Frustration with Local Politics
I've been trying to engage myself in the "renaissance" of our Pulbic Library system and have, so far, met with very little but frustration. The public is frustrated, the library managers are frustrated, and the politicians are frustrated.
No one seems to have their "eye on the prize." Public Libraries should be about #1 Access to Information. But it is so easy to digress from that concept to addressing equally compelling goals: literacy, supporting school children, offering the community forum for meetings and shared learning.
To add to the frustration, the actual physical plants are falling apart and can't seem to get anything more than temporarily fixed. No one believes that the solution is "throwing money at it" but no one is selecting parts of the wntire problem and issuing mandates to those involved.
1) Physical Plant - the Library System. They need to identify the budget for maintenance, improvements, and replacements and they need to put that in their budget. Private funds may be donated for equipment, furnishings, signage, and collections and the gifts will be used for those purposes.
2) Staffing/Hours - the Library System. Management has to be responsible for the hours of operation and level of service available in each branch and HQ. Private funds may be donated to conduct programs, provide assistance, develop and conduct outreach. Grant funds should be sought to implement and sustain literacy programs in branches that identify that need. Grants should also be solicited to conduct afterschool, adult, and senior citizen educational programs in each and every Branch.
3) Collections and Access - This is a partnership. The Library System should work hard to see that every procurement dollar they have for collections is sepnt bringing materials of into the community that will be used. In this regard, the issues is not only access to cash. The librarians bring the expertise to select materials. They should be the first consulted about collections and access. That said, private funds can be found to bring a number of materials into the library. I could see public/private partnerships put in place to expand access to the Internet as well as fee-based services on the Web like journal articles and virtual reference.
4) Outreach and Benchmarking - This is also a partnership but one in which the Library System should lead. Valid comparisons should be made to other municipalities and strategic goals set by the system. From that point forward, however, it is the role of the Friends of the Library to promote the services and meet those goals. Every community in this town has access to seniors, youth, non-profits, churches and schools. If we have a goal of 3 books per resident this year, that can be achieved. We also need a commitment from the politicians that if we are meeting our goals, the funds will come to take each next step.
In summary, it takes a coalition to make the library serve the community in the ways that they need. But we can't even take the first step forward until we set some goals and establish the responsibility needed top meet those goals. Our library system has lived too long divorced from its public and without bipartisan support within the administration. The time has come to change the tide!
No one seems to have their "eye on the prize." Public Libraries should be about #1 Access to Information. But it is so easy to digress from that concept to addressing equally compelling goals: literacy, supporting school children, offering the community forum for meetings and shared learning.
To add to the frustration, the actual physical plants are falling apart and can't seem to get anything more than temporarily fixed. No one believes that the solution is "throwing money at it" but no one is selecting parts of the wntire problem and issuing mandates to those involved.
1) Physical Plant - the Library System. They need to identify the budget for maintenance, improvements, and replacements and they need to put that in their budget. Private funds may be donated for equipment, furnishings, signage, and collections and the gifts will be used for those purposes.
2) Staffing/Hours - the Library System. Management has to be responsible for the hours of operation and level of service available in each branch and HQ. Private funds may be donated to conduct programs, provide assistance, develop and conduct outreach. Grant funds should be sought to implement and sustain literacy programs in branches that identify that need. Grants should also be solicited to conduct afterschool, adult, and senior citizen educational programs in each and every Branch.
3) Collections and Access - This is a partnership. The Library System should work hard to see that every procurement dollar they have for collections is sepnt bringing materials of into the community that will be used. In this regard, the issues is not only access to cash. The librarians bring the expertise to select materials. They should be the first consulted about collections and access. That said, private funds can be found to bring a number of materials into the library. I could see public/private partnerships put in place to expand access to the Internet as well as fee-based services on the Web like journal articles and virtual reference.
4) Outreach and Benchmarking - This is also a partnership but one in which the Library System should lead. Valid comparisons should be made to other municipalities and strategic goals set by the system. From that point forward, however, it is the role of the Friends of the Library to promote the services and meet those goals. Every community in this town has access to seniors, youth, non-profits, churches and schools. If we have a goal of 3 books per resident this year, that can be achieved. We also need a commitment from the politicians that if we are meeting our goals, the funds will come to take each next step.
In summary, it takes a coalition to make the library serve the community in the ways that they need. But we can't even take the first step forward until we set some goals and establish the responsibility needed top meet those goals. Our library system has lived too long divorced from its public and without bipartisan support within the administration. The time has come to change the tide!