A post on the Records Preservation and Access Committee (A joint committee of the Federation of Genealogical Societies & the National Genealogical Society) website discusses a recent meeting that took place on Feb. 17th between Cynthia Grostick, President Michigan Genealogical Council and Michigan’s State Librarian, Nancy Robertson regarding the State Library of Michigan and budget issues.
Here are some highlights (actually they're 'lowlights') from the post:
Cynthia Grostick writes:
The reality is grim. The library is facing a 23 percent cut in funding. This cut has forced MDE (Michigan Department of Education) to examine what collections and services the library provides, and what the core functions of a state library are as stated in Michigan law. Based on that, MDE has determined what collections/services currently housed in the library fit the identified core services and which do not. It was a difficult and painful choice for them to make. Unfortunately, it was decided that while the non-Michigan genealogical collection and the Federal Documents collection are valuable, they do not fit into the core functions of a state library, nor is it mentioned in the state’s constitution that the state must provide those collections/services. The Library is also facing a 13-person reduction in staff. They will have gone from 100 staff at its height, to 30 as of October 1, 2010. [our emphasis]
Ms. Robertson also informed me that the library will become a non-circulating library.
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