For more information about APLA, visit www.scapla.org.
THE SOUTH CAROLINA ASSOCIATION OF SCHOOL LIBRARIANSThe South Carolina Association of School Librarians (SCASL) is a membership
organization composed of 1,200 school library media specialists.
2007 Legislative Agenda
SCASL is asking the General Assembly to consider appropriating recurring funds of $25
per pupil for the purchase of library materials to support the curriculum in South
Carolina’s public schools. $25 is the cost of a new library book. These funds would be
earmarked for this purpose in the budget of the State Department of Education. This
request would cost $20 million.
Conditions of South Carolina’s School Library Media Centers
* Average age of school collections is 17 years
* Some parts of school library collections are more than 20 years old
* Books purchased are accessible to all students and teachers
* School library media centers are accountable for all funds
An Effective School Library
* Is accessible to the total school community
* Is cost effective because one book is used by many
* Has materials that are inventoried and maintained
* Offers a broad range of materials---reference, fiction, nonfiction and electronic
* Addresses a broad range of reading levels
* Minimizes loss through cost-effective tracking systems
* Supports learning to read and reading to learn
* Adds new resources throughout the school year to keep collections dynamic
* Creates a sense of ownership that is shared by the entire school community
Woolls, Blanche. (2004). The School Library Media Manager, 3rd Edition. Westport, CT. Libraries Unlimited.
Roscello, Frances and Patricia Webster (2002). Characteristics of School Library Media Programs and Classroom Collections:
Talking Points. Albany, NY. Office of Elementary, Middle, Secondary and Continuing Education. New York State Education
Department.
For more information about SCASL, visit SCASL at www.scasl.net.
PASCAL
(Partnership Among South Carolina Academic Libraries)
Higher Education Electronic/Virtual Library
The Partnership Among South Carolina Academic Libraries (PASCAL) is a strategic
initiative launched by South Carolina’s public and private academic libraries in
conjunction with their parent institutions, the Commission on Higher Education (CHE),
the SC Independent Colleges & Universities (SCICU), the Office of the State Chief
Information Officer, the State Library, and the Department of Archives & History, to
respond to the information access needs of South Carolinians. The result of this
collaborative effort is a “Statewide Electronic Library” for higher education.
2007 Legislative Agenda
The higher education electronic/virtual library has received a non-recurring appropriation
of $2 million in each of the three most recent fiscal years. Continued $2 million
recurring funding is requested to fund the core operations of this important statewide
initiative. This funding is in the Commission on Higher Education’s budget. Member
library dues and federal grants also support elements of the program.
PASCAL’S Core Programs
* Electronic Resources (Collegiate Discus)---Thousands of core academic journals
* Statewide Universal Borrowing (PASCAL Delivers)---Millions of books
available within 3 days
* South Carolina Digital Library Initiative (SC Memory)---State treasures made
available on the web
PASCAL’S Benefits
* The State-Wide Electronic Academic Library vastly increases the knowledge
available to SC’s 300,000 students and faculty. We provide access to tens of
thousands of electronic journal titles in core academic disciplines, health sciences,
and business, with more on the way. Books can easily be borrowed from member
institutions. We are working together to build a statewide digital archive of state
and national significance.
* The State-Wide Electronic Academic Library levels the educational and economic
playing field in the global information economy. For smaller colleges, the
resource base increases by over 2,000 percent, while research libraries see their
effective collections grow by 20 – 35 percent.
* This vast expansion in resources is extremely cost-effective. Each dollar spent
centrally on electronic resources returns $6-8 dollars in value when compared
with single library licensing of the same material.
For more information, visit PASCAL at www.PASCALSC.org.
SOUTH CAROLINA STATE LIBRARY
The three requests listed under the Association of Public Library Administrators of South
Carolina (APLA) listed above would be funded in the budget of the State Library. They
include:
State Aid to County Libraries
Increasing State Aid from $2.00 per capita to $3.00 per capita with the minimum grant
per county increasing from $50,000 to $60,000. This request would cost $3,929,819.
Education Lottery
Public libraries are requesting $50,000 per county to be used for technology purposes.
This request would cost $2,300,000.
Public Library Construction
The State Library has identified twelve (12) projects for this new initiative. These
projects are just a few of the many public library construction projects needed over the
next few years. This request would cost $13,250,000.
DISCUS
Full funding for DISCUS, the state’s premier information resource, is needed. This
request would cost $2.75 million. If each library purchased access to DISCUS databases
separately, the total cost would be over $31 million. DISCUS provides a cost avoidance
of over $28 million.
Statewide Union Catalog
Recurring funds are needed to begin state support for a new statewide public library
catalog and interlibrary loan service to better support educational needs of students,
lifelong learners, adults seeking to improve their job skills, and home schoolers whose
local public library is their main learning resource. This request would cost $500,000.
Energy Surcharges
This one-time charge is being made by the Budget and Control Board to cover increased
energy costs. The estimated charge is $73,500.
For more information about the State Library, visit the State Library at
www.statelibrary.sc.gov.