Deal Could Save Florida State Library

Florida Governor Jeb Bush has reached an informal agreement to save the Florida State Library's Bureau of Archives. Bush and interim Secretary of State Ken Detzner struck an 11th-hour deal on February 14 to continue housing state archives in the library; the fate of the library's 350,000-book collection has yet to be determined and could be dispersed to public libraries across the state. The state library would fall under the auspices of a newly combined Department of State and Community Affairs.

Under the latest plan, 55 positions will be eliminated within the division of library and information services, says Jenny Nash, a spokeswoman for Florida's Department of State. The library's historic Florida collection, its government archives and photos, and the state museum will remain in the R. A. Gray Building and continue to be staffed by 40 state employees. The proposal could save $3.8 million annually, Nash says.

Bush's proposed shutdown of the state library has been one of the most controversial of his budget cuts, with Florida librarians and historians writing letters of protest and organizing a Web-based petition. The shutdown, along with cuts in other parts of the division of library and information services, would have saved the state $5.4 million annually.

At the time, Bush suggested closing the state library and transferring its more than one-million volume collection and historical items to Florida State University or some other public library facility. But university president T. K. Wetherell rejected the plan, saying the university didn't have the space or money to house the items.

Ironically, Bush, who has billed himself the "education governor," recently declared February Florida Library Appreciation Month. The state legislature, which meets March 3, must vote to approve Bush's budget.