State Aid to Public Libraries in the United States, July 2006 (v.9,n.4)
In August 2004, the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC) embarked upon a strategic planning process. An important piece of this planning process is a review of the State Aid to Public Libraries program. Beginning in September 2006, a committee appointed by the Board from the public library community will begin a nearly year long review of the State Aid program.
As part of their initial work, the committee will examine the state aid programs of other states. Two sources will provide information about state aid in the United States. The first is the most recent survey of all state library agencies conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics. The second is an email survey conducted by Dianne Carty, Head of State Aid and Data Coordination at the MBLC. Each has its pluses and its minuses. The first source provides data from all 50 states, but it is very limited and is two years old. The second includes more comprehensive and current data about state aid, but does not include responses from all 50 states.
State Library Agency Survey
The publication, State Library Agencies Fiscal Year 2004-Supplemental Tables to NCES 2006-303 reported a total of $332,446,000 (table 33D, p.115) going to individual public libraries as state aid from state sources, (including the District of Columbia). The following thirteen states reported distributing no state aid in FY2004: Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming. The following twelve states reported less than $1,000,000 in FY2004 state aid: Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Indiana, Maine, Mississippi, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Utah.
Electronic Survey of State Aid to Public Libraries
State library agencies were surveyed in the spring of 2005. The survey was updated in 2006. Nine states responded that there is no state aid to public libraries in their state: Colorado, Idaho, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Ohio, South Dakota, Vermont, Washington and Wyoming. The following nine states did not respond to the survey: Alabama, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Kansas, Maine, North Dakota, Oregon and Tennessee.
The following table includes all states reporting to NCES more than $1,000,000 in state aid to individual public libraries for FY2004, plus Florida and Wisconsin. Excluded are the District of Columbia and Hawaii, each with only one independent public library.
| State | number of public libraries (NCES 2005-363;table 1) |
NCES STLA survey--rounded dollars reported for FY2004 (NCES 2006-303; table 33D) |
dollars reported for FY2005/FY2006 | Are there requirements in statute and regulation? | Must state aid be expended in the year received? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 208 | $1,807,000 | did not report | ||
| California | 179 | $33,225,000 | $29,530,000 | yes | no |
| Connecticut | 194 | $1,023,000 | $347,109 | yes | no, but within 2 years |
| Delaware | 21 | $2,566,000 | $3,369,500 | yes | no |
| Florida | 69 | 0 | $34,049,233 | yes | no |
| Georgia | 58 | $31,108,000 | did not report | ||
| Illinois | 629 | $16,230,000 | did not report | ||
| Iowa | 539 | $2,303,000 | did not report | ||
| Kansas | 325 | $2,362,000 | did not report | ||
| Kentucky | 116 | $4,736,000 | $3,917,068 | yes-regulation | yes |
| Louisiana | 65 | $1,515,000 | $1,500,000 | yes | sometimes allow carryover |
| Maryland | 24 | $27,285,000 | $28,031,991 | yes | no,but may vary by jurisdiction |
| Massachusets | 370 | $7,340,000 | $9,039,844 | yes | no |
| Michigan | 384 | $9,217,000 | $13,876,900 | yes | no |
| Missouri | 168 | $4,290,000 | $4,001,744 | yes-statute | yes |
| New Jersey | 308 | $8,578,000 | $8,665,000 | yes | no, but within 2 years |
| New Mexico | 90 | $1,760,000 | $350,000 | yes-regulation | different for each grant |
| New York | 752 | $45,118,000 | $66,106,589 | yes | yes |
| North Carolina | 75 | $14,560,000 | $14,776,010 | yes | "mostly," 17% or less carryover |
| Pennsylvannia | 453 | $21,415,000 | $61,362,000 | yes | yes |
| Rhode Island | 48 | $6,664,000 | $6,312,949 | yes | no, but carryover should be minimal |
| South Carolina | 42 | $5,818,000 | $3,699,501 | yes-regulation | yes |
| Texas | 552 | $2,640,000 | $2,650,000 | yes | yes |
| Virginia | 90 | $16,035,000 | $16,034,533 | yes | yes |
| West Virginia | 97 | $8,339,000 | $8,388,884 | yes | no |
| Wisconsin | 380 | 0 | $14,196,700 | yes | no response |