NYSHEI News

If you are trying to get a handle on the magnitude of New York’s budget woes, this presentation by Governor Paterson’s Budget Director is quite helpful. While it does include some projections that are not universally supported, it does a very good job of putting the current situation into context.

mid-yearupdate2008_presentation

BOARD OF REGENTS APPOINT BERNARD A. MARGOLIS NEW YORK STATE LIBRARIAN

The Board of Regents today announced the appointment of Bernard A.
Margolis as the New York State Librarian. He will assume his new responsibilities in January 2009.

State Education Commissioner Richard Mills said, “We live in an age of information, and libraries play a critical role in providing us with access to that information. They are vital to our economy and our communities. They promote literacy and lifelong learning. And in these trying economic times, they are vital to people seeking information about jobs. I am thrilled that the Regents have appointed a dynamic and innovative person like Mr. Margolis to serve in the critically important position of State Librarian.”

The New York State Library provides information and library services through its Research Library and the Division of Library Development.
Mr. Margolis will have oversight responsibility for a $13.4 million operating budget, 180 employees, over 20 million collection items and nearly $100 million in State and federal aid to libraries.

One of the largest research libraries in North America, the New York State Research Library is the only state library which is a member of the Association of Research Libraries. The Library’s holdings include a significant manuscript and rare book collection, as well as holdings in a wide variety of formats, including paper, microform, digital and electronic records. It is also a Federal Depository and Patent Library; has the responsibility for the acquisition, distribution and maintenance of New York State documents; and is a regional library for the blind and visually impaired in New York’s 55 upstate counties.

The Division of Library Development provides leadership and technical assistance to New York’s 73 library systems through a comprehensive program of State aid for public, school, academic and special library services. Staff experts work with librarians, trustees, school administrators, public officials and local leaders to solve problems and find new ways of making library services and resources available to their community. Library Development administers more than $100 million in State and federal aid to New York’s libraries and helps them to take full advantage of federal and private funding programs like E-rate telecommunications discounts and Gates Library Foundation grants.

Mr. Margolis served as the President of Boston Public Library (BPL), Boston, Massachusetts, from 1997 to 2008. BPL is the oldest municipal public library in the country, with 27 neighborhood branches. The Library’s collections of over 34 million items include the library of President John Adams, Shakespeare’s first folio, Gutenberg’s Catholicon, and many other unique and rare materials. BPL is a member of the Association of Research Libraries.

Mr. Margolis’s achievements as BPL president include expansion of branch library hours; appointment of a children’s librarian in every branch; creation of a nationally recognized Homework Assistance Program and online tutoring program; implementation of Reading Readiness to prepare preschoolers for school success; creation of local history centers in eight branch libraries; creation of the award-winning Norman B. Leventhal Map Center; development of a collection conservation program; and growth of the BPL’s trust funds from $37 million to $55 million. Under Mr. Margolis’s leadership, BPL secured $7 million of direct grants and $18 million in federal funds for technology improvements and many foundation grants, designated gift funds, and major bequests.

Mr. Margolis led the effort to restore and renovate the historic central library building, securing funding from a number of sources. He worked with the City of Boston to establish a critical repair fund, allowing BPL to address building and equipment repairs in a timely manner. BPL collaborated with other cultural institutions and more than 4,500 different community groups and organizations.

Mr. Margolis holds a BA in Political Science and an MA in Librarianship, both from the University of Denver. His library experience includes management and executive positions in libraries and library systems in Colorado and Michigan. Prior to moving to Boston, he served as Director/CEO of the Pikes Peak Library District in Colorado Springs (from 1988 to 1997).

Mr. Margolis’s service includes a number of elected positions within the American Library Association, leadership in the Association of Research Libraries, service as a professional delegate to the White House Conference on Libraries, and service on the boards of library organizations in Massachusetts, Colorado, and Michigan. He has served on the editorial boards of the Journal of Library Administration and Bottom
Line: The Magazine of Library Financial Management. He has contributed to several books and has published articles in American Libraries, Pub¬lic Libraries, and Library Journal.

Governor David A. Paterson today announced that he has nominated Marisa Lago, who is Acting President and Chief Executive Officer of the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC), as Commissioner of the Department of Economic Development. Ms. Lago will have complete oversight of economic development issues throughout New York State.

Ms. Lago was the Global Head of Compliance for Citi Markets & Banking, overseeing all compliance matters for Citi’s capital markets, investment and corporate banking, and transaction services businesses, which operate in more than 90 countries around the world.

Prior to joining Citi, Ms. Lago worked at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as Director of the Office of International Affairs. Ms. Lago’s diverse professional career has also included serving as Chief Economic Development Officer of the City of Boston and Director of the Boston Redevelopment Authority, as well as General Counsel of the New York City Economic Development Corporation.

Ms. Lago graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1982, and earned a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Physics from Cooper Union.

NYFiscalWatch.com, the Manhattan Institute’s seven-year-old website focusing on New York budget and finance issues, has been updated and expanded into a blog featuring daily commentary by two of the Institute’s leading analysts—E.J. McMahon and Nicole Gelinas. McMahon, the Institute’s senior fellow for tax and budgetary studies, is also director of the Empire Center for New York State Policy. Gelinas is a Manhattan Institute senior fellow and contributing editor of City Journal.

Carl Hayden, Chair of the SUNY Board of Trustees made the following remarks at a one-day conference held at the Rockefeller Institute in Albany, New York. The following paragraphs are lifted from an October 7, 2008 article in New York Newsday.

“Hayden faulted Gov. David Paterson’s directives to cut the SUNY budget along with other branches of state government, saying the strong focus on education and training energized economies in China and Ireland, for example, and there is now “a massive competition worldwide” for intellectual capital that the United States no longer dominates. He said the state needs economic diversification and has come to rely too much on Wall Street.

“The future belongs to those who best create, nurture and commercialize intellectual capital,” Hayden said. “You can’t cut your way out of a recession.”

Hayden pointed to the $1 billion investment in the SUNY College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering in Albany that has resulted in cutting-edge research and 3,000 high-technology jobs, including 1,000 researchers representing 250 companies.

Instead of cutting funding for higher education and research, he said the state should remove restrictions on the ways the universities engage in “mixed use activities,” where they can sell, lease or make other beneficial arrangements with their property without first having to get slow approvals from the attorney general and state comptroller.”