In his FY 2013
Budget Recommendation, Governor Phil Bryant stated that libraries are not an
“appropriate government function” and are a “non-core area.” Consistent with these beliefs, the Republican
Budget calls for a 15% cut to Mississippi’s public libraries. This proposed cut would be particularly
painful to our local libraries as the Mississippi Library Commission has been
cut by more than $3.4 million or 24% over the last three years.
In a letter to
Governor Phil Bryant dated February 3, Ms. Sharman Bridges Smith, the Executive
Director of the Mississippi Library Commission, expressed an understanding of
the difficult challenges facing budget writers: “Librarians understand that
these are difficult times and we expect to take cuts along with all other
public entities.” Even so, Ms. Smith
noted, “These cuts have and continue to severely impact citizen access to the
very priorities of your administration—jobs, early childhood literacy, and
reading.” To illustrate her point, Ms.
Smith listed several services provided by Mississippi’s public libraries
including:
- More than 37% of 2.7 million people using computers in public libraries each year are doing job searches or completing employment applications;
- Many local public libraries serve as WIN Job Centers; and
- More than 400,000 Mississippi children participate in 13,000 children’s programs each year.
