State could lose federal library money
By Eloise Aguiar
Advertiser Staff Writer
Hawai'i could lose substantial federal money if the state continues to cut the library system's budget, State Librarian Virginia Lowell said yesterday.
Advertiser library photo
The federal government gives the state library system $900,000 a year, some of which is used to maintain the library's automated system and to buy electronic database packages, Lowell said.
"If we continue to get reduced we're going to start losing our federal funds next year," State Librarian Virginia Lowell said.
"If we continue to get reduced we're going to start losing our federal funds next year," Lowell said in an interview. The federal money could be in jeopardy because Washington wants to see that the state is also contributing to the agency, she said.
If the library's operating budget falls below 95 percent of its three-year average, some of the federal money will be withheld, Lowell said.
"We're real close," she said.
Lowell was back at work yesterday after a vacation. While gone, criticism mounted about her decision to cut library hours to 40 hours and five days a week because of a $500,000 budget cut.
Gov. Linda Lingle last week called Lowell's action "unprofessional" and said she should have come up with other ways to deal with the budget cuts. Sen. Bob Hogue, R-24th (Kailua, Kane'ohe) said Lowell should resign.
Lowell yesterday declined to respond to the criticisms, saying her decision to limit library hours was a means of avoiding layoffs.
She said she had few options to deal with the budget cut because she had ruled out layoffs and that 87 percent of the libraries' budget is for payroll. Another 11 percent of the libraries' budget is for overhead costs and 1 percent to 2 percent is spent on purchasing materials, she said.
Last year she saved the library $80,000 on an electronic database that delivers 20 times the resources of the previous system, she said. She also cut in half the cost of the automated system and made other adjustments to save the library money.
Lowell said she is bracing for the possibility of more cuts. The House Finance Committee last week approved a budget that calls for an additional $1 million in cuts to the libraries over the next two years.
"We must look at it as if it's going to be a continuous process because we certainly anticipate further reductions, and where is that going to come from?" she said. "We certainly can't continue to eliminate core services."
Even with the cut in hours of operation, Lowell instructed each library to stay open either one night a week or one weekend day. Some libraries are working together to give customers more options, Lowell said. For example, the Mililani and Pearl City libraries have agreed to stay open on different weekend days.
The 12 public libraries that do double duty as school libraries face a more difficult decision because most will choose to remain open during school hours. Even so, those libraries will be open one evening a week, Lowell said.
Waimanalo Library has petitioned the state Board of Education for an exemption so it can be open on a sixth day, Saturday, when it hosts a special reading program for children and a tutoring program for adults.
But Lowell said she couldn't support the exemption because it would set a precedent. She said the board could override her decision and the BOE Library Committee would probably decide on a recommendation Thursday.
