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Officials Insist Florida State Library Will RemainIn response to recent rumors that Gov. Jeb Bush was reviving last year’s thwarted scheme to transfer the Florida State Library to Nova Southeastern University, Florida Secretary of State Glenda Hood and a spokesperson for the governor both insist the reports are “absolutely false.” Hood said in the February 6 Orlando Sentinel, “We are not planning to move any collections—anywhere. I would oppose it. I don’t support it, so it ain’t going to happen.” Bush spokeswoman Alia Faraj agreed, saying, “The governor has clearly demonstrated his commitment to the collection staying at the R. A. Gray building.” The rumors made their way into an editorial by columnist Joe Crankshaw in the January 20 Stuart News, which hinted that “people working for Gov. Jeb Bush appear to be raising money privately” to pay for the collection’s transfer to Nova. The columnist quoted Florida Historical Society Executive Director Nick Wynne as saying that more than half of the $10 million needed for the move has been raised by “private donations to Nova.” The Sentinel reported that some lawmakers have been queried about the matter, among them Rep. Loranne Ausley (D-Tallahassee), who worked to keep the collection in the state’s capital. Although stating she was “pretty confident” the reports were incorrect, Ausley said she wasn’t fully convinced: “Maybe it’s because last year they said, ’Oh no, it can’t be true,’ and then it turned out to be true.” But Hood maintains that the February 2003 contract to transfer the collection remains invalid until the legislature appropriates the funds for it, and that measure failed last April. Posted February 6, 2004. |
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