Florida libraries serve every resident, but state aid has been cut year after year. Now is the time to start to fix these funding problems. As the state’s largest association for public and academic librarians, our partners at the Florida Library Association know what’s needed. Please help keep libraries on the agenda in Tallahassee. Sign the 2019 Virtual Library Day petition to send an email to your members of the state House and Senate about libraries today.  

Just $5-10 a month ensures that we can continue supporting libraries!

Critical parts of Florida’s library infrastructure need new funding. Interlibrary Loan, the unique service that gets any book to any library in the state, needs your help. The wonderful Ask-A-Librarian service that provides 24/7 reference all Floridians and the vital e-resources that are a cornerstone of affordable higher education through the Florida Academic Library Services both need attention. Please help make that happen by signing this online petition today.

The Florida Library Association’s priorities are really clear:

• FLA seeks to restore State Aid to Public Library funding levels to at least $33 million dollars to bring the State’s support for library services more in line with what libraries need.
  
  
• FLA seeks $11,250,000 for Public Library Construction Grant funding in 2019-2020. There are 23 libraries around the state that have “shovel-ready” plans but need funding.
  
  
• FLA wants to see increased funding for the Smart Horizons Career Online High School, a life-changing program that allows adults to complete their high school diploma and career certificate through 38 participating public library systems.
  
• FLA supports the recurring appropriation of $3 million to fully fund the Library Cooperative Grant Program. MLCs reduce costs for libraries by facilitating resource sharing between libraries, providing training for over 16,000 library staff annually
  
  
• FLA supports continued funding for the Bureau of Braille and Talking Book Service which provides access to quality library services to all eligible residents. (Florida has one of the largest populations of sight-impaired individuals in the United States.)

Every $10 we raise helps us put petitions like this in front of 1,000 more library supporters.

Florida libraries are a critical part of literacy, learning, and personal success from the earliest age and throughout life. Libraries support the overall state economy by providing residents with essential jobs skills and entrepreneurship services. A 2013 survey commissioned by the Florida Department of State found that public libraries provide a $10.18 return on every dollar invested.

Over 50% percent of Floridians have a library card. They visit libraries 66.4 million times in person and 87.2 million virtually. This is the kind of smart, high-impact work our legislators need to hear about.

Please take the next step and send a message to your state legislators today. Simply fill in the petition on the right side of this page and make your voice heard for libraries. Thanks for being a part of Virtual Library Day 2019.