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Sure enough, this week the Pennsylvania Senate passed Senate Bill 850, an appropriations bill that slashes state library funding by a full 50%. It passed the GOP-controlled Senate 30-20 on a rigidly party-line vote. UPDATE: It's next step is the House Appropriations Committee. Its progress can be marked HERE.

The passage of this budget item also means a hidden cut in funding, because federal matching funds for libraries depend on the amount provided by the state. Under the Senate's plan, that leaves $3.8 million dollars in federal funding on the table. The governor's proposal, H.B. 1416, would still leave almost a million dollars in federal funds.

Libraries often operate on shoestring budgets. Rendell's cut would be a blow to us, but it's vastly preferable to the full-on evisceration that the Senate would foist upon us. It will mean lost jobs and elimination of vital community programs. Interlibrary loan, which allows us to obtain materials for our patrons from virtually any library in the country, would be shut down. The bookmobile, which provides library services to county townships lacking their own brick-and-mortar equivalent, could also be on the chopping block. And that's saying nothing about reduced staff, fewer hours open, and possibly even branch closures.

Again, at a time when people are turning to libraries more and more to help make ends meet, and we are busier than ever.