LETTER | State library cuts will cost South Dakota taxpayers

We are four former South Dakota State Librarians. We strongly urge the South Dakota State Legislature to vote NO on the proposed changes (House Bill 1041) to the South Dakota State Library and the corresponding state statutes. The current staff of 21.5 employees are some of the most efficient civil servants in state government serving as a resource for over 500 libraries. The South Dakota State Library is one of the smallest state libraries among their 50 state counterparts. Yet, they are highly regarded and appreciated by the communities they serve.

In 2006 a thorough review by an out-of-state expert-consultant was conducted. This led the way for modernization, down-sizing and much greater efficiencies. (See 2006 Bushing Report) At that time, staffing was at 37, then reduced to 27, which was again reduced a decade later to the current 21.5 staff to pay for a new, less costly and more technologically advanced “overlay”. This new system, named South Dakota Share-IT, allowed the State Library to link all participating libraries with no cost to the local school or public library. The end result is that patrons can discover what each library has for their physical holdings. For example, a search by a patron in Lemmon Public can see what Siouxland Library has and a student at Aberdeen High School can locate a specific book title, which SDSU has. This has resulted in over 71,500 inter-library loans between and among South Dakota libraries in 2023. What tremendous use of resources and savings for local communities.

VIEWPOINT | No more tax dollars for pornographic libraries