Schlow Library - $1 $2 Content

Schlow Centre Region Library Funding

Melissa — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 11:01:52 -0400

Schlow Library receives annual appropriations from the Centre Region Council of Governments municipalities (State College Borough, College, Ferguson, Halfmoon, Harris and Patton Townships), Centre County government, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Schlow receives three types of state aid through the PA Department of Education - compensation for lending items to Pennsylvanians who live outside Schlow's service area (statewide card reimbursement), state aid as a local public library and member of a library system, and district center aid in Schlow's role as a district center library for the Central Pennsylvania Library District. State aid is calculated using population and local financial effort. In the case of the statewide card reimbursement, use statistics are the measure.

Most state aid and county funds flow through the Centre County Federation of Public Libraries, which disburses funds to Schlow Library and Centre County Library according to an agreed upon formula. State aid is 31% of the library's income; county funds make up another 8%.

Funding from the Centre Region municipalities accounts for about 51% of all the library's income. Municipal shares of the local government income are based on the percentage of use from the municipalites. If 15% of all library checkouts one year are made by residents of a particular township, then that township provides 15% of the local government share of the following year's budget.

The library also receives income from donations, fines and fees, sales, and interest - 10% of all library funds. In 2007, the library's total income was $1,757,174 and its expenditures were $1,728,450.

The library is a 501 c (3) charitable organization. Donations to the library are tax deductible.

Budget Cuts Threaten Schlow Services

Melissa — Tue, 19 May 2009 14:06:38 -0400

Our State Senate has passed a 2009-2010 budget that will cut Schlow's funding by more than 50%, which means a major reduction or even elimination of services to you. These cuts are deeper than ever before and come at a horrible time for those of you who rely on Schlow to provide vital services at no cost to you.

WE NEED YOUR HELP...

Right now we are asking you to write a personal letter to your legislators asking them to maintain level funding for libraries. Show them what Schlow and all public libraries mean to you. If you have children, help them write letters, too. The cost of a stamp will make a difference. We need to let the legislators know that their constituents care about the state of libraries in Pennsylvania.

You may wonder what services will be affected in this new budget:

Power Library (online databases and study resources) will be eliminated.
Daily Delivery among PA libraries for interlibrary loan and easy returns to your nearest library will be cut.
Statewide library card program which allows you to borrow items from another library without paying non-resident fee will no longer exist.
AskHere PA (24 hour chat with librarians for research purposes) will be cut by half.

Those are things we know for sure will be eliminated.

Schlow will also be forced to reduce:

New material acquisitions
Staff and hours
Programs and events at the library

Please help us by writing to the Governor, Senators & Representatives asking to maintain level funding for libraries.
Governor E. Rendell 225 Main Capitol Harrisburg, PA 17120 Senator Jake Corman PO Box 203034 Harrisburg, PA 17120-3034 Representative Scott Conklin PO Box 202077 Harrisburg, PA 17120-2077 Representative Mike Hanna PO Box 202076 Harrisburg, PA 17120-2076 Representative Kerry Benninghoff PO Box 202171 Harrisburg, PA 17120-2171	If you are unable to mail a letter, you can use this button to to email your elected officials.
Not sure who your representative is? Use the form in the upper-right corner of this page to find out.

No More Cuts to Libraries; Speak Up Now!

Nathaniel — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 10:05:15 -0400

The deadline to pass a state budget is just days away. The effects of the recession have created a hole in the state budget in the range of $1.2 billion. If we are to avoid a repeat of last year’s 101-day late budget, Governor Rendell and legislators must pass a new state budget by June 30, one that fills this revenue gap either through increased taxes and fees, or more cuts to state programs—or both.

Raising taxes and fees in an election year with the recession lingering is a tall order. This reality increases the chances that the next budget might be balanced primarily through budget cuts, a possibility that could threaten library funding once again. No specific library funding cuts have been mentioned but library supporters need to stay informed and engaged.