Mustang Times | Sen. Wilcoxson, Rep. Winchester & Friends of Mustang Library win awards

Mustang Times | Sen. Wilcoxson, Rep. Winchester & Friends of Mustang Library win awards: "Senator Kathleen Wilcoxson and Representative Susan Winchester recently received the Citizens Recognition Award from the Oklahoma Library Association at a luncheon held at the Crown Plaza Hotel in Tulsa. The award is given to individuals who have given effective and important service to the advancement of libraries on a statewide level.

Wilcoxson and Winchester were instrumental in changing the formula used by the state to fund Oklahoma’s municipal libraries and increasing state aide by $400,000.

“Senator Wilcoxson and Representative Winchester co-authored a bill that brought the state aide dilemma to light,” said Desiree Webber, Mustang Library Director. “Although the bill didn’t pass, it was the turning point in the State Aid funding discussion.”

According to Webber, when the bill was introduced, legislators and citizens realized that the Oklahoma Department of Libraries needed additional funding so that funds could be distributed equitably to both municipal and system libraries.

“There was a real inequity between municipal libraries like Mustang and system libraries like Oklahoma County and Cleveland County. We worked to get more even funding based on population,” said Senator Kathleen Wilcoxson."