National Library Week 2014: Lives Change @ Your Library

As we get closer to the end of National Library Week, there needs to be a moment to take stock in the tag line for this year. Lives Change @ Your Library is a powerful statement but is it true? For those who don't rely on libraries for information, early reading programs, recreational reading or computer usage the library may not offer anything for them. It's a Google world and libraries can become tangled in the World Wide Web's lies. The American Library Association came up with the idea to invite patrons to share how their lives have been changed by the library. It makes one wonder what the responses have been. Taking this powerfully charged tag line and combining it with the responses might be an opportunity to open the eyes of the library naysayers. It could make them see what they have been missing.
It has been a rule of thumb that when marketing a product you must first excite your loyal customers first in order to entice others to like what is being offered. After all, its easier to preach to the choir then it is to preach to the nonbelievers. The choir will at least sing your song and sing it louder then you. The nonbelievers would be just as happy to through tomatoes at you. Let's be honest, library advocates prefer sing-a-longs. Who doesn't right? The idea behind the tagline is a good one and should not be tossed away after the celebration of NLW is over. Could libraries expand upon it? Of course but how? With a little creativity and ingenuity. Of course, a few funding dollars would hurt either but that's a topic for another time. (That blog entry would probably be called "how to beg for money".)
Some people need to see things in order to believe it. For this reason alone, it isn't a bad idea to invite residents to a library open house at least twice a year. it is an inexpensive way to promote the library while giving non-library users an excuse to come in. Free food always brings people in the doors and before library directors start to worry about the residents complaining about tax dollars wasted on freebies, there are plenty of avenues to pursue to get local pizza joints to donate the food for free publicity. When the fallen away library users come to the library, listen to what they say about your library. Are they surprised at what they see? Sometimes reintroducing residents to the library is all it takes to gain one more patron and eventually one more advocate.
The library needs to be on the go. Each community has their own celebrations, festivals, and parades. Join the parade, so to speak. Invite library volunteers to help man a booth at a fair or walk alongside library staff in a parade. The advertisement of the library alone is worth it. Not to mention its another way to make a personal contact with those you meet at the event.
Ask the choir who know how your library has changed their lives to promote it everywhere they go. For example, if a loyal patron, who know that without a story time program, their three year old is better prepared to enter preschool because the program helps with concentration, language and social skills, spread the word about the library, that is priceless. Any business that deals with customers daily will agree that word of mouth is powerful. Now take it a little further, wouldn't it be great if these word of mouth testimonies could be caught on tape to post on YouTube, FB and other social media portals? It's not an expensive thing to do, except for staff time.
Libraries do change at the library. Not only for the patrons, but for the librarians too! If there could only be a place for librarians to share their stories about how the patrons who show up at the libraries have touched their lives in ways that can't even be imagined, that would be awesome. That would be most interesting to read, perhaps that can be explored at another time. Lives Change @ the library is powerful. Let's invite the library choir to sing it loudly and proudly for us. It'll be the sweetest tune that has ever be sung.

Can We Talk About Privatizing Libraries Now?

This isn't an easy topic to approach. Especially since libraries and librarianship is the core of this blog. A hard examination of what is loved and treasured is can either be cathartic or devastating This attempt is meant to be healing and invite comments to inspire an exchange of ideas. Awhile ago, the idea of private libraries was put forth in this forum. It is understandable why many libraries avoid the idea of a private libraries. They may even consider it a dirty word. Heaven forbid that such a thing would happen to our beautiful public libraries. Why private would be intimidating, unwelcoming, and very elitists. That should not be the designation for the institutions that boasts the freedom to read, grow and think independently. Public libraries should always be free .... or should they? Would it be a bad thing to look at the idea with an open mind? One great example of why privatizing library is worth exploring is looking at the Mark Twain Library in Downtown Detroit. No seriously, don't look it will break every library lover's heart. Library Journal recently reposted pictures of the Mark Twain Library in Detroit. It is an abandoned library. Once it was a treasure of the city where neighborhood children went to after school and weekends to check out their favorite tomes. Now it's a shamble. The city of Detroit and the administration of the Detroit Public Library ought to be ashamed of what they allowed to happen to this library. There are so many questions that demand answers that it is hard to know where to begin. For example, why were the books allowed to say on the shelves and not brought to a safer place for storage? Or at the very least shared with the open Detroit Library Branches or surrounding libraries? Why was there a lack of security to prevent the destruction? At a time when libraries are in budget battles to prove their worth to the community, Detroit has proven to the nation that this is not the city that reads or cares for preserving literature for future generations. To be fair, this is a city that has declared bankrupt. Money is not only tight, apparently it's none existent. Which is precisely why looking into privatization of libraries should at least be considered. If taxpayers can not fund a library or library system, it's time to consider other sources of funding. Privatization of libraries can provide freedom for libraries in many ways. Freedom in how much they can charge for fines and fees. Freedom from having to worry about milages passing or not passing due to the "mood" of the voters in a particular election cycle. Freedom to be independent of local government budgets which at times become a scary predicament of waiting for the budget ax to come down on the library. It is time to think like a business. In other words it's time to be entrepreneurial and go for the gusto. It's time for small libraries like Mark Twain to be vibrant again, with children and adults using the resources available to them. Will the library be free. Of course not! Today's libraries are not free either. Taxpayers fund them whether they personally use the library or not. In no particular order, here are some reasons and ways libraries can make that big shift from public to private. First and foremost libraries can not exist without solid financial backing. For decades,the chosen method of funding libraries has been to use public funds, raise taxes and hope that city administrators would not raid the library's nest egg. With the option of private libraries set up user fees and service options. The patron will get to decide which services they want or even choose that they do not want any of the libraries services. The revenue collected is for the library's use only. It does not need to be shared with any of the other "community's" obligations. One might ask what would make this different than a book store? The difference, the user's support the shared collection of resources. In a bookstore, one has to buy the books for their own personal collection. There are many who do not have the resources nor the space in their homes to do this. The private libraries offer the ability for those in the community to have a shared stake in the collections. What the customer wants, the customer will receive. Private companies have the ability to go around red tape and bureaucratic nonsense that stunts the growth of any city government department. Privatization offers flexibility. Privatizing libraries provides freedom away from petty politics on local, state and national levels. No longer will library director's be a the mercy of one or two city council members who refuse to do what is right by the library and the patrons. Politics has the nasty ability to interfere when there is no need for them or desire for them to butt in. An example, would be if a mayor's wife does not like a certain library service but twelve other "customers" do, the winner will be the majority not the elite minority That goes along with the complaints of what books should or should not be on a library shelf. Along with that there is the freedom to build a collection without the fear of a PC police. Politically correct or non correct books or resources could be placed on the shelf without fanfare. All books are welcomed. Patrons can choose for themselves the books they wish to read. There would be no need for review boards or unnecessary paper work that documents what page was the most offensive to the reader. Frankly as most businessmen and women will tell you, money talks. If patrons are paying for their library services straight from their own pockets, they will demand services that will satisfy them. If the needs are not satisfied, the money will dry up and go somewhere else. A good business person always makes customer satisfaction the number one priority. . Private companies also do not have the burden of dealing with only one or two ways of making money. Let's face it in the government sector of the business world the means to make money is either raise taxes or grants. Neither one of these are particularly dependable for library administrators to count on. In the private sector, finding creative means to raise money is not only a requirement but also encouraged. As long as it is within the legal bounds of the law, business can raise money by teaming together to create a new idea or use other methods of fundraising like programs and events which solicit memberships to the organization. In any case the opportunities are a little more abundant on the private side then in government. The idea of total privatization of libraries may sound risky and foolish to some. Perhaps it might even be appropriate to take baby steps into the venture. Couldn't a public library form partnerships with a private company to ensure a smooth transition? Wouldn't it be worth the experiment to see if this is possible? Just an off the wall suggestion here, Why not try it with the Mark Twain Library in Detroit? After all a library is a terrible thing to waste! It's time to give privatization of libraries a chance. http://www.flickr.com/photos/bpdphotography/sets/72157626713779604/

Library Funding Part One: The Road to Privitization?

In an anti-tax environment libraries across the United States are going to have to do some soul searching. Especially in states where the economy is not doing well due to high unemployment and soaring cost of living expenses. It seems that prices are going up on everything, which means that libraries are feeling the same pinch. Once again, many libraries are turning to the tried method of mileage proposals on the ballot to raise the revenues they need. In the past couple of election cycles, there have been many success stories of libraries passing their mileages. However, if the economy takes another downward turn, as many economic indicators predict, the mileages won't mean a thing if taxes can't be paid. It is very likely that the anti-tax voice will get stronger and louder. Libraries must be bolder than just going after the tried and true money box of mileages. It may be time to consider privatizing libraries for profit and secure a future. Before the naysayers raise their objections, consider the following points. Publishers are in no hurry to help out libraries as it relates to ebooks. Frankly, it is probably the moment they have been waiting for all their proverbial lives. The chance to squeeze out not only libraries but booksellers too. Why else would three out of the six major publishers refuse to sell ebooks to libraries? The other three that are willing to sell to libraries overprice the books to capitalize on profit. It's not "fair" that libraries lend out books to readers, who thus get to enjoy the book for free. Here's a crazy thought: avid readers love to share the books they read with others. Electronically or in print they will find a way to loan their friends a copy of their book. It's a fact of life. Publishers need to realize that libraries are as part of the society as apple pie and Chevrolet. Not matter what form the libraries take, there will always be libraries serving an important role in the community. Having said that, there needs to be an effort to encourage publishers to lower prices and sell to libraries. For once and for all, it has to be proven that it is a win win situation for both parties. Especially with indepent publishers pushing their way into the market and making an impact that could be comparable to when paperbacks made their breakthrough in reading habits. The problem with the publishers is only a small piece of the puzzle when it comes to library survival. The digitization of our culture is another battle that must be won. Libraries can talk about the digital divide and how it is important to bring everyone on board to the new digital reading world until they are blue in the face. The fact of the matter is, when push comes to shove the haves and the have nots in this world will not matter one iota when paychecks get smaller and everyone is grumbling about the cost of everything. Start asking for more tax revenue and it may make th4 ecommunity begin to question do they need a library. Forbes did a wonderful two part article on why libraries matter. The basic premise is that librries are needed as an insstitution where reading is promoted. The Library also acts as a gathering place for informtioan and meeting. Wonderful. What they fail to address is the promotion of librareis as a return of investment (ROI) for the community. If this can not be provem, a community will look a the library as a dinosaur and unable to change. If the discussion is going to turn to practical usage of taxpayer dollaars and community benefits it might be time to consider consolidating or communities sharing resources. For example, many cities have found ways to share police and fire resources to help the finacial bottom line of both communites. While it is always a nice idea that every community deserves a library, perhaps a better way to view it is that every community dsserves access to a library. With the digital age and downloading capabilities there is no reason why communities can not share one library building and serve multiple communities. Returning to the origianl idea of privitizing libraires. The question becomes is there a "product" that libraries offer. yes. It's called information in any form a patorn desires it and for any purpose be it educational or entertainment. Those agains selling or using information as a commodity fail to remember that the first public library in the United States was not free. It was supported on a subscription basis. think of it this way, if the population valued their libraries as much as they say do they do, they won't be mind paying for it like they do for cable or cell phones. It is a servcie that is wanted, therefore it is not rolled into a tax. Libraries have relied so heavily on the tax systme that it may very well be to their demise. Perhaps they are are afraid it will be harder to fund a private library becasue they do not see a commitment from their own communities to their libraries. If that is the case, then shame on librarians for going along with the status quo and not even trying to venture out to something new. Clinging on to old ways is a recipe for disaster. Time to look at new revenues, new challenges and finding the solutions to make it work for the future. Stay tuned this is a discussion that will be reviseted in the months to come.