WV LIBRARIES CUT $417,000 - "Calhoun Counts Every Dollar"

(04/07/2010)

A $417,444 cut in state funding has some West Virginia librarians worried about services next year. Many of the state's libraries operate on a shoe-string budget, including the Calhoun County library whose budget is about $70,000 annually. "Every dollar counts in our budget," said Calhoun librarian Amy Cooper. "We will continue to do everything we can to serve our community," she said. State lawmakers included the money in next year's budget, but Gov. Joe Manchin vetoed the increase. Manchin spokesman Matt Turner says Gov. Manchin cut funding to those programs he thought could still operate with less state money. State Library Commission Secretary J.D. Waggoner says the state's 97 public libraries will suffer because of the cut. Librarians expressed concern that many frequent users of the library are unemployed because of the recession. To compensate for the cuts, some librarians say they will reduce operating hours, leave vacancies unfilled and scale back on purchasing books and other materials. The Calhoun Library will have the renewal of their 5-year levy on this fall's ballot.

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