Future Still Unclear for the Library of Michigan's Genealogical and Regional Federal Depository Collections
By David Rapp Jul 28, 2010Back in March, LJ reported on how the Library of Michigan, in the face of likely budget cuts, was struggling to find a solution regarding the fates of two major state collections: its genealogy collection, and its Regional Federal Depository and Federal Documents Collection.
Since then, there has been some progress: a board examining the situation filed a long-awaited report, and focus groups weighed in with potential fixes. However, a solution is still not in sight.
MCIR report suggests funding possibilities
The Michigan Center for Innovation and Reinvention (MCIR) Board--an advisory board created last year by the same executive order [PDF] that abolished the state department of history, arts, and libraries--issued a report [PDF] in late June recommending that the genealogy collections remain within the Michigan Library and Historical Center, where it is currently housed.
The Board recommended that the state provide stable funding, but also suggested potential self-funding opportunities for the Center--including charging admission for the Museum, or allowing donors to use the building outside business hours--to help pay for the collection's upkeep.
In the immediate term, however, little will change--the genealogical collection will remain at the Library of Michigan, but with the present reduced funding and staff. (In the last fiscal year, the Library of Michigan had 45 staffers; this year, the number is 36, a 20 percent decline.)
"At this point, the Board's report includes recommendations only," State Librarian Nancy Robertson told LJ. "We do not know whether or how those recommendations may be taken up by the Governor's office or anyone else in the future."
Focus groups discuss options
The state's Regional Federal Depository Collection also still remains up in the air. Four focus groups, made up of nearly 60 directors and coordinators from federal depository libraries in the state, were held in May to discuss the situation.
According to Robertson, two possible solutions were discussed: to create a shared regional federal depository collection spread throughout the state, rather than centralized at the Library of Michigan, as it is now; or to enter into an arrangement with a regional federal depository in a neighboring state.
"At this point we are still gathering information about the feasibility of either of these options and have not determined how to proceed," Robertson said. No price tag has yet been attached to the options.
Library budget likely to drop
The future of the collections will hinge on the budget for the Library of Michigan in the next fiscal year, which will start on October 1. The state legislature is wrangling over the budget now, and a funding reduction for the Library is likely, as the state is still trying to bridge an approximately $300 million budget gap.
