From: "Moran, Michael" <mmoran@acc.commnet.edu> To: "Conntech ListServ (E-mail)" <conntech@csuweb.ctstateu.edu> Subject: [CONNTECH] CLA LEGISLATIVE ACTION ALERT, Take 2
> (please excuse cross-postings)
>
> This followup to our message of November 5 includes some additional information about the Connecticut Digital Library that we requested from Sharon Brettschneider at the State Library which we thought you might find helpful in talking with your legislators this week.
>
> As we asked you on Monday, please contact your legislators THIS WEEK to request their support for iCONN, the Connecticut Digital Library. The legislature will meet in special session next week (November 13-15) to deal with the budget deficit. They will be looking for ways to reduce the state budget. Please ask them not to cut funding for the Digital Library. Here are some quick facts:
> * This year's appropriation (FY2002) for the Digital Library is $2 million.
> * This amount has already been reduced by $118,000 in a first round of cuts in state agency budgets.
> * The iCONN databases were initially purchased in the spring of 2001 and will need to be renewed in the spring of 2002 with current funding.
>
> WHAT YOU CAN DO:
>
> * Call or write your legislators today. Ask them not to reduce this year's appropriation of $2 million for the Digital Library any further, and to continue funding at the $2 million level next year (FY2003).
> * You can also contact your legislators by email from the iCONN web page. Go to the bottom of the "About iCONN" page at: www.iconn.org/about.html.
> * Offer to demonstrate the Digital Library to your legislators if they stop by your library - or visit them at their offices in Hartford.
> * Be sure that each of your legislators has a public library card.
>
> If you need more information, contact either co-chair of the CLA Legislative Committee:
>
> Mike Moran (Asnuntuck Community College, 170 Elm Street, Enfield 06082; 860-253-3171; mmoran@acc.commnet.edu)
> Kelly Browne (UCONN Law Library, 39 Elizabeth Street, Hartford 06106; 860-570-5071; kbrowne@law.uconn.edu)
<<...OLE_Obj...>>
In 2000 and again in 2001, the Connecticut General Assembly provided funding for the purchase of licensed information databases for Connecticut's libraries, schools and colleges and the general public. Today, people throughout Connecticut have online access to hundreds of thousands of articles from newspapers, reference sources, and thousands of magazines through iCONN, the Connecticut Digital Library.
BUT, for this valuable resource to continue, legislative support is needed now.
This year's $2million appropriation has already been reduced by $118,000. Any further reductions will result in the cancellation of databases. The databases that make up iCONN are annual subscriptions. Without annual funding there would be no digital library. At least $2million in funding for the next fiscal year is needed to keep iCONN alive.
Why Invest State Dollars in the Connecticut Digital Library?
Economy of Scale:
It would cost towns and cities over $20 million if every library, school and college in Connecticut had purchased the iCONN databases individually. In addition, iCONN makes it possible for many schools and small libraries to make the databases available to their patrons from home even though they lack the technology and expertise to do so on their own. (For a spreadsheet detailing the cost of each of the databases for school, libraries and colleges for calculating the financial benefits to your own town or college, contact Sharon Brettschneider at sbrett@cslib.org.)
Equity:
The Digital Library provides a core level of library and information resources for every public library, school, and college. Now every student as well as the general public has access to the resources that were previously available only through the better-funded schools and libraries in Connecticut.
Education:
The Digital Library provides necessary information resources to support the curriculum in every school in Connecticut. It provides the skills students will need to function in an information society. It also enhances the quality of teaching, research and education at Connecticut's colleges and universities by supporting online information resources. Prior to iCONN, distance education students were often hampered by a lack of library resources. Life long learners benefit greatly by the breadth and depth of the online resources they can now access from their public library or from home or work.
Business:
Timely information is critical to all businesses. The Business and Company Resource Center, a part of the Digital Library, provides Connecticut business with the information resources they need to succeed.
Use:
Use of the Digital Library has increased steadily since its beginning in the Spring of 2001. Today approximately 20,000 searches are performed each day through the Digital Library. In October 2001 there were over 1.5 million hits on the webpage.
You can find out more about iCONN at <http://www.iconn.org/about.html>.
iCONN is part of the Connecticut Education Network and is administered by the Connecticut State Library in conjunction with the Department of Higher Education.
>
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