Readings Journal 4/17

Indiana Tax Cuts Hurt PLs by Lynn Blumenstein

This article discusses the lower property taxes in Indiana, which have caused budget cuts at Indiana public libraries.

This article reinforces the discussions we had earlier this semester about budget cuts.  I was surprised to learn that 80 percent of public library budgets in Indiana are made up of property taxes.  With that type of dependence on property taxes it is no wonder libraries are facing a budget crisis.  Although I understand why property taxes were lowered, I think that before lowering the taxes, public libraries should have been given a new way to get the money they lost.  By hurting libraries, patrons are also being hurt.  The article states that the St. Joseph County Public Library, South Bend closed on Sunday’s during the summer.  This is also seen in the Pub Lib Listserv, the Wells County Public Library is reducing their Saturday hours during the summer.  Reducing hours during the summer hurts all patrons, especially kids who don’t have school in the summer and depend on the library for education and entertainment during the summer months.

The Case for Consolidation by Saul Amdursky

This article discusses the need for libraries to consolidate to achieve greater independence and to save money.

I had a difficult time understanding this article.  The author made it sound as if local control is a horrible thing, but how does consolidating libraries gets rid of local control?  All libraries are dependent on their local population, and as such, are subject to local control to some extent.  The author also stated, “patrons who use different libraries are often confused by the libraries conflicting policies.”  This doesn’t make sense because branches of libraries should all have the same policies.  If it is a different library system with different policies, the patron probably can’t use the library, as patrons are usually only able to use the library system in their county or district.   I was also a little confused by the consolidation concept because it seems like small communities wouldn’t be represented.  Small communities often have different needs than larger communities, so is consolidating the small and large libraries really a good idea?  Will the needs of the small communities still be met?

The Economic Impact of Libraries in Indiana by Indiana Business Research Center

This study measures and discusses the economic benefits of Indiana’s Public Libraries.

It’s always nice to see the numbers behind what public libraries actually do.  Although we always feel as if we’re making a difference and helping people, the numbers in this study prove that we are.  By placing values and dollar amounts on the services libraries provide, it was easy to see the value of libraries to the community and the economy.  I did wonder how they chose values to represent the services; did they just pick random amounts?  I also noticed that many of the suggestions included outreach to the business community.  This ties in to many discussions we have had in class about outreach.  Libraries need to reach out to all sorts of different people and organizations, and businesses should not be excluded.

Melissa Brewer

                                                                                                                                Blog Post for 4/17, 2012

The Economic Impact of Libraries in Indiana, by KSOB Business Research Center

This article has been created by our own KSOB Research Center, which I love to see reference to our own school and practices we have studies in class.  I actually just found it very interesting to browse through this article and notice the statistics that you sometimes take for granted and don’t think about.  The importance of the public library in the community is for sure supported by the outcome in this article.  And how nice to see libraries generate > $67.7 million and provide 537 jobs in Indiana!

Indiana Tax Cuts Hurt PLs by Blumenstein

This article is addressing like several services the impact of lower taxes….resulting in lower operating funds being allocated each year.  I did pay particular attention to the book mobile being downsized to a mini-van with less staff….a discussion we have held in class a few times.  Even though we all understand there are hard decisions and many cuts and closings…I must say I was surprised to see the section where the Memphis Mayor wanted to close 5 of their 19 branches. I know when we did our budget assignment….I think we felt bad at the thought of closing …any…branches and how that would affect services for the community….but this is really a large and hard decision for so many locations and people who will be touched in different ways.

The Case for Consolidation by Amdursky

This article had a very vocal political opinion…and feels control at the local level is just making current problems even worse such as the poor population and political party unjust.  The example provided at Kalamazoo was for sure an extreme and unusual situation.  I could not believe how people would choose not to live in this location…which is very common act for people buying homes and looking at the school system their children would attend.  I paid attention when information was being given about libraries merging….and this would cut down on the number of Library Director positions available…. Which I know less direction is not usually a good thing.  The one highlight I marked while was reading…was the point on page 40 of how cutting down on the number of libraries and merging would support the ability to have uniform policy for the library system….which I think is something that would most times be beneficial.  I know we talked about how it can be difficult for patrons to keep track of different systems and their rules making sure not to suffer penalties due to confusing their policies.  But what really stood out for me was the closing about how regional libraries with independent revenue and boards will find their contribution to the community to be “only limited by their imagination and creativity.”  I would have thought they would have increased measures and desire to participate in these activities….but I guess I understand you miss out on some of that collaboration and partnership that keeps you giving?

Week 15 Readings

The Case for Consolidation

This article discusses the idea of consolidating libraries, so that services are not unnecessarily duplicated and libraries can combine their resources and strengths in order to better serve their patron base.

I like the idea of consolidation, mostly because I have seen it work. The county I grew up in used to have 14 different public libraries, providing very different levels of service. The three libraries closest to us were tiny, with small, not-very-current collections, so we usually ended up driving 30 or 40 minutes once a week, just to go to a library that could support our reading needs. In 1998, 13 of the libraries decided to merge together, and the change that resulted was kind of amazing. The libraries could share collections, had a consistent set of policies, and financially support one another. One of the issues raised in the article was the loss of the local library, or the creation of a chain-store type of library, but that was never a problem at CADL. The former library directors did lose their title of director, but they are now head librarians and continue to perform many of their old duties, and each library is very strongly a part of their own, local communities.

I didn't entirely understand what the author meant by the libraries becoming an independent taxing authority. Does that mean the libraries can ask for a separate, library tax, instead of depending on a portion of property taxes?

Indiana Tax Cuts Hurt PLs

This article looks at the effect lower property taxes have had on Indiana public libraries

A lot of this article was similar to what we talked about earlier in class, when discussing budget cuts. (Which makes sense, since this article is also discussing budget cuts.) It seemed like part of the problem might have been the state's not understanding the importance of public libraries to communities. The study we read for this week talked about how local communities and community leaders appreciated what libraries do for them, but this decision was made at a higher level, so that same feeling probably wasn't present. We've talked a lot about libraries having to promote themselves and the importance of their services, but it is important to remember that promotion needs to be at all levels, not just local.

The Economic Impact of Libraries in Indiana

This study attempted to quantify the impact that Indiana libraries have on their communities.

It was interesting to see a dollar amount placed on the services that libraries provide, even though the authors say that they did not take into account any indirect benefits on libraries. We've talked about libraries' impact on communities, but I usually think of it in terms of social or quality of life benefits, instead of economic/business impacts. I thought the authors had a good point about libraries working more to support their local economy and business community. A lot of the suggestions they had seemed to tie in with our discussion last week, about creating relationships with other members of the community. (In this case, however, one would probably skip the asking for money part. At least, directly.) Either way, it's probably better for a library the more strongly tied it is to its community.

Also, I was curious to know how they placed a value on things like reference questions or program attendance when they were calculating their statistics. Where did the $10 figure come from?

April 17

Amdursky, S. (2004). The Case for Consolidation.

Amdursky’s article was interesting to me mostly because it readdressed the question of libraries being responsible to the government or to their community.  It brought me back to the question that bothered me most about our class discussion on pornography in the library, which was: do you strive to meet the wants and needs of your community most, or do you strive to adhere to a set of standards decided on a more academic level (or governmental)?

What I took away from this article was that Amdursky intended to better serve smaller communities’ needs, but not necessarily their wants.  By dropping the “dead weight” libraries in an area and consolidating with larger libraries, he believes that we can reduce cost.  He brings up what he calls “tough questions” among which are the ideas that libraries will become no better than the rigorously standardized Barnes and Noble (shudder), and also that librarians will have to give up their titles, jobs and even buildings (oh is that all?).  I think any librarian would probably pause at that long list of heavy cuts.

In some ways I agree that we have too many libraries serving the same areas, when fewer could do it better.  In Des Moines, I can go to Urbandale Library (2 branches), Des Moines Public (6 branches), West Des Moines, Clive, and a few other tiny ones without driving more than half an hour.  They all have different cards and different rules.  What exactly is the point of that?  In the end I always go to Des Moines Public, because it has the most selection.  Wouldn’t it be better if all these buildings still existed under a uniform or open source system?  But then, that alone doesn’t save much money.  Some people would have to lose the buildings in their area, which would disproportionately affect those living in poverty and/or those without transportation.

Overall, I was confused a bit by what exactly Amdursky was suggesting we do as far as the shift to local tax responsibility.  I didn’t think he addressed how to actually SOLVE the tough questions he brought up.  How would we avoid falling into the trap of local bias?  What about those living in poverty who would lose their branches?

Blumenstein, L. (2008). Indiana Tax Cuts Hurt PLs.

This article made me think of the budget cut assignment we worked on earlier in the semester, and what drastic sacrifices we were forced to make as far as collection, hours, and staff.  This is yet another example of how the loss of budget from income tax, have forced libraries to cut hours and services in reality.

 In previous class discussions, we talked about how patrons would prefer 24-hour libraries and don’t even know about many (if not most) of the services we offer.  I fear that they won’t even know what they are missing if budgets continue to shrink.

Libraries are now expected to do more with much, much less, which is only possible for so long.  For this reason, the partnerships and fundraising we discussed recently in class will become a possible safety net.

Weekly Readings 4/17

The Case for Consolidation by Saul Amdursky

The author advocates for moving away from the antiquated funding and governing system used by most public libraries in favor of independently funded and managed consolidated systems.

I have mixed feelings about Amdursky's proposal. On one hand, I understand his argument that it allows tax payers more decision and that it can make librarians even more conscious of the reasons behind their organizational decisions. However, is this what librarians should be concerned with non-stop? General stewardship with public funds is good, but should librarians need to be even more entrenched in fighting for tax levies and worried about the lack of a safety net in local government? He also makes a pretty sweeping assumption that in making libraries independent, the same level of public trust would be maintained. I'm not saying it would definitely diminish, but it is a possibility in the long-term, which would leave even more libraries closing when tax payers are their most fickle (I cite the Dempsey article from earlier in the semester).

I found an editoral by John Berry, editor-in-chief of LJ when this was written, in which he argues against Amdursky's proposal. He states that while there are libraries that have become independent taxing districts and "have done well financially, many librares that are departments of municipal, county, or even state governments have done equally well or better" (Berry). He instead advocates for "finding another revenue source to replace the property tax base." His first citation is Ohio, where libraries did well after changing their funding structure to a percentage of the income tax. He also mentioned Chicago and San Diego, which made their support a percentage of the cost of all government. Again, recognizing that libraries deserve a percentage of some total (income or expenditures) seems to help make income a little more stable. This points to a definite need for states to look at their current funding structures, but there are many changes that could be made before making the ultimate leap into independence.

Berry, John N. "Editorial: Library Users Should Govern." Library Journal 129.21 Feb. (2004). Web. 14 Apr. 2012. .


Indiana Tax Cuts Hurt PLs by Lynn Blumenstein

Blumenstein gives a small write-up about the impact on libraries due to the change in Indiana's property tax revenue.

This article is a good example of why libraries should reassess their funding structure to find the best (or at least a better) one, which is the heart of Amdursky's article. As it stands, Indiana's libraries are at the complete mercy of state legislatures who aren't likely to consider what capping property taxes will do to individual libraries. While Ohio, San Diego, and Chicago libraries are also at the mercies of legislatures, having an entire percentage of income/expenditures makes them specifically target libraries for cuts. This did happen in Ohio two years ago, when the percentage went down over 30%, so it does not offer immunity. Yet when you are relying on the public, is there a truly "safe" revenue source? Should libraries expect not to have fluctuations? While I am not personally a fan of unions, it seems to me that in many instances libraries are being overlooked in favor of their unionized counterparts (police, fire, teachers, etc.). The only thing I know for sure at this point in my career is that I have nowhere near the knowledge necessary to offer informed suggestions on a solution!


The Economic Impact of Libraries in Indiana

This study examined the hard-to-measure aspects of public libraries in an attempt to assign more tangible results in Indiana.

This study was actually fascinating -- great information and surprisingly readable. It was also nice to end the semester with, since it shows what we have learned throughout this course is real and worth fighting for. However, this summary demonstrates how complicated it is to assign value to libraries. They were thorough in the services they chose to calculate costs for, and seeing the calculations was interesting. For most of them, it seemed as if they were erring on the low side (which allows you to say "at the very least, patrons are getting...") though I was surprised by $10 per reference interaction and didn't see much info on why this figure was chosen. This report was thorough enough that it should be emulated by other states to help their libraries as well.

One interesting thing was their finding that patrons use libraries for business enhancement and genealogy equally, yet libraries are more likely to focus on genealogy qualifications. MCPL has done a good job meeting this need in the Indiana Room, offering a lot of business and grant-writing support. This theme of business support continued through many of their recommendations, which made me wonder if the results weren't a little unconsciously skewed since it was a business school authoring the study. Outreach to businesses makes sense, though, especially in connection with what Mr. Zoss was saying last week about forging relationships for future benefit. I also liked their recommendations for each library to develop a benefit-cost analysis (even though it means more work) and using that information to aggressively promote their significance. This would be especially true if districts ever did becoming finance independently. In all areas, libraries need to be even more proactive in the future. I'm not sure how much I agree with finding people from out of town to survey, since it seems like most libraries don't claim to have much of a role in tourism (which the exception of places like the genealogy collection in Ft. Wayne). I think it is more important to focus on touting and strengthening services for local individuals.

April 10th Readings

Working with Friends Groups: Enhancing Participation Through Cultivation and Planning. Lowman & Bixby

This article is a mini history of the friends group that belongs to the Fondren Library at Rice University in Houston, Texas.

First I would like to say that I didn’t realize that university libraries could even have friends groups, or perhaps would is the correct word. Universities already get so much money that it seems like it would be hard to find people willing to donate to an academic library whereas a public library has such a larger patron base, it seems to make more sense for them to have a friends group and to need another source of funding.

It was nice to read about a strong friends group that definitely gets things done and is an asset to its library. However, much of what they do, they can only do because they are either an academic library or because of their location in a large metropolis area. While I feel that some of their information could be picked through and used on a smaller scale at a rural public library, much of it read as too good to be true. Rural libraries have a much smaller number of patrons who are well enough off to support their public libraries financially. Even libraries in more well off communities struggle to find those who would be good at the position with enough time to volunteer to a friends group. It is those issues there that should really be addressed in academic work.

Key Donor Cultivation: Building for the Future. Leonhardt

This article discusses some general advice on funding opportunities for libraries, special emphasis on donors and friends groups.

Again, another article about academic libraries. Why won’t public librarians write about their troubles? It really would give library students better access to information they find relevant when they are studying public libraries. That aside, I did find the first few pages of this article fairly useful. The author has a lot of good advice and it can be taken out of the academic context and applied to public library fundraising. The advice he discusses in the Introduction and Getting Started sections are more practical and less about specific ideas. They are also broad enough for a librarian at any type of library to mold to their needs.

•      The resources were also really good. I would like to add a few of my own though, having worked on a project last semester on public libraries and friends groups. A huge resource was already mentioned in this article, the ALA’s ALTAFF division. A great page on their website is their factsheets found at: http://www.ala.org/altaff/friends/factsheets. My favorite find so far though has been their Model Friends’ Cooperative Network which shows the roles of the Library Director, Trustees, and Friends groups throughout the seven responsibilities of such groups. Finally, The Care and Keeping of Friends Groups by Nancy Hill is a great group of essays on public libraries and friends groups. It also has an incredible list of friends groups by state.

We Would If We Could, But It Is Not In The Budget. Goodman

This article examines partnerships between libraries and community resources, primarily focuses on Australian libraries.

This is my favorite article out of today’s readings. Not only is it about public libraries, but it was clearly spoken and left out the typical tones and large vocabulary of academic articles making this a more enjoyable read. The author had many good points. My favorite was when he stated that “…the first and most important skill is a desire to innovate and to try new things. This may sound obvious, but it is not the most common trait of public librarians…” Librarians really do like to stick with what they know, even those fresh out of library school. It is important to always remember to randomly question why you are doing things a certain way just to avoid falling into a rut. This is especially important for those in any sort of managerial or even supervisory position as it is your responsibility to set the atmosphere for your workplace. If you are open to trying new, innovative and challenging things, your staff will be too thus encouraging thinking outside of the box and becoming an amazing library in which your patrons love using.

readings Reactions Week 14

Jack Goodman

We Would If We Could, But It Is Not In The Budget: Success Stories In Third Party Funding For Public Library Programs

This article gives examples of how community partnerships have funded new programs within libraries and how to implement a new such partnership in a library.

I liked the examples of successful partnerships, particularly the Babies Love Books Too partnership, as it showed how the funding for the program changed over the years from one partner, then to two others, and finally found a place in the library's budget. That just shows how when a program is seen as a necessity within a community, the funding will be there.

A good point the article makes is that librarians are traditionally often not that excited about trying new things. Thinking of the stereotypical older librarian, you would think of someone who doesn't want to use technology, but I think this stereotype has been changing in the last decade with the domination of the Internet. I think the younger generation that is now entering the field has grown up seeing how technology has created innovations, so I suspect the innovative and creative librarian described will become the new norm.

Thomas Leonhardt

Key Donor Cultivation: Building for the Future

This article talks about how essential external funding is, who donors are, how to get them to donate, and how to make them lasting donors.

While this article focused on academic libraries, many of the author's points can be applied to public libraries. Knowing past donors and establishing a relationship with them seems like a great, if obvious, idea. Using a Friends of the Library group also seems like a no-brainer to drum up support. While a public library won't have an alumni magazine, advertising in the newspaper or making pamphlets about donations available would serve the same purpose.

One thing that rubbed me the wrong way was the thought of considering current students as future financial supporters of the library. Perhaps that's because I don't like getting calls from my undergraduate institution asking for financial support. Getting students involved in helping to raise money is fine, but doing so with the intention of gaining future financial support seems shady to me. Also saying that the library director should donate enough to be in the major donor category so as to "become a supporter and a university and a library ambassador at the same time" seems a bit cynical to me.

Sara Lowman and Mary Bixby

Working With Friends Groups: Enhancing Participation Through Cultivation and Planning

This article discusses the impact of the recession on the Foundren Library at Rice University and how their friends group has helped raise funds for them.

The Goodman article talked about innovation and the Leonhardt article talked about establishing relationships with donors and a friends group, this article expands on both of those points. I would never have thought sending a friends group of donors on trips to see rare books, would be a worthwhile expense for a library, but it seems to have cemented both their interest in conserving books and commitment to the library.