The Legislature, Day 22: Libraries - UPDATED

Thursday is Library Day at the Legislature, and trouble looms for West Virginia's county-based libraries.

Staff, patrons and supporters fear lawmakers will repeal a series of special laws that require a number of counties to devote property tax revenue to their libraries.

A recent state Supreme Court ruling found the school aid formula cheats those counties as written. The ruling requires the Legislature to act by July 1, else the school aid formula is deemed unconstitutional.

West Virginia ranks 6th in the country for state funding of libraries, but that could change this session. A Library Commission official recently complained that the state is among the worst for local funding of libraries.

Even some lawmakers say their local librarians are spending as much time traveling the community or even the state to raise funds, as they are tending to the stacks and shushing people.

UPDATE: The Associated Press' Shaya Tayefe Mohajer will have a story detailing the issue, but today she remains in the thick of reporting on the terrible gas station explosion in Raleigh County. Her admirable coverage of this tragedy has been picked up worldwide.

The Wheeling News-Register, though, offers a local view of libraries feeling the crunch.