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State Library requests staff, digitization and $3-per-capita boost to county aid to support growing use
Summary
Lisa Aiken of the State Library outlined digitization progress, usage of Discus and Talking Book Services, circulating kits and a request for two staff positions plus a per-capita increase in state aid to county libraries from $2.50 to $3.00 (estimated $2.25 million).
Lisa Aiken, representing the South Carolina State Library, told senators the agency is seeking two new positions and an increase in state aid to county libraries, and provided updated usage and digitization statistics during the budget hearing.
Aiken said the library is the state document depository and has accelerated digitization: the library reported nearly $1,000,000 in federal funding to date for digitizing collections, added $250,000 in IMLS funding to start digitizing the natural-history collection, and said the digital depository contains about 54,000 state documents with 416,000 page views last year. “We purchased a Zoysia scanner which...gives us the ability to digitize items that are of varying sizes,” Aiken said. She also noted a Works Progress Administration project that digitized slides for roughly 350 historical cemeteries used by genealogists.
Aiken highlighted Discus (the state virtual library) usage — she reported 26 million full-text retrievals in the most recent year — and emphasized tutor.com and Talking Book Services: the latter serves roughly 4,000 patrons with about 68,000 titles circulated and saw a 15% year-over-year increase in contacts. The library described 107 circulating kits available to county libraries and more than 10,000 park passes distributed via the Checkout SC partnership with South Carolina Parks and Recreation.
On funding, Aiken requested two staff positions to support digitization, preservation and library-development consulting, and proposed raising state aid to county libraries from $2.50 per capita (the rate in place since about 2007) to $3 per capita. Aiken said that increase would equate to about $2,250,000 in additional state aid. “The current per capita rate for the state aid is $2.50...So we're asking for a $3, per capita increase and it equates to about $2,250,000,” she told the committee.
Senators asked about county-specific materials and broadband use; Aiken pointed to county infographics included in the committee binders and offered to supply comparative data. The session closed after questions; no appropriation vote was taken during the hearing segment.
