TUMWATER, WA – Secretary of State Steve Hobbs is preparing to lay off nearly 50 Washington State Library employees due to a decline in state and federal funding.
In the past two weeks, 47 workers at the main library in Tumwater and at the Washington Talking Book & Braille Library in Seattle learned they are at-risk of losing their jobs, some in June and others in September, because of the lack of resources, Hobbs announced Monday.
“It is heartbreaking and distressing to witness the near elimination of our state’s Central Library, which has existed since territorial times to enrich our culture and serve as a research hub for our state’s residents,” Hobbs said in a statement.
Staff in 27 state-funded positions received a layoff date of June 30 while those in 20 federally funded positions have a Sept. 30 date.
Hobbs warned of potentially far-reaching repercussions.
Operating hours of the main state library in Tumwater will be trimmed and it may be closed entirely to the public, curbing access to its trove of historical and governmental collections.
In addition, the Ask A Librarian program that receives thousands of calls each year could go unanswered, and email inquiries will not receive timely responses. Additionally, subscriptions to newspaper and genealogy databases will be discontinued, and the acquisition of new materials will be drastically limited, said deputy secretary of state Randy Bolerjack.
Similarly, the Talking Book and Braille Library may be closed to the public with phone support reduced and circulation and registration services slowed. Production of braille and audio materials could also be reduced or suspended at the state’s only accessible library service for people who are blind or have other disabilities.
Fiscal challenges are playing out on two fronts.
At the state level, the library system continues to suffer from a sluggish housing market that’s generated less revenues from fees paid on real estate transactions. A portion of this fee revenue goes to support the library.
The secretary of state’s office requested $6.7 million for the next budget to make up for lower-than-expected receipts and maintain current service levels. While House and Senate budgets contained a smaller sum — $2.7 million in the House and $1.2 million in the Senate — there was no money in the final budget passed by the Legislature, Bolerjack said.
Those dollars were counted on to fund 15 jobs in the library in Tumwater and 12 positions at the Talking Book and Braille Library.
A thin silver lining looms.
A bill awaiting action by Gov. Bob Ferguson would impose a new $50 surcharge on all filings handled by Superior Court clerks, of which $20 would go to the secretary of state’s office for the library, archives and state legacy projects. This would generate up to $6 million in a full biennium, according to a fiscal analysis.
So while there will be job cuts, hopefully, if the legislation is signed, some of those laid off can be hired back, Bolerjack said.
Meanwhile, the federal government informed the state April 2 that it had terminated a grant that paid for 20 positions. Then last week, the federal government rescinded the termination and will be providing $3.9 million, Bolerjack said.
Those employees still face layoffs because there is no indication whether the grant funding will be continued after Sept. 30, he added.
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