Volume 13, June 8, 2017 for the WSL Updates mailing list Topics include: 1) WSL PRESENTS: NEWS FROM WASHINGTON LIBRARIES! 2) UPDATE – EVERY CHILD READY TO READ 3) MEASURES THAT MATTER PART TWO 4) PROQUEST GOES HTTPS 5) THE PRESIDENT’S BUDGET 6) FREE CE OPPORTUNITIES NEXT WEEK
Volume 13, March 23, 2017 for the WSL Updates mailing list Topics include: 1) REFRESHING SCHOOL LIBRARIES GRANTS 2) RAISING VISIBILITY AND RELEVANCY 3) PUBLIC LIBRARY POLICIES UPDATE 4) THINK, DO, SHOW – EVALUATION WORKSHOP 5) IMLS RELEASES STATEMENT ON BUDGET 6) FREE CE OPPORTUNITIES NEXT WEEK
From the desk of Rand Simmons, Washington State Librarian. Monday, June 29 the Legislature approved a compromise 2015-2017 Operating Budget. Governor Inslee signed it Tuesday, June 30, the final day of the fiscal year. This action avoided a government shutdown on Wednesday, July 1. Secretary of State Kim Wyman wrote, “This means no shutdown, no unpaid furloughs and no service interruptions. I’m happy for the citizens of Washington and for all of our amazing OSOS staff!” The budget news for…
Washington legislators are headed into an unusual second special session, still hoping to bridge stark partisan differences and avoid a June 30 deadline for averting a partial government shutdown. Dejected and weary lawmakers were closing out their 30-day special session Tuesday with little to show for their labors. Gov. Jay Inslee, a freshman Democrat who once served in the state House himself, called a special session to convene at 9 a.m. on Wednesday. At a Capitol news conference, Inslee sought…
Washington lawmakers and incoming Gov. Jay Inslee are arriving in Olympia for a grueling budget-year legislative session that begins at high noon on Monday. The 63rd Legislature and the newly elected governor face a big budget shortfall — perhaps $2 billion, counting pay raises, rising cost of services for a growing and graying population and a state Supreme Court order to invest more in the state’s public schools. Democrat Inslee and a number of legislators say they will try to…
2011 saw many changes at the Airway Heights Corrections Center (AHCC). The institution changed to a closed movement facility and this has had a dramatic impact on library attendance. From what was a full library most movements has changed to about half our normal capacity. We started the year out with a Library Snapshot Day. Everyone had a blast and the atmosphere here was full of excitement. In February DOC started to make changes to increase security and for…
In these tough times it can be hard to stay positive. We wait for budget cuts to decide our fates and hope that book budgets will not disappear and libraries will not close. However, there are encouraging things that are happening. Not only did the inmates from Washington Corrections Center for Women (WCCW) donate $1000 to their library, we received a $3000 donation from the Muckleshoot Native American Tribe for the library at Washington Corrections Center (WCC). This donation has…
Doug Gelis, one happy librarian with $1000 donation When the inmates at Washington Corrections Center for Women heard that my book budget was frozen ( again ) , they asked me if there was anything that they could do. I informed them that I could take donations. Soon after this the tier reps approached me and said they were going to do a fundraiser for the library. Last week I sent a check to Laura Sherbo for $1000.00 which is…
House Democrats have weighed into the tax debate in Olympia, offering an assortment of tax hikes – called “cats and dogs” in Capitol-speak – rather than a package that is anchored by a state sales tax increase. The $858 million package is closer in approach to Governor Gregoire than the Senate Democrats. The Democratic governor proposed a $605 million mix of taxes, including a $1-a-pack tax on cigarettes, a tax on pop and candy and a higher hazardous materials tax on petroleum…
In an unusual rush of budgetry at the Capitol, the Senate and House went public with their dueling budget plans within hours of each other, setting up a dash to adjournment within a few weeks. Both proposals rely on another round of spending cuts, more federal bailout bucks, fund transfers galore, and, yes, tax increases. The prob: closing a budget gap of $2.8 billion, just a few short months after dealing with a $9 billion projected deficit. The Senate tax…