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Cheery Friday Greetings,
Advocacy Update. So far, the NYS Assembly and Senate have not released their budgets (unless it has happened while I am writing this). It is a great time to do some advocacy work, whether or not the one-house budgets have been released.
Here are the recommended requests developed by the New York Library Association:
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$176.8M for State Library Aid. The Governor’s budget includes $104.6M. $176.8M represents what libraries need due to lack of full funding since FY 2007 with inflation and increased costs of services and resources factored in.
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$175M for Library Construction. The Governor’s budget includes $34M.NYLA estimates that the State’s public libraries need $1.75 Billion to address issues ranging from roofing to ADA compliance. This "ask" is 10% of what is needed.
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$11.33 per pupil for Library Materials Aid. The Governor’s budget includes $6.25/pupil. This has been flat since 2007. NYLA’s ask is $11.33/pupil to reflect inflation and general increases. We have to do better for our learners.
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NOVELny: $3.1M. While we were relieved to see $3M of funding in the Governor's budget for NOVELny, it didn't account for increased database costs.
Please note that for SCRLC and the other ESLN councils, the $176.8M "ask" includes:
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Coordinated Collection Development Aid for Academics (CCDA). This is important for our academic library members. The funds help build collections and provide resources to share among libraries.
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Hospital Library Services Program (HLSP). This program provides information resources and expertise to the region’s hospitals. Our healthcare providers need up-to-date, credible medical information to deliver the best possible patient care.
Beyond the funding requests, there are three pieces of legislation that we need our legislators to support: The Open Shelves Act, eBook Licensing Reform, and Freedom to Read. See too, NYLA’s section on Media Literacy in New York State. Much legislation is needed around media literacy.
To reach your legislators, visit our Advocacy section. The 2025 documents include names, districts, emails, and committee listings. To receive advocacy alerts from NYLA, visit their Become an Advocate! page. Click here to read more about the 2025 NYLA priorities.
Advocacy Visits: On Thursday, February 27, SCRLC has scheduled a visit with Senator Lea Webb in her Binghamton office. If you would like to join us, please contact Diane Capalongo by Tuesday at 12 p.m.
On Tuesday, February 25, Sarah Glogowski (FLLS) and I are going to attend Rep. Josh Riley’s open office hours to discuss the importance of libraries and federal funding to our state. You are very welcome to join us! In the last 5 years alone, the Institute of Museum and Library Services has awarded nearly $1.7M to libraries and museums in our 14-county region. The State Library receives over $8M from IMLS. The loss of these funds would be catastrophic to the state and to the region. To search awards, visit the IMLS Awarded Grants page. If you would like to join Sarah and me, contact Diane.
Yours in partnership,
Mary-Carol Lindbloom

Executive Director
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