Dear [legislator]:
I’m a supporter of the Washington State Library and I have
recently learned of the severe supplemental budget cut to the library. I am
extremely concerned that this library, which contains the collected knowledge
of this state, and supports
The funding cuts over the last ten years are 36 percent, with the
result that staff will have been reduced by more than 51 percent with this
current cut. Now this new proposed drastic cut will hurt the
libraries of the state that depend on programs supported by federal
money. I understand that the federal funds must be matched in order to
provide services and resources to libraries in the state. Those services
include help to the most vulnerable people in our state. The matching
funds that must be restored are $987,000.
Through my library I have used services such as Ask-a-Librarian,
interlibrary loan, and the
During the Great Depression government did not ignore history and
culture, but supported and increased it. Stewardship of our state’s cultural
and literary heritage should be even more important during tough economic
times.
These are extraordinary cuts, more than those imposed on other
state agencies. I am asking that you restore the $987,000 to the State Library
in order to maintain the federal funds to assist libraries and services.
Sincerely,
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