Lawmakers Consider Library Code Update

Pennsylvania’s libraries are busier than ever.  “Between 2007 and 2009, library visits increased by 2.5-million,” Deputy Education Secretary for Commonwealth Libraries Clare Zales explained to a Senate panel.  “Nearly 850,000 patrons accessed the Internet, which is an increase of 22%.”

These numbers are the backdrop as state lawmakers consider an overhaul of the state’s 50-year-old library code.  “At the time the library code was a model for other states, however it is now considered antiquated,” says State Senator Dominic Pileggi (R-Delaware), the prime sponsor of SB 1225.  Pileggi’s bill is based on a 2010 report from the Joint State Government Commission, which made recommendations for library modernization in Pennsylvania. 

It would set new standards that reflect new technology, create new ways for the state to address libraries that don’t meet minimum levels of local funding and update requirements for staff, collections and buildings.  “One example of this clear need for an update is that current law requires each district library center to have a minimum of 300 16-milimeter films in its collection,” Pileggi explained to the Senate Education Committee.   

Many librarians and advocates are using this opportunity to raise their grave funding concerns.  Dennis Leeper with Pennsylvania Citizens for Better Libraries says most libraries are trying to compete for municipal funding alongside police and fire departments.  “So the libraries often get what’s left over, and in difficult economic times like these there isn’t much left over.  So the libraries are hurting.”