MA To Consolidate Regional Systems, Reduce Staff, Services
FY11 budget is reduced by 29 percent
Lynn Blumenstein -- Library Journal, 04/30/2010
- Regional reference center libraries will end
- Cut in continuing ed, advisory services
- Delivery remains, but changes in ILL
The Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC), in response to "draconian budget cuts," will consolidate its six regional offices and lay off more than half the staff as of July 1, when the new fiscal year (FY) begins, MBLC director Robert Maier told LJ.
The six locations will be condensed to two, six administrators reduced to one, and 45 staffers cut to 22.
For FY11, MBLC’s budget will be $6.9 million, down from FY10’s $9.7 million, a 29 percent reduction. These figures represent Governor Deval Patrick’s proposed budget for MBLC, which is expected to be approved by the legislature. MBLC was asked last December to prepare a consolidation plan, said Maier. The final report can be found on MBLC’s web site.
The end of reference center libraries
No longer will there be six reference center libraries located around the state, which Maier characterized as "an outmoded service." Established some 50 years ago, the service now costs about $600,000 annually.
The centers were useful when there were fewer local reference collections and reference librarians, said Maier, who cited online reference as a factor, but not a major one. The change doesn’t reflect a drop a decrease in reference questions, which he said had remained stable over the past five years.
More service cuts
More noticeable may be the reduction in continuing education and advisory services. Some 1700 multitype libraries, including academic and special libraries, will see these offerings reduced by at least two-thirds, said Maier.
Among other cuts, Home on the Web (a LSTA-funded project that provides web sites for 15 member libraries) will receive support only for the first six months of FY11. Bibliotemps, the temporary staffing service clearinghouse for Massachusetts libraries, will end. So will support for digital libraries.
There will be no change to regional delivery services in FY11, which support 13 million items, a core service, said Maier. A statewide service will be introduced in 2012.
While mediated interlibrary loan service (for OCLC, non-automated requests and for libraries that are not members of an automated network) will continue under revised service contracts, no longer will the state support ILL return shipping. Nor will it provide offsets to net ILL lenders.
