Albany Recognizes Increased Funding Needs of Library and Education Technology in New Budget
As Chair of the Assembly's Committee on Libraries and Education Technology, I am proud to announce that this year's State budget will see the largest increase in aid to the State library systems in five years.
I've worked hard to increase the funding over last year's level, and helped lead the Legislature in passing more than $4 million in much-needed additional funding, marking a 5% increase. This is a positive step towards restoring the funding levels that New York's top-notch public library systems deserve, and which until this year had not recovered from the drastic funding reductions implemented in the 2007-8 State budget. The resources that libraries provide are invaluable, and more than half of New Yorkers have library cards.
The Empire State's library system helps keep New York City an educational and creative capital of the world. I am thrilled by the increase in library funding in New York, and hope that these efforts serve to keep New York at the forefront of intellectual, artistic, cultural and technological advances around the world.