Historic budget crunch

Budget cuts have sent tremors through the Menno Simmons Historical Library, possibly forcing the early retirement of one librarian and an all-around cutback on working hours.

The news of budget cuts came suddenly last year with the announcement of the possibility of early retirement for Harold Huber, the assistant in the Historical Library. Hubert had previously planned to retire in two years. The cuts also meant other staff hours would have to be scaled back, leaving much of the work to volunteers and work-study students.

Instead of accepting that plan, Boyd Reese, EMU director of libraries, ran the budget through several more scenarios until he found one that would soften the impact on the library staff. The proposal agreed to allows for Huber to remain fulltime at least for this year.

"We're not in a financial crisis, but the administration is trying to cut now to prevent a crisis. I think that's wise," Huber said.

As of now, there are no plans to close the Historical Library. Reese said, "It will certainly continue in one form or another."

"As a denominational college, we need to have available on campus a historical collection," said Huber. "For those of us who have Anabaptist/Mennonite roots, the Historical Library is a resource for understanding our past and our heritage, and, therefore, for understanding ourselves. For others, it's a resource for learning about the origins and development of Mennonites and related groups."

Short-staffing problems reach beyond the historical section of EMU's Library. The Main Library has been without a Reference Librarian for over a year now. Librarian Jennifer Ulrich took over the job in addition to her cataloging responsibilities, but because this is too much work for one person, Lois Bowman will be dedicating at least a third of her hours to cataloging for the Main Library. As a result, she finds it difficult to keep up with cataloging for the Historical Library.

In the past, Bowman has made good progress at cataloging books. When she became the Historical Librarian in 1990, the library had 19,600 cataloged books, plus many more that still needed to be cataloged. Now in 2003, they have approximately 35,000 cataloged books, but she said the process is "coming to a screeching halt," because she is unable to spend the time needed in the library.

Reese called the library "the finest Anabaptist/Mennonite historical library in the eastern United States." The Historical Library has gathered quite an extensive collection of books and periodicals about eastern US Anabaptists and Mennonites. The latest budget cuts mean the library has to rework its mission, which means focusing more on Mennonites in Virginia and in the southern U.S.

With just a quick glance into the Historical Library, it may appear that it does not get much use. Bowman said, "Maybe we don't have the crowds we do in the Main Library, but people do depend on this library ... it's used in a lot of ways that aren't obvious."

The Historical Library has been used by many community members, and even people coming from out-of-state for historical or genealogical research. In addition, the library frequently receives e-mails and phone calls from all over the country with requests for books and information. The Historical Library is a big contributor to the Interlibrary Loan service as well.

The Menno Simons Historical Library, located on the third floor of the library, has recently changed its hours of operation due to the cutbacks. The new hours are now 1-5 p.m. on Mondays through Fridays.