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Oklahoma Department of Libraries requests recurring funds for archives staff and digital preservation
Summary
The Oklahoma Department of Libraries asked the committee for $1.6 million in recurring increases, including funding for eight archives and records positions, pay‑for‑performance, and ongoing costs to operate newly procured inventory and digital‑record preservation systems.
Oklahoma Department of Libraries Director Carey told the Appropriations Subcommittee on Education the agency is seeking four recurring increases totaling just over $1.6 million, focused on public library state aid, archives and records staffing, costs to operate new records systems, and a modest inflation adjustment.
"Our first request is again an increase to state aid to the public libraries program," Director Carey said, describing state aid as the main vehicle for supporting municipal and rural libraries that lack access to ad valorem resources. The agency proposed a stepped approach to align state aid closer to a regional per‑capita average.
The largest single line in the Department of Libraries' request is $715,513 to add eight positions for the archives and records management program and $170,571 to implement a pay‑for‑performance program. Carey told senators a classification and compensation study led the agency to reclassify and realign positions and concluded the archives program needs more staff to meet statutory obligations to preserve permanent records and to process both physical and digital records.
Nut graf: The department emphasized that new, federally compatible digital preservation tools are being implemented this year but that ongoing operational funding and staff are needed to realize the state transparency and records‑management benefits the systems provide.
The department reported it is implementing a new inventory management system and the state's first digital record preservation system; Carey said the preservation system implementation would begin the week of the hearing. The agency asked for $92,000 to support the inventory system and about $150,000 annually to operate the digital preservation system once procurement and implementation are complete.
Carey also explained the agency must meet federal maintenance‑of‑effort and matching requirements tied to its federal funding; she presented a chart showing prior reductions in state appropriations had strained the agency's ability to meet MOE targets but that recent funding increases had restored compliance.
Senators asked about pay‑for‑performance design and competitiveness; the agency said the requested amounts include benefits and rollups and that private‑sector competition for records managers typically pushes salaries into market ranges the department must match in order to recruit qualified staff.
Ending: Carey said the investments — people and systems — would reduce risk, improve transparency and enable statewide governmental and public access to permanent digital records when administrations turn over.
