Library little affected by fund release
Public library directors across Missouri breathed a sigh of relief last week as Gov. Jay Nixon cited improved state revenues while releasing $5.8 million in appropriated library funding plus additional money set aside for the Missouri Research and Education Network, or MORENet, which provides libraries and schools with access to the Internet and online databases.
But Maryville Public Library Director Stephanie Patterson said Tuesday the action will have very little impact locally, since state aid to smaller libraries like the one here was restored several weeks ago.
Patterson said the earlier decision means the Maryville library is assured of receiving its usual $6,000 a year in state aid, or approximately 2 percent of the institution’s $270,000 operating budget.
That may not sound like a lot, she said, but the reduction would have hit that portion of the library’s budget that provides direct services and programs to patrons — everything from new books to children’s reading events to special presentations and lectures.
On another front, the Maryville Public Library also dodged the bullet with regard to withholding that would have frozen funds for the Remote Electronic Access for Libraries program, or REAL.
Patterson said REAL helps pay for high-speed Internet connections through MORENet. However the Maryville library last year opted out of the system in favor of private high-speed access offered by United Fiber, a subsidiary of the United Electric rural energy cooperative.
Under REAL and MORENet, the library was paying about $2,000 a year of high-speed Internet, a cost that could have ballooned to $8,000 next year, Patterson said. As it stands, the library currently pays United Fiber less than $100 a month.
Nixon’s decision does mean the Maryville library will receive several hundred MORENet dollars to cover the cost of providing patron access to databases and other online services. But Patterson said that while those funds are welcome they represent only a small fraction of total library spending.
She added that state funding for public libraries is still an issue, since in the current budget process the Missouri House has recommended only $700,000 for state aid to libraries, which compares to $3.5 million for the current year plus $3.1 million for Internet access through MORENet.
One version of next year’s budget reduces the MORENet appropriation to zero.
