Money Issues

FCC Considers Action to Stop E-Rate Fleecing of Consumers by Phone Companies

From The New York Times...
Under the E-Rate plan, the FCC currently requires telephone companies to contribute 6.9 percent of their interstate and international toll revenue to schools and libraries for Internet service and other technology expenses. Phone companies are allowed by law to recover a portion of these funds via what\'s called a Universal Service Fee. In light of certain telecompanies charging consumers several times the amount the carrier actually pays, the FCC is considering placing a cap on the amount telephone companies can charge consumers for the Universal Service Fee. [more...] from The New York Times.
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Lilbrary Funding Updates

The Daily Star has some Good News from Senator Charles Schumer.
\"America\'s neglected libraries are crumbling,\" Schumer said. \"In a modern world where education is the key to success, our libraries are out of date and out of place.\"


The bad news, passed along by Alison Hendon, is on RIF, she says:
\"We got an email message today at our library telling us that RIF funding was
not included in the federal budget. RIF (as you doubtless know) stands for
Reading Is Fundamental and is a program that gives away books to children as
a reward for reading. It is usually run through schools and libraries.
This is from Here -- Read More

Budget Would Eliminate National Commission on Libraries and Information Science

When he was a congressman in 1970, George Bush voted to create the National Commission on Libraries and Information Science. Now, his son wants to eliminate it. [more...] from The Columbus Dispatch.

ALA Freaks Out Over Budget

Here\'s a Story someone passed along on the ALA reaction to the latest US budget.

They say President Bush proposed cutting federal spending on libraries by $39 million.

There\'s a rather odd quote in this story:

\"Mrs. Bush understands very well how libraries are serving this nation\'s communities,\" says Emily Sheketoff, executive director of the Washington office of the American Library Association. \"Certainly, the budget doesn\'t reflect that.\"

Did I miss something here? Is Laura now making budget recommendations?

Anywhooo... They say the funding cut could underwrite the cost of 867 librarians at an average salary of $46,000. Or it could buy nearly 1.1 million hardcover books or 161,463 magazine subscriptions.

Budget Cuts and The Smithsonian

Lee Hadded Writes:\"Three libraries may be cut from the Smithsonian Institution. Today\'s
Washington Times has brief article today, April 10, 2001, by Gabriella
Boston, \"Smithsonian budget renovates buildings, cuts program, staff,\" on
page C1 and C2 of the Metropolitan Section. In her article, she states
about the budget cuts: \"Other cutbacks include eliminating the in-house
center for copying and distributing documents, three libraries and the
Smithsonian\'s multimedia productions center.\"

You will have to read the paper copy for this article. Regretfully,
this article does not appear to be posted on their web site at:
washingtontimes.com\"

More Bad News for Ohio Libraries

Ohio\'s Governor Taft has proposed eliminating a $12 million allotment in the general revenue fund for the Ohio Public Library Information Network (OPLIN). His plan would fund the network solely through general library funding. A preliminary study by the Ohio Library Council (OLC)estimates the state\'s public libraries could lose $84 million if the proposal is enacted.
[more...] from The Columbus Dispatch

Publish, Perish or Pay Up

Wired is running a Story about the reaction to high journal prices.

Since journal costs have skyrocketed to the point where they are just unaffordable to researchers, someone is attempting to reclaim control by creating alternatives to leading commercial publications that have gotten so stupidly over priced.
A new, nonprofit, online venture, The Electronic Society for Social Scientists (ELSSS), is offering journals that are at least 50 percent cheaper than major commercial academic publishers.
This is some very cool stuff, good ideas from smart people that change the market. Rather than just complaining about things, someone did something about it.

\"\"In the next three months decisions will be taken that will change significantly academic journal publishing in economics,\" -Manfredi La Manna creator of ELSSS.

Hold on to your E-Rate

In today\'s New York Times, Rebecca S. Weiner writes...

Advocates for the E-rate, a program that subsidizes Internet connections for the country\'s schools and libraries, are worried that President George W. Bush\'s proposal to consolidate federal education technology programs into a single block grant could stifle its success. -- Read More

Interesting approaches to library fund-raising

\"The feathers on the hot pink and blue boas draped around Jack Bentley\'s neck shook as he laughed during a lively serenade from the Library Sisters\". Dressed in hot pink, cherry red and royal blue, the Library Sisters strut their stuff to raise money for the local library . Read all about it in this story from the San Angelo Standard-Times.

Meanwhile, over in Boulder, Colorado: the library foundation, faced with a huge influx of quality donations to the library, successful quarterly book sales, and enthusiastic volunteers, shows its appreciation by
suspending
the book sale program and dismissing volunteers.

\"We are gone,\" said volunteer Lisa Lee. \"And we won\'t be back.\"

Maybe the consultant hired to review the book sales could give the board a few pointers on volunteer and public relations...

Ohio Governor Freezes Library Funds, While PA\'s Governor Ridge Gives \'em Boost

From Library Journal .

The state of Ohio has historically been very strong in its support of public libraries, ranking somewhere near the top in funding. The state of Pennsylvania, however, has notoriously been at the opposite end of the library funding universe, suffering from barely-existent book budgets, low salaries and often inadequate facilities.

Last week, it was reported that beginning in 2001, Ohio public schools are no longer required to house libraries or employ degreed librarians. According to This one, it looks as though there\'s more bad news ahead for libraries in the state of Ohio, only this time it affects public libraries. Ohio\'s Governor Taft has frozen library funding, while Pennsylvania gets another big funding boost from Governor Ridge. Way to go Govs.

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