Over on Michigan in Pictures there's a post this morning titled Farming in Michigan in the 1880s that features an excerpt from a Michigan farmer's diary from the 1880s.

It also looks at the proposed elimination of the Michigan Department of History, Arts & Libraries (HAL). In a move that lies somewhere between shortsighted and Visigoth, Michigan's Governor has proposed eliminating HAL to save - drum roll please - 2 million dollars. As columnist Jack Lessenberry notes in his essay Saving Our Past from Politicians, that's roughly 1/10th of one percent of the money that is necessary to close our budget gap:

Our state has its own great library too, the Library of Michigan in Lansing, which has been around, in one form or another, since before we became a state. It contains 5.6 million priceless books, documents and records, all in a wonderful building in Lansing.

Any citizen can use the library and check out material from it. Additionally, thanks to federal matching funds, the state library system is able to subscribe to online databases that allow Michigan residents to access a vast array of resources from across the world.

...(Governor Jennifer Granholm) has issued an executive order transferring control of the library to the Department of Education. And that‘s not just a meaningless bureaucratic procedure. Along with it comes dramatic cuts, and a real chance that the library’s extensive collections will be scattered.

James Seidl, who directs a consortium of 49 libraries on southern Michigan was deeply appalled. “Distributing or removing these collections destroys 180 years of collecting, cataloging an preserving materials,” he told the Toledo Blade last week. (read article)

...What that would probably do is end all arts grants funding in the state, which means we would lose matching federal funds as well. The state librarian would be fired. The popular Michigan History magazine would stop publishing. The library would also stop allowing patrons to check out books, which, as respected Lansing columnist Susan Demas noted ironically (read her column), is sort of why libraries exist.

Michigan residents enjoy countless benefits from HAL. I strongly urge you to join the Save the Michigan Dept of History, Arts & Libraries Facebook group and share the link with your friends and urge them to apply some pressure to your Michigan representatives. History is a treasure that we hold for our children and as Jack notes, the lesson of Alexandria is too important to ignore.