We wonder if this is going to start a trend? What are the major vendors going to do (what can they do?) to make up the revenue or is the public library revenue stream going to fade away of the next few years?
...many of the hundreds of subscription databases offered by Pennsylvania's public libraries -- and the convenient remote access many of them offer -- will vanish this year, victims of slashed state and local funding.
"We are talking about dozens of sources of reliable information, vital educational tools that reach tens of thousands of students with little money," said Glenn Miller, executive director of the Pennsylvania Library Association.
This year, state funding to public libraries will total $68 million -- down from $94 million in 2008. The specific portion of state funding for a variety of large database collections, such as PA Power Library and AskHere PA, which are online reference services, dropped from $11 million last year to $2.9 million this year.
"They are intact right now, but these databases will be disappearing throughout this year since vendors are not being paid," said Miller, whose organization is lobbying educational groups for financial help.
[Snip]
The Power Library's magazine collection is so thorough, she threw out old magazines years ago. "I got rid of them because everything was in the database," [Sharon McRae, director of the Shaler Public Library], said.
Reliable information from the Web is critical, especially for students, said Kristin Hokanson, a technology integration specialist with the Upper Merion School District in Montgomery County. Cutting funding to the Power Library undermines years of effort to connect all schools to the Internet, she said.
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