Library Support Key Part of Beebe's Plan for Excellence in Education

(LITTLE ROCK) - Supporting public libraries took center spotlight this week as attorney general and Democratic nominee for governor Mike Beebe toured the state promoting his plan for pre-kindergarten and supporting rural schools. Wednesday, Beebe spoke to Central Arkansas Library system librarians following a tour of the main CALS library in downtown Little Rock.

"I understand the importance of a strong Arkansas education and as governor, nobody will work harder than I will to make sure that our kids get only the best from an Arkansas education. The opportunities I've had are owed largely to the tools I got in Arkansas classrooms. I want to make that same world-class education available to every child," Beebe said. "That starts with access to pre-k education, support for our rural schools and a serious investment in our state libraries."

As an example of the important roles of public library programs, Beebe talked about the impact of the Fayetteville public library system. From 1997 to 2005, it saw the number of items checked out increase by 206 percent and the number of visitors to the library increase by 176 percent. Between 1998 and 2005, the library saw an increase in attendance of programs by 188 percent and the number of library cardholders increase by 288 percent. Most striking, between 1998 and 2006, participation in summer reading programs grew 617 percent.

Beebe proposed restoring funding to $5.7 million for public libraries to address and elevate their escalating educational role.

"In 2001, our public libraries had to take a cut, and although they've seen part of that restored lately, we still have a ways to go before our libraries have the resources they need," Beebe said. "Across our state, and especially in rural areas, public libraries provide an indispensable educational resource - including books, reading programs and access to the Internet. A recent study found more than a four-to-one return on investment in public libraries."

Last year the Southeast Arkansas Regional Library system had more than 206,000 library visits. More than 150,000 people used the computers and over 106,000 of these patrons were Children or Juveniles.

On the tour, Beebe also focused on his plan to provide universal, voluntary, quality pre-k education in Arkansas.

"Again, this is an investment our state can't afford to pass up. As governor, I'll make sure our state reaps the full benefits of good pre-k education," Beebe said.

Recent studies have shown an eight-to-one return for the state's investment in pre-kindergarten education.

Although some have suggested reducing educational standards for rural schools struggling to meet those standards, Beebe took a different approach, suggesting instead increasing means for rural schools to meet educational standards.

"We don't need anymore consolidation," Beebe said. "But instead of waiving educational standards for rural kids, we should give rural schools the tools to meet the educational standards. Every Arkansas child - rural and urban, black and white, rich and poor - deserves a world-class education."

Beebe has proposed a Traveling Teachers program to allow existing educational cooperatives to share teachers in specialized subject areas between schools that otherwise might not be able to offer specific classes.

Since 1937, the state has allotted funding to libraries state-wide. The state funding is in addition to local resources on which the libraries rely. In 2001, to fund teacher salaries, the state was forced to cut support for Arkansas's public libraries from $4.9 million to $1.5 million, a decrease of $3.4 million. This sharp decrease in funding caused reduced services, including reduced book purchases, reduced hours (including weekend closings) and staff reduction. But, in 2005, the legislature restored some of the funding, up to $4 million in Fiscal Year 2007. This increase did not restore funding to the level that it would have been had the cut never occurred. To reach this level, with scaling for inflation, at least another $1.7 million is needed.

A recent South Carolina study found that the total direct and indirect return on investment for every $1 expended on the state's public library system by state and local government is $4.48, almost 350 percent.

Libraries circulate more items every day than FedEx ships packages, a total of 5.4 million items. Libraries record more than 1.1 billion visits each year, compared to 204 million sports tickets sold in a year. One out of every six people in the world is a registered library user.

http://www.mikebeebe.com/newsroom_details.asp?id=881