[Libs-Or] Letter to LJ

[Jim Scheppke]

John Berry is going to print this letter to the editor, but it will 
probably won't appear for a couple months.  I wanted you to see that I 
am defending our Governor from the unwarranted criticism that appeared 
in Berry's editorial in the September issue.  I really think he meant 
to criticize Governor Locke, but got confused ...

> September 19, 2002
>
> Dear John:
>
> Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski does not belong on the list of 
> "governors [who] proposed budgets that slashed state library support" 
> ("Library Support is Local," Editorial, LJ 9/15/03, p. 8). Governor 
> Kulongoski proposed a 7% increase in the Oregon State Library's 
> budget, including no cuts to state aid to public libraries and a small 
> staffing increase.  Our legislature cut the Governor's budget a bit 
> and we ended up with a 6.5% increase -- not a bad result for the state 
> with the highest unemployment in the nation. You might have been 
> confusing Oregon with another wet and well-caffeinated state to our 
> north whose Governor proposed to close the state library.  I noticed 
> he was not on your list.
>





Jim Scheppke, State Librarian
Oregon State Library
250 Winter St. NE
Salem, OR 97301
503-378-4367
(fax) 503-585-8059
jim.b.scheppke at state.or.us