April 17th Readings

The Case for Consolidation

This article advances the notion that libraries need to consolidate in order to increase their efficiency, independence and ultimately serve patrons better. I really appreciated that the author pulls no punches about what he sees wrong with the current library funding set-up. He notes in passing that the idea of local government, though it may sound great, is instead a way to enforce many societal ills such as racism and poverty. This poor and inefficient performance on the part of local governance is why Amdursky advocates for the reforms that he has written about. One aspect I found interesting about this article was that it was written in 2004, well before the current economic crisis. It just shows that the slashing of budgets in the public sector has been a long term project of saving money. This trend also highlights the necessity of switching over to new sources of income. As the articles last week showed, some money (but certainly not all) can come from fundraising activities such as grants and sales. New tax policies must be engendered if libraries are to provide quality services for their patrons. I did not understand quite how Amdursky proposed to go about raising revenue for libraries. Would the libraries themselves become the agents of taxation? If so, how? If not, how again? Additionally, the “one size fits all” approach here may not be able to help in other communities.

Indiana Tax Cuts Hurt PL

This article discusses the impact of decreased property taxes on Indiana libraries. I find it pretty amazing that property taxes (at least of this writing) make up 80% of the revenue for public libraries in Indianapolis. This sounds like a problem to be addressed in and of itself. Like Amdursky writes about, if an area is poor and marginalized, so too will its library services be. Much of this article (surprise!) spoke to issues that we have already discussed in class and worked on for assignments. These cuts look quite serious and they are affecting the services that librarians are able to provide. At least the Indianapolis-Marion County Public Library was able to sell off their big book-mobiles and purchase smaller vans. This measure probably does not compare with the former services, however. Furthermore, the cuts do not seem to have been offset greatly by the raising of the state sales tax. All issues, unfortunately that we as public librarians will be forced to grapple with in the future.

The Economic Impact of Libraries in Indiana

This study by the IU School of Business concluded that libraries provided an overall good economic impact upon the state of Indiana. Do politicians look at these documents? I doubt it… This document clearly shows that libraries in Indiana provide so much good for the people of this state, yet they are continually being asked to shoulder more and more services in an effort to offset the costs of other agencies. Perhaps it is time that we librarians demand (because of our great record shown here) more funding in order to help our patrons meet their needs. 

April 17th Readings

The Case for Consolidation

This article discusses the authors opinion on regional library systems.

I found this article to be rather confusing but I’m not sure why that’s the case. I understood his talk of regional library systems. My hometown library is the main branch/headquarters of a dual-county library system (One of the few if not only of its kind in Minnesota. Its website can be found at wasecalesueurlibraries.com) I understood the logic of pooling resources to create better libraries across the board. What I think threw me was his talk about independent revenue systems. My hometown library is still funded by local government. In their case they receive money from three places: Waseca County, Le Sueur County and the City of Waseca. The money is then managed by the director and allocated amongst the branch libraries by need, not by what money came from where. What did the author mean by becoming independent? If a library isn’t getting its money from government, then where is it supposed to get its money from?

Indiana Tax Cuts Hurt PLs

This short news brief discussed the tax cap in Indiana in 2010 and that it will affect Indiana public libraries.

I remember us discussing this situation earlier in the semester. It does seem to suppose what the previous article was saying about dependence on government money, at least from what I could understand. It would be interesting if someone would look at how this really has affected Indiana public libraries. I haven’t really heard too much about how it negatively affected libraries. I mean in part that is because the majority of my library interaction comes from Monroe County Public Library and they seem to be doing just fine in regards to hours and program offerings. But perhaps that is just because libraries in general seem to be able to do so much more down here as compared to back home. There we are down to only two librarians for the whole system, one of which is the director, the bookmobile was cut from the budget a good 20 years ago due to insufficient funds, and besides the summer reading program, there is virtually no additional programming. Perhaps it is all a matter of perspective? But either way, a broad look into how libraries have coped with the change really would be interesting.

The Economic Impact of Libraries in Indiana

This document examined the economic impact that Indiana public libraries have on their communities.

One of the first things I realized while wading through all the business jargon (which I definitely need to improve my comprehension of) is that their numbers were not calculated correctly in regards to how they divvied up the circulation statistics. To a librarian this is probably more obvious, but AV materials generally have much shorter circulation periods than books hence they go out more frequently. This means that just because the AV materials only make up 6% of the collection it does not correlate into 6% of the circulation. It is going to be much higher than that. I know at MCPL last year it was at least half and that seems to be the trend for many libraries. I noticed that this was in a way mentioned in their conclusion. I wonder if the ISL has implemented this change?

Their conclusion section in general was a bit strange. Perhaps it’s only because I only read what was outlined in the syllabus while skimming through the rest, but I failed to understand why they were pushing connecting with the business community so much. While I can see a lot of potential benefits from such a connection, I also think there are more important patron groups to be pursuing.

April 17th Readings

Indiana Tax Cuts Hurt PLs

This article, by Lynn Blumenstein, talks about tax cuts in Indiana and how it is going to affect libraries in 2008.

This article is just stating, what now is, a widely accepted fact though out the United States and that is public libraries are losing money and they are cutting back on what they are able to do. It also mentions that gray area about who is suppose to funding the library, the local or state government. In class we talked about the Circuit Breaker law, which was introduced in the 2010 taxes, which seems to be the what they are talking about in the article, about capping the property tax revenue once it gets to a certain point and I remember Krista saying that one of her revenues go to that point this year. I understand why the government put a cap on property taxes but it is still hard on the libraries when they depend on the money that comes in from those taxes.

The Case for Consolidation

This article, by Saul Amdursky, talks about public libraries consolidation and becoming less dependent on the government for money and using their own tax.

I think that it would be prudent for libraries to look other sources of income to fund the library because of the reduction in money they are able to acquire from the government. It would make sense to consolidate the resources that libraries have into one so that every library benefit but isn’t that also what a consortium does? It does seem practical a new source of income so that they may be able to increase the they receive so that they can institute the programs and resources they were not able to have before and stop trying to keep the library running on a diminishing budget.

The Economic Impact of Libraries in Indiana

This report, done by the Indiana Business Research Center, talks about the survey and finding that they found out about Indiana Public Libraries.

After reading the report, it made sense and I can see how library are not quite up-to-date with helping out businesses. To continue to be a force in the community and be relevant to all, libraries need to figure out a way to include business in their patron list whether it being acquiring new resources or planning programs. Businesses are an important part of the community and could help bring revenue to the library. The library needs to continue to reach out to different parts of the community. Libraries also have an economic benefit to the community. I would be afraid to think what would happen to the community if libraries were not around anymore. The economic benefit would not be there anymore. Also patrons who are economically challenged would not have a free place to go to get on the internet. All the benefit the library gives would be gone and there would not be very much to fill the hole that the library made.

reading for 4/17

Case For Consolidation: This article made a case that libraries should not be funded and run county wide, but should consolidate and be run and funded by it's own larger governing body.

I found this article super confusing- anyone else? I understood his points, smaller libraries are harder to fund, and having one library system for every tiny county is so much bureaucracy- but what exactly was the alternative he was suggesting? How are we supposed to consolidate? Who consolidates with who? And what does that mean? I was amused by how the author said that librarians didn't want to loose libraries because they love bureaucracy, oh, and their jobs. Let's not down play librarian's desire to have jobs, it's not just 'cause they've got a stick up their butts and can't embrace change, it's, you know, also their passion and livelihood. Also I appreciated how the author wanted to engage us on how libraries don't serve people of color and poor people as well as they should, but I genuinely do not understand how having less libraries will make that better. I understand the critique just not the proposed solution.

Indiana Tax Cuts Hurt PLs: This article considered what Indiana's property tax cut (from 2% to 1%) would mean for Indiana libraries.

This article had a very doomsday feel to it. This article was also pretty darn sparse considering it was talking about some fairly huge changes, like South Bend cutting all summer hours! I think a big piece I see missing from a lot of doomsday-for-libraries articles are some thoughts on why. Why do we live in time where libraries do SO MUCH but are valued so little. I think larger conversations about that should happen. obviously the tea party sentiment is negatively effecting libraries getting funds, but how do we combat that? How do we change public opinion of libraries? To switch gears: I would want to read a fallow up article talking to the same library directors about what cuts they made, how they were able to subsidize their budgets, and other thoughts on adjustments post tax cuts.

Economic impact of Libraries: This very long article summarized a Kelly School extensive study of Indiana libraries impact on the economy, both how much they cost/give to their community, how much they encourage new business in their community.

How incredible was it to read that Indiana libraries give back $2.38 for every $1 they get?!?! I was stoked! I was also surprised, I've never heard a number like that before- why? I'm a second year MLS student, you'd think I would have heard this before. Thus going back to my point I made for Tax Cut Hurt- we have got to make a case for how amazing libraries are. We have an amazing fact, we give back more then twice the amount we're given, why on Earth is that some big secret? I was really stoked that two of the article's recommendations were to help libraries be able to assess their economic impact, and AGGRESSIVELY promote how much they give back financially- it's like they read my mind! We're fighting for existence here, let's fight like pros!

Readings Reactions Week 15

Lynn Blumenstein
Indiana Tax Cuts Hurt PLs

This article shows that since public libraries in Indiana receive about 80 percent of their funding from property taxes, the recent lowering of these taxes will hurt library funding.

As this was just a new blurb, the article doesn't really go into how libraries will be offsetting this loss of funding aside from a quick mention of grants and not filling open positions. Grants are not always very easy to get, especially for organizations that are new to writing grant proposals, as mentioned last week in class by Mr. Zoss. Libraries that are used to receiving funding from property tax probably are not very prepared to write a lot of new grant proposals.

"By raising the state sales tax, the plan ameliorates the impact of the plunge in state revenues. However, no income gained is guaranteed for libraries." If only some percentage of the sales tax had been earmarked for library funding, the extent of this funding crunch could have been lessened. It seems ridiculous that this wasn't done.

Saul Amdursky
The Case for Consolidation

This article elaborates on why local libraries need to consolidate their resources and become independent taxing districts.

I am not completely sure what being an independent taxing district means. Can libraries create a "library tax" and use that for funding as opposed to receiving funding from existing property taxes? Are libraries not already a separate government entity with separate funding? Aside from these questions, consolidation makes a good amount of sense to me. It seems like consolidation would make things simpler for libraries and patrons, while improving services at both small and large libraries. While true, it would be a bit of a pill to swallow for a former library director to become just a branch manager, and probably take a reduction in pay, this isn't my biggest worry. The big worry for me would be a loss of jobs and the possibility of branches closing that are unnecessary for the service of the overall library system.

Indiana Business Research Center
The Economic Impact of Libraries in Indiana

This study expressed that overall Indiana's libraries are a good value but need to expand their outreach to businesses.

This is yet another article that sings the praises of libraries, while still calling for an increase in services. Past articles have shown increased governmental responsibilities being shoved onto libraries without any additional funding, and this article follows up with private businesses wanting better business reference services from libraries that are already strapped for cash. I can see how hiring a business reference librarian would be at least as, if not more, useful than a genealogy expert but my first reaction is to ask where the funding for expanded business services will come from. Perhaps this would be a good opportunity to create partnerships with local businesses, they can supply some funding, and the library will supply the staff and information.

04/17 Readings

"The Case for Consolidation"

Saul Amdersky’s “The Case for Consolidation” argues that while local government institutions were initially meant to put more political power in the hands of the people, they are actually used as oppressive tools by those already in power. The excessive number of public libraries fit into this picture by sucking up community resources, differing in quality across communities contributing to the quality of life of the wealthy and keeping the poor poor and comparatively ignorant. Amdersky makes an interesting case, but not a fully developed one. First, he calls for a nation-wide standard among public libraries in terms of the services and resources offered. At first, it sounds as though this would place communities on a more equal footing, but it would put many at a disadvantage. B. Hodge’s and R. Tanner’s “Grassroots to Grassfed,” an article discussing a library’s efforts to collaborate with and tailor its resources to the farming community it served, showed how public libraries best serve their populations when they are not forced to conform to a state or national standard. Second, Amdersky’s suggestion that public libraries consolidate and eliminate branches would also be disadvantageous and inconvenient for many people. To use his example of Kalamazoo County, MI, I doubt that consolidating 12 libraries over 562 square miles would work well in practice for the citizens of Kalamazoo. Many people would have to drive a long way before finding a library, library usage would go down, and the remaining libraries would eventually be forced to close. My last issue with Admansky’s article is that it blames too many problems on the government. I’m not the biggest fan of the government, but not everything (such as people’s racist attitudes or an economic slump) is its fault.

"The Economic Impact of Libraries in Indiana"

The Indiana Business Research Center’s “The Economic Impact of Libraries in Indiana” was the antithesis of Amdersky’s article. It reported on the direct and indirect economic impact of Indiana’s many public libraries, essentially concluding that the proliferation of public libraries provides jobs and millions of dollars worth of benefits to the public. Furthermore, the public gets more economic value out of libraries than it puts into it. First, this report is a god-send. I hope that its findings were widely published; if more people understood how economically beneficial public libraries were, the issue of public libraries’ survival would be solved. Second, the report brought up an interesting issue. Because it was published by the Kelley School of Business, it was clearly written with a bias towards the business community. However, the report’s suggestion that public libraries cater more to the business community and community leaders seems to undermine the mission of the public library. Local business people are, of course, part of the public and I think that publicizing the library’s business resources is a good suggestion, but the public library is not meant to be an elitist institution. On the other hand however, catering more to the needs of local business and community leaders could partially solve the library’s need for third party funding as discussed last week.

"Indiana Tax Cuts Hurt PLs"

Lynn Blumenstein’s “Indiana Tax Cuts Hurt PLs” briefly discussed the impact of property tax caps and other tax cuts on Indiana public libraries. While the article stated nothing new, it was a reminder of how dependent public libraries are on tax revenue, and how tax revenue can only go so far. It lends some credence to Amdersky’s argument that public libraries need to reorganize themselves into independent entities that do not rely largely on tax dollars or federal funding derived from tax dollars. It also emphasized the need for public libraries to form partnerships and find third party funding as discussed in last week’s class.

Indiana Public Library Certification Manual

The Indiana Public Library Certification Manual simply laid out the guidelines for public library certification in Indiana. First, I had a question that the last section of the manual partly addressed, but didn’t get really in-depth with. According to the manual, people need to maintain their certification by getting LEU credits even if they are not currently working as librarians. What if you are unable to get enough LEUs over a 5 year period because you were too busy with another job, or you chose to take time off work to stay home with your kids? Would you then be forced to take a lower certification upon re-entering the field or could you just pick up where you left off? I also found it interesting that state funding is cut for libraries whose librarians fail to pick up enough LEU credits. Not only does it show that the state must be desperate to save money in the face of an increased demand for library funding due to decreased property taxes, but it also goes along with Amdersky’s argument that there is too much governmental control over local public institutions.

Readings Week 15

Indiana Tax Cuts Hurt PLs by Lynn Blumenstein

The article discusses the tax cuts placed on home owners in IN and its impact on public libraries.

I believe the article brings to light how much reliance the library places on the community to fund itself. Although it is a government institution, the library does not receive a very large amount of government assistance. The article reminds me of another reading we had where the community band together and practically funded the library budget voluntarily. Although it is difficult to think that every community will share this sentiment. Likewise, I think the library community may have to begin considering alternative sources of income. Going back to our collection development assignments and our budget assignment earlier on in the year, I can really begin to see the importance of what we are doing and applying these lessons to situations that may occur in the future. Budget cuts are happening and therefore, the libraries have to be ready to find alternative sources of income to maintain the services provided and make the experience of coming to the library as enjoyable as it was prior to the tax cut or budget cut.

The Case for Consolidation by Saul Amdursky

Amdursky discusses the changes that need to take place within the library to become more efficient and progress into the “modernity”. The author notes that although change is difficult it is necessary if the library wishes to maintain a presence in the ever changing communities.

I think the concept of consolidation is interesting and if done properly could be very beneficial. However, it is worrisome that positions may be lost for those that really need the employment should consolidation take effect. I agree with the author, change is difficult, but like anything in life it can be a good thing. Honestly, the comment the author made about the status quo is accurate and could even be furthered by referring to the song from High School Musical, where the students are discussing the importance of the status quo for the functioning of the school. If furthered, they would realize the school does far better when the different groups and cliques merge and realize that there are more similarities and benefits than before. I think this is an approach that should be viewed in a similar way, open minded and prepared for what could happen.

The Economic Impact of Libraries in Indiana

The article discusses the economic benefits the public library has had for the state. The study was conducted by the Kelly School of Business at Indiana University.

I felt that the article was interesting because it provided so much information about how much the public library system has impacted the economy. I had never thought that the library would have close to 9,000 jobs available. Also, the fact that “good value” is considerably greater than the cost of operation. I had thought that there would be more disparity between the two, skewing in the opposite direction with operation being greater. I believe that even though there is a lot of worry about where the library stands currently, these figures help alleviate some of the uncertainty because it seems libraries are here to stay. The fact that community leaders consider the library to improve the local quality of life and the pride the community has for their library speaks a great deal about how the library will stand in the future.