The following is a MALF e-alert.
Most of you know that two years ago Minnesota citizens voted in favor of increasing the state sales tax to support the environment and the arts. This sales tax is referred to as the Legacy Amendment and is in place for the next 25 years. A number of people from the library community worked to get libraries included in the legislation so that $3 million annually of the Legacy sales tax revenue would be dedicated for library arts and culture programming.
Right now, the dollars allotted to library cultural events and programming are distributed through the regional library system. This system guarantees that every library has access to the funds. Many of you have probably had a program presented in your local library as the result of this system. But a change in the way those funds are distributed is being considered: the change would require libraries to write competitive grant proposals and to receive their funding through the State Arts Board.
For large, urban libraries that already employ grantwriters, this may not be a significant problem. But for small, rural libraries that are already understaffed and struggling to provide services to their communities, the change could be disastrous. Grantwriting requires experienced writers, and no small library has additional money to spend on writers.
MALF urges all of its members to contact the legislators listed below and to ask that they NOT change the current fund distribution system. Rural libraries will suffer.
Contact information for these two individuals is:
sen.bill.ingebrigtsen@senate.mn
651-297-8063
rep.dean.urdahl@house.mn 651-296-4344