Indiana Public Library Funding and Reviews

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1 January 15, 2015 It is in the best interest of the citizens of Indiana that the projected cuts in funding set forth in the current budget proposal be reevaluated in consideration of the education needs of every Hoosier. The proposed 24% cut in funding would jeopardize the accessibility of information vital to millions of Indiana residents and could result in reducing Indiana State Library staff by 10%. The following is a concise list of evidence supporting the continuation of funding for various services provided by the Indiana State Library. Your cooperation in supporting the continuous funding of these programs in the 2015 legislative session would be greatly appreciated. Proposed Reduction in Funding INSPIRE $1,340,783 Genealogy Department $400,000 Public Library Standards & Certification $150,000 Total: $1,890,783 Cost saving tool for 237 public libraries, 45 academic libraries, over 1 million K-12 students, homeschoolers, hospitals, and all Hoosiers Over 125 million searches in 2014 Proposed cuts will impact $3 million in LSTA Federal funds INSPIRE GENEALOGY DEPARTMENT STANDARDS & CERTIFICATION ISL has one of the largest genealogy collections in the Midwest with hundreds of thousands of materials that cover Indiana history and family histories not available anywhere else and the collection accounts for 49% of our requests for information Reduction in funding will affect total amount of federal grant funding available for Indiana in the future The resources presented as a potential replacement are lacking in scope and breadth many do not include full text Over 80% of the resources on INSPIRE are not found anywhere else Indiana Code addresses what Library shall provide and includes the resources and services provided by the Genealogy Department and IC specifies that the library shall meet the specialized needs and interests of the citizens that public libraries can t provide The State Library partners with the Indiana Historical Society and the Indianapolis Public Library to compliment each other s services and to avoid duplication of efforts. Public Library Standards were streamlined in 2014 and the promulgation into law process will take place in 2015 Certification of public librarians ensures innovative, efficient and cost effective library service for all Hoosiers

2 The Indiana State Library is a leader in the country in providing direction and support to libraries and as a result, our library systems are innovative, cost effective and efficient. The proposed cuts will devastate the library services provided to Indiana residents. INSPIRE The proposed reduction of funding of $1,340,783 for INSPIRE would eliminate an educational resource that is vitally important to students of all ages, educators and adults. INSPIRE provides access to full text, peer reviewed material to all Hoosiers. The resource is heavily used by educators, researchers, K-12 students and post-secondary students. The resources from Gale and EBSCO provide millions of articles and resources the vast majority not available in any other location on the web. Indiana code states that funds from the Indiana Technology fund be allocated to INSPIRE. The State Library leverages funding from State, Federal and Academic Libraries to increase the bargaining power and deliver the largest number of resources to libraries, universities, and schools at the lowest possible price. In our meeting several resources were presented to replace INSPIRE. Our research finds the proposed resources to be inadequate and substandard replacements. There are issues with each resource identified in our meeting: Google Scholar, Microsoft Academic Search and Academic Index: These three resources present articles that are indexed but contain very few full text articles in the results. Users are pointed to an option to purchase access to articles while INSPIRE provides users access to full text peer reviewed resources suitable for K-12 education and academic research environments at no additional cost. Directory of Open Access Journals: This resource includes only publications which do not charge for subscriptions. In industries such as science and health, the leading scholarship is published by companies such as Elsevier, Emerald, and the Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers who do not allow all of their materials to be published on Open Access sites. Dogpile.com, Search.com: These resources are simply a meta-search engine, meaning they search multiple search engines. Search engines do not contain the high-quality, peer-reviewed content of journals. Worldcat.org: Indiana library materials are currently available on Worldcat because of the license the Indiana State Library holds with the company. If the license was not renewed, Indiana s libraries would not be visible in Worldcat searches unless the individual library paid the company. EBSCO and Gale (and other database providers) negotiate terms with publishers of content to make this content available to users. Loss of the statewide license for these resources would negatively impact all Hoosiers access to information. Discipline-specific resources like JSTOR are available through academic libraries because INSPIRE provides cost savings to academic institutions that allow for the purchase of additional resources. The academic libraries of Indiana contribute $250,000 annually to INSPIRE and purchase additional resources to enhance their digital offerings to their students. Federal Funding Impact Reducing the funding to INSPIRE will potentially reduce by one third the federal funds the state receives to support library services. The Indiana State Library receives just over $3 million in federal grant dollars annually through the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) administered by the Institute of Museum and Library Services. These funds are used to support several statewide library services and provide sub grants to libraries statewide, as well as the Indiana State Archives and Department of Corrections. As a condition for receiving these funds, the Indiana State Library has an IMLS-approved Five Year Plan for service, and must meet matching and maintenance of effort requirements. The INSPIRE databases, or Indiana s Virtual Library, are included in our Five Year Plan for service and are funded with a combination of state and federal funds. While the federal portion of this service is

3 approximately $400,000 annually, the amount contributed by the state exceeds $1.3 million annually. Libraries of all types, in all congressional districts, receive LSTA sub grants for library services each year. In addition, the reduction of funding would affect the total amount of federal grant funding available for Indiana in the future. Here is a brief explanation of the matching requirements that are part of the LSTA legislation: Maintenance of Effort (MOE) To remain eligible to receive the maximum amount of federal grant funding available through the LSTA Grants to States program, each state needs to prove that an amount of state or local funding is contributed to the project each year that exceeds the average for the past three fiscal years. This is intended to ensure continuing commitment from the states and prevent reliance on federal funding. If a state does not meet its MOE requirements the amount of IMLS funding available to that state will be reduced in future fiscal years. Match Per the IMLS authorizing legislation for the Grants to States program, IMLS requires that the federal share of a state s LSTA projects not exceed 66%, with the non-federal share from state and local sources comprising at least 34%. Impact of discontinuation of state support for a Virtual Library One hundred percent of the virtual Library funds received are counted toward both Indiana s LSTA Maintenance of Effort and Match. The state has come to rely on this funding to meet both requirements. Impact on MOE In FY2013 (10/1/2012-9/30/2014), the amount of Virtual Library funds received for INSPIRE was $1,415, Without this funding, the state s MOE would have dropped to $2,244,212.51, which is $1,414, less than the required amount ($3,658,572.03). By not meeting these MOE requirements, the state may 1) become ineligible to receive future funding, 2) receive a reduced future allotment or 3) be unable to draw down the full amount of funds from the FY2014 and FY2015 awards in progress. Impact on Match In FY2013, the Indiana State Library received $3,036,565 in LSTA funding. The state and local matching requirement for this amount was $1,564,291, or 34%. The Virtual Library funds received accounted for $1,415,951 of our matching funds. Only $630, was provided as match from other state and local sources. This would leave a deficit of approximately $933,000 that would need to be matched from other sources. This would require the Indiana State Library to increase the amount of match from other sources, which has a potential economic impact affect on libraries, universities, and schools statewide. Not meeting the Match and MOE requirements affects access to current and future federal funds. States may not draw down funds from currently awarded allotments which they will be unable to match. By not meeting Match or MOE requirements, states will receive reduced future allotments. Per the IMLS, six states and Puerto Rico received severely reduced FY 2014 allotments due to their inability to meet MOE requirements in FY2011.

4 Genealogy The proposal to eliminate all funding ($400,000) for the Genealogy department of the library will impact the availability and use of a one-of-a-kind resource that includes many elements of family history and Indiana history. Specific statutory authority for the program: IC Sec. 3. The state library shall maintain, develop, and service a collection of books, periodicals, newspapers, maps, manuscripts, audiovisual materials, and other library materials for the purpose of: (1) meeting the informational, educational, and research needs of state government; (2) preserving and making available for use, materials bearing on the history of the state; (3) meeting the specialized library needs and interests of citizens of Indiana; and (4) supplementing the reference and materials resources of the libraries of the state. The Indiana State Library (ISL) is home to one of the largest Genealogy collections in the Midwest. This collection (over 100,000 items) is focused on Indiana, states from which Indiana was settled as well as some foreign countries. The collection is rich with unique family histories and genealogy materials that cannot be found in other locations. In comparison, the Indiana Historical Society (IHS) only collects materials on Indiana and the Old Northwest genealogy research can never be restricted to one state only. Family trees branch outside of a single state and spread throughout the country and across oceans. Genealogy collections (including ours) contain materials for neighboring states as well as items covering the east and southern coasts (where most immigrants landed) and genealogical resources for other countries (mainly in Europe where most immigrants came from). These types of resources are not collected by IHS or the Indiana State Archives or the Historical Bureau. In addition, the ISL serves as the Genealogy destination for patrons that use the Indianapolis Marion County Public Library (IPL). In the past, IPL donated their collection to ISL because they were not going to actively collect for Genealogy and they wanted somewhere close by to send their patrons and know they would get service in this area. Over the years they have also donated funds so that ISL could purchase valuable Genealogy research materials to be kept in the collection and used by patrons statewide. It has been a beneficial partnership. Staff members who work in genealogy are playing important roles in planning the library s role in the State s bicentennial commemoration including the State Visitor Center that will be installed on the library s first floor adjacent to the genealogy department. 49% of all reference questions that come into the ISL are for research from these genealogy materials. For such a small portion of our overall budget, we provide exceptional research materials to the public including students, genealogy librarians, historians, and legislators; preserving Indiana history for generations to come. To give an everyday example of how this service is utilized, in January of this year, over 500 eighth grade students from Perry Meridian Middle School will be visiting the ISL to do a genealogy project involving several staff teaching them how to use Ancestry.com for family history research and then instructing them how to research historical Indiana newspapers to find out what was happening in Indiana on the day of their birth. Perry Meridian Middle School did this same project two years ago and received a national award from the American Library Association. This is the same type of instruction and research the staff does on a daily basis for the general public around the state, nation, and even internationally. Without these funds ISL would not have the staff to do these types of educational programs or provide research assistance.

5 Standards & Certification Proposed reduction in funding: $150,000. IC calls for a Library Certification Board. As a result of the Probe report, the Office of Management and Budget s (OMB) recommendation was to either eliminate public librarian certification or make it meaningful. The Indiana State Library s administration held a series of town hall meetings seeking input. The consensus was to make the certification process meaningful as the librarians of public libraries serve an educational role to all Hoosiers throughout their lives. Public libraries are the most significant resource that parents use to help prepare children for school. Library programs and resources are a vital source of information parents can utilize for their pre-k aged children. Even with many schools moving towards year-round school, there is still a long break for summers. Research suggests that the summer slide that is experienced by many children can be alleviated with participation in summer reading programs. For the adult population who may not have been able to finish high school for one reason or another, the public library is the location they use to seek out resources to prepare for, and in some cases, take the high school equivalency exam. When Indiana moved from GED to the TASC, Indiana s public librarians shepherded the individuals through the transition. As more and more community colleges and universities move to mobile learning environments, the public library becomes the default classroom for students who may not have a regular scheduled class on campus. After completing post-secondary education, public libraries become the classroom of the mind for anyone wishing to extend their knowledge in any area. Public libraries offer information and resources to assist entrepreneurs when they are starting a new business. Librarians, therefore, must be among the most educated individuals in the workforce, with well-rounded knowledge and abilities to connect disparate silos of information to assist every citizen at every level of learning. Although certification could be streamlined, it is a program that supports every Hoosier who sets foot in a library, or visits a library s website. Public library standards and certification are important tools to ensure that Indiana residents receive the best library service their tax dollars can afford. Public library standards were revised in 2014 to streamline the process and focus the emphasis on core library services. Library certification is a program that will be reviewed next and cost savings will be emphasized in the review.