CLA Legislative Agenda, FY2008

Here are the highlights for the Legislative Agenda, FY2008:

Achieve full funding for Connecticard

Continue to build on last year's success. A consultant hired by the State Library recently determined that the actual median cost of a Connecticard transaction is $1.05, which would require $4.9 million for the program to be fully funded. Despite a welcome increase of $300,000 in FY 2007 to $976,028, reimbursement for participating libraries has only risen $0.21 per item. CLA seeks annual increases over the next several years until the $4.9 million goal is achieved.

Increase funding for Connecticut Library Consortium's InfoAnytime Program

InfoAnytime is a 24/7 reference service staffed by librarian to answer reference questions for 176 public and academic libraries statewide. CLA seeks an additional $150,000 for Connecticut Library Consortium (CLC) to extend this service into FY2007/2008. InfoAnytime supports the State Library's iCONN program by offering professional assistance for people using the iCONN databases and other electronic resources available on the Internet. CLC's program of statewide cooperative services has been funded by the General Assembly at $300,000 since 2003.

Maintain funding for Public Library Construction grants

For the last two years, this program has been funded by the General Assembly at $3,500,000 per year. With a growing list of Connecticut libraries in need of new buildings, renovations, expansions, ADA improvements, remodeling and energy conservation, CLA seeks to keep funding at $3,500,000 in FY2008 and increase to $4,000,000 in FY2009.

Increase iCONN funding

iCONN, Connecticut's research engine, provides an extensive set of online resources to all state citizens. iCONN has been level funded for the last five years at $1,894,322. CLA advocates increased support for this successful program to $2,894,322 in FY2008 and $2,955,103 in FY2009. This increase will result in significant savings to local communities and expand the resources available to students and citizens.

Update statutory language regarding libraries

CLA recommends adoption of new statutory language regarding libraries as recommended by the Task Force on Public Library Statutes.