Public Library.

c 2007 Waterloo Public Library

New Windows Project Advances

We may have gotten a day off for Martin Luther King's birthday, but not our intrepid windows installers. They braved steady light snow and single-digit temperatures as the continued to install new windows. The good news is that they've made it around the corner; the bad news is that they are blocking off most of what's left of the parking lot.

We won't have to be patient much longer as the end is clearly in sight. We're already enjoying the new windows on the third floor and expect the second to also be less drafty and more energy-efficient upon completion.

c 2007 Waterloo Public Library