Dewey Decimated: Director's Blog

Regionalization #6

2009-06-23T11:04:00.000-07:00

Library regionalization offers some additional benefits to library users at both the management and policy level. When I refer to management I’m using the term broadly and including personnel selection and supervision, contract development and oversight, financial controls, marketing, and library leadership positions.

When staffs from all area agencies are brought together under a single entity the ultimate goal should be a uniformity of service delivery at a very high level. This is ultimately accomplished by establishing system wide performance standards (either negotiated in a union environment or established collegially if collective bargaining is rejected) and investing in ongoing staff development. This is easier to accomplish on paper than in practice.

Most library directors believe that they have a good staff that serves their public well. Some libraries are more dependent on part-time staff while others have a higher ratio of librarians to clerks. Everyone has a different salary and benefit structure. A substantial amount of time will have to be invested to make a staff merger work and there is little doubt that everyone won’t be totally satisfied. This does not mean it can’t be done.

From the public’s point of view one of the advantages of consolidation should be a minimization of duplication. How many library directors or other “back room” functionaries without significant public service responsibility are required to run a regional system? My answer would be fewer than we have now. The good news, and this tends to be true across the United States, is that there are an awful lot of directors, myself included, who will be looking at retirement in the none too distant future.

Some back room consolidation will simply result in better delivery or control. A marketing department that serves a broad region may need to make different choices but should not be exceptionally more expensive to operate. A business office, and I’m assuming a regional library would be a separate corporation, may well have to employ an accountant but overall should be quite lean.

The library users really benefit when policies and procedures are consistent throughout a region. Why should libraries reinvent the wheel on issues like Internet Use and Behavior Policies? I believe our customers would welcome a uniform approach to circulation periods for materials, a universal decision on the daily cost of an overdue fine, and a consistent policy on when borrowing privileges are suspended. A side benefit is that “serial abusers” of library services are easily identified in a regional environment.

Next time I hope to talk a little about potential governance of a regional system and how such an entity might be funded.

Letter to the editor

2009-06-17T13:56:00.000-07:00

The following letter, which is jointly signed by Board President Susan Voss and myself was sent to the Des Moines Register today:

Open and honest communication has been at the heart of the Des Moines Public Library’s entire ten-year facilities improvements plan, so you can imagine our dismay at today’s editorial in the Des Moines Register regarding the community’s participation in the Franklin Avenue Library’s planned renovation.

The library is eager to meet with the Urban Design Review Board to clear up any miscommunications about the project and we are confident that City Engineering and the project’s architect will promptly address any oversight.

More than a year ago, the library began a series of five public meetings, inviting input from community members, neighborhood associations, library users, city council members, county staff and elected officials, and anyone else that was interested in the plans for improving our busiest branch. We heavily publicized these meetings through neighborhood association newsletters, posters in all of our libraries, in-house publications such as our quarterly newsletters, our bi-monthly calendar of events, news releases to the media which covered the meetings, in print, TV and radio. We featured the meetings on our web site and included full descriptions of the project. Our staff even took the time to stuff handouts in the hundreds of items on hold for our customers, to ensure that we were reaching as many people who had an interest in the project as possible.

Following each meeting, the architects carefully considered the comments they received from the public, adjusted plans, and shared their changes at subsequent meetings. Throughout the process, the library answered questions, shared information, and enjoyed a positive atmosphere in all communications between the public and the architects. There was never an attempt to hide the project and anyone that is a regular visitor of the Franklin Avenue Library would have to have walked past the proposed model to check out a book or use any of the library’s many services.

We regret any miscommunication and look forward to further input from all interested parties. Our ultimate goal is for the Franklin Avenue Library to continue to meet the needs of its users and fulfill its vital role within our community.

Regionalization #5

2009-06-12T11:27:00.000-07:00

Is it viable and/or desirable to create a regional system in Central Iowa? Why would Des Moines, with its long history and recent 40 + million dollar investment in library buildings want to abandon its identity and work with suburban libraries? Why would neighboring communities want to participate in Des Moines’ ongoing financial woes? Further, experience says that each library believes that they understand and deliver service to their community at a higher level by existing as an independent entity. Despite probable objections and recognizing that customers are well served in Polk County through reciprocal borrowing, I believe end users will receive improved service through formal regionalization.

Virtually every customer survey tells librarians that the primary reason that people use libraries is to borrow materials. The deeper the collection, both in variety and number of copies, the more satisfied the user. Currently Des Moines invests approximately a million dollars a year in materials. Libraries serving substantially smaller populations have correspondingly lower budgets. However, if all budgets were merged ultimately more material would be available for all users.

No matter how robust a materials collection may be customers need to know, with an apology to Jean Paul Sartre, of an item’s existence. Within a library setting this means what is purchased has to be cataloged, processed, and linked to an integrated library system (the electronic version of the old card catalog.) Currently libraries in Polk County are responsible for their own cataloging and processing and have an electronic catalog unique to them. From both a customer and taxpayer point of view this is inefficient.

Customers want to know what is available and where it resides. Today the only way that information is available is by accessing several different catalogs. If time is money libraries need to plead guilty to wasting both for end users. Taxpayers, whether they are users or not, want to see their monies extend as far as possible. Logic says that consolidating acquisitions, cataloging and processing and marrying the process to a uniform online catalog has to improve efficiency.

There are two decisions that will need to be made to effectively consolidate collection budgets and catalogs. The first is to let all collections “float.” What this means is a borrower can check out an item from Agency A and return it to Agency B. Traditionally the item would be returned in delivery to Agency A. When items float they stay where they are returned. There are a number of permutations of floating collections, most notably new materials stay at their home agency for a specified period before they become floating items, but implementation of the concept improves overall access to more people. The second is an investment in a robust delivery service. This is an additional cost but it should be more than offset by savings.

Next time I want to briefly explore policy and management advantages of regionalization. I’ll follow that with what I believe stands in the way and make a few suggestions on how to address the issues.

Regionalization #4

2009-05-26T11:33:00.000-07:00

In my last blog I said I wanted to talk about the benefits of regionalization in my last job as C.E.O. of the Fraser Valley Regional Library (FVRL). I’ll also talk a little about issues that made regionalization a challenge.

FVRL was established in the early 1930’s to serve the sparsely populated Lower Mainland of British Columbia that lies outside the City of Vancouver. Fast forward 75 years and the Lower Mainland is the fastest growing area of Canada with all of the environmental and growth issues that surround any metro area. Currently FVRL delivers service to over 650,000 people living in 15 communities in an area of 13,000 square kilometers.

Why does regionalization work and what does it mean in this environment? What are the shortfalls of this arrangement? Why are accountants the last creative people left in Hollywood?

In FVRL , regionalization is primarily about consolidating “back room” operations and providing opportunities for local identity. The “back room” consists almost exclusively of support services. These services include marketing and printing, acquisitions, cataloging, and processing, information technology, accounting, personnel management, and library administration. All of these services are housed together in a headquarters building that is the only property owned by FVRL.

The “back room” is a cost shared by all 15 communities based on a formula that can be described as the full employment act for accountants. Basically cost is apportioned based on population, circulation, and library square footage and is far less than any community operating independently would invest. The benefits of this arrangement to library users are more than financial.

First and foremost policies are consistent throughout the region. A customer can travel from Boston Bar, to Abbotsford, to Port Coquitlam and encounter the same circulation periods for materials, identical overdue fines, rules for Internet use, and be assured that the privacy of their records receives the same care. Second, there is a single union contract for all employees throughout the system. The benefits of a master contract, as opposed to 15 individual ones, are myriad. Third, a uniform online catalog makes information about library holdings more readily accessible. Fourth, pooling funds for acquisitions allows more titles and copies to be acquired and shared. Fifth, materials produced by the system have a uniform and professional appearance. These are the benefits that come quickly to mind.

Each community owns its building and is responsible for its maintenance. Communities also decide on the program they want to present their public. If a community wants to be open 72 hours a week and have a vigorous Children’s Services presence they would contract with FVRL for the appropriate staffing component and this would be a charge in excess of fees for the “back room”. Conversely, and unfortunately this has happened, a community can ask FVRL to provide services at a level just barely good enough that the public will not complain. In both cases FVRL’s presence is largely secondary. The library user is presented with the Maple Ridge or Chilliwack Library a member of the Fraser Valley Regional Library.

Overall the system works. As population grows communities sometimes believe they can be more effective delivering service independently. With the growth of technology this becomes increasingly unlikely. However, there are provisions for withdrawal in the bylaws. FVRL is a physically large environment that serves suburban, small urban, tourist, and rural communities. Provincial law requires that a sitting city council member from each community sit on the library board. Managing a 15 member board from very diverse communities makes herding cats desirable. The fact that communities can choose mediocrity is painful for library staff but assures long term system viability.

The FVRL model is not perfect but it contains the seeds for rational regional library service delivery. In the next few blogs I intend to explore how a regional library could be developed in Central Iowa.

Regionalization #3

2009-05-15T07:15:00.000-07:00

Regionalization of services is a risk. But without risk there is no reward. The only reasons to consolidate services are improved cost controls and better service delivery. I believe that many areas throughout the United States would be well served by crafting regional service plans. Further, I believe there are models available to emulate.

How will costs be better controlled in a regional environment? First, some levels of duplication should be eliminated. Back room functions like acquisitions, cataloging and processing are essential but relatively expensive. These are functions that would be consolidated and whether outsourced or done locally should increase efficiency. The online catalog is another example of potential savings through consolidation. Library administration including marketing, facilities management, and information technology also offer opportunities for cost control. Second branch locations can be examined to determine effectiveness and need. Without a local “pride of ownership” library leadership can make a more realistic determination of return on investment.

Will services improve? Yes. Simply by providing a uniform online catalog and marrying it to a robust delivery system end users will benefit because they would have more access to more material. Also, from a customer point of view, a standardized policy for fines, circulation periods, and Internet access would be prove helpful. Opportunities for staff development would also be improved and technological experimentation benefits would accrue to all participants.

There are regional libraries in the United States and Canada that work. The State of Washington has several regional libraries. I worked in British Columbia and was the C.E.O. for the Fraser Valley Regional Library. In my next blog I plan to talk about Fraser Valley and explore what could be borrowed and what should be discarded.

Regionalization #2

2009-04-29T09:32:00.000-07:00

As previously threatened, I plan to continue exploring the benefits of library regionalization and the reasons it is extremely difficult to accomplish. I recognize that there are many obstacles, but there are also many benefits, and I firmly believe a methodology can be developed that can answer most, if not all, concerns.

In my experience people and communities resist change because they fear they will lose something of value and that the new offering will fall short of what they already have. Therefore, the questions that need to be answered are what do people believe their libraries offer and what do they believe they will lose if regionalization occurs.

My first inclination is that regionalization is resisted by urban centers through arrogance. There seems to be an assumption that suburban areas should simply accept the policies, procedures, and opinions of their older and more experienced neighbors. Over the years I can not count the numbers of times I’ve heard a colleague say, “if we only had x’s tax base we would be able to…” Of course this doesn’t recognize that if x’s tax base were available, priorities might well shift.

Suburbs, not surprisingly, tend to resent such an attitude. They have spent years building their communities and, whether by happenstance or design, many of them are homogeneous and do not have to address issues of racial or economic diversity. They can recognize some rather important side benefits in that the costs of dealing with the poor are controlled (hence lower taxes) and property values are protected. The notion of “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free..." is not a statement typically associated with American suburbs.

Admittedly I have a rather cynical and jaded view of why there are so many political jurisdictions across the United States. However, I also have recognized over time that many suburban communities have hired highly competent staff and sufficiently funded their local library to a point where service delivery is competitive if not superior (especially in Children’s Services and some areas of collection development) with their urban neighbors. If this is the case, why would any library participate in a regionalization scheme with an urban neighbor with a history of financial woes?

First, and most importantly, is that overall service to end users will be improved. Second, with some creative and cooperative thinking, a regional system could be created that encourages local libraries to continue to be identified with their local community while allowing for variable funding at the local level.

Tune in next time for service benefits.

REGIONALIZATION, REGIONALIZATION, REGIONALIZATION

2009-04-20T11:05:00.000-07:00

I believe public library growth and survival are tied to two very political issues. The first is regionalization and the second is direct funding. Over the next several blogs I hope to address both of these issues in some detail.

Regionalization speaks to the consolidation of governmental units. It’s not a popular topic but it is one taxpayers should insist that local governments explore if for no other reason than to save their money and improve service delivery.

Invariably there is fear that governmental consolidation will lead to someone’s ox being gored. That is a realistic concern. If consolidation is to generate savings in personnel intensive operation like libraries jobs will have to be eliminated. The real question is what jobs?

My answer is savings must come from the backroom. In a physically small county with a population of less than 500,000 how many library directors and deputy directors are required? The same question can be asked regarding I.T., cataloging and processing, business management and marketing departments.

From a purely bureaucratic point of view the issue has less to do with saving taxpayer dollars than with security. Why should anyone with a fairly secure management position want to put his or her job on the line? I think organizational survival lies in strengthening the institution. The institution is only going to get stronger under a different paradigm. I believe that paradigm must include organizational consolidations.

Over the next few months I want to explore how regionalization could be implemented, benefits that could accrue from library mergers, why independent funding of libraries is important, and what laws would have to be passed or amended to achieve this.

I am well aware that I’m not the first, nor will I be the last, to propose governmental consolidation. It’s an emotional topic. Ultimately it becomes a discussion of 19th century law being applied to a 21st century reality that forces us to examine any number of disparities in our communities.

Banks & Libraries?

2009-03-30T08:47:00.000-07:00

My first full time job, and I’m not giving a date, was in banking. After a few years of full time, and later part time work while I completed my undergraduate degree, there were two things I enjoyed about banking.

The first was repossessing cars. Banks would prefer to refinance marginal car loans but every so often collectors would encounter an individual who would respond to a call with a lengthy diatribe laced with a variety of creative expletives. Generally their vehicle would be gone within 24 hours. My wife would comment that I never came home in a bad mood when I worked collections.

The second was working as a loan officer with small neighborhood businesses. I was able to provide loans, on my signature, to people who ran pet stores, florists, auto repair shops, and more. You sat with the owners, examined spreadsheets, discussed their goals, and determined how the bank could help them grow their business. This was a level of fun that largely came to an end with the advent of bank credit cards. This was the major reason I left banking and went to library school.

I think there are some real parallels between the way banks once operated and the way libraries still do. For me it was one of the real attractions to a career change.
The biggest similarity is how public libraries work with their clientele to help them realize their goals. Librarians know that the center of everyone’s universe is someplace different. We also know that the library has so many tools available that libraries have a real opportunity to be a part of everyone’s center.

The key in both banking and libraries is how seamless the experience can become for the individual. Some people need little personal intervention. For them materials have to be well organized, directions must be clear, and the necessary resources must be available in a timely fashion.

Other people require a personal touch. This can be anything from a recommendation for a good book to helping with research on coffee bean production in South America. The bottom line is that the public library is there to help people with their personal and professional growth.
I’m not certain how repossessing cars relates to libraries. Perhaps my readers can think of a few.

$$$

2009-03-16T13:11:00.000-07:00

Why does public library use increase when the economy is poor? There are a number of reasons, some of which are obvious and one or two that we rarely acknowledge.

The obvious reason that public library use increases in a down economy is that libraries are a great investment whose payback far exceeds the growth or dividend of any stock. The Des Moines Public Library has a per capita support level in the mid $30 support range. That’s pretty typical for a municipal library serving a population of 200,000.

The average cost of a hardback book, once textbooks are excluded, is nearly the same as DMPL’s per capita support. Therefore if you borrow rather than buy books you save. The more you borrow the greater the return on your investment. Of course these day’s public libraries offer far more than books (DVDs, CDs, downloadable audio books, movies, and TV shows) for its borrowers.

There is programming for both children, teens, and adults. How do you place a value on pre-school story times or summer reading? How much would you be willing to pay to hear Alexander McCall Smith or Bill Bryson speak? At your library your tax investment results in free programming available to the entire community.

All public libraries offer Reference and Reader’s Advisory services as well as online databases that can be accessed both in the library and at home. These provide the potential to expand our customers’ universes.

Well over 95% of public libraries offer Internet access to their clienteles. In tough economic times people go online to apply for work, do more in depth research, and to look for ways to lower their personal costs.

Public libraries are always competing for people’s time. When all is said and done the only thing all of us have in common is 24 hours in our day. How can a library convince a potential user to spend some of that time with us? Ultimately, the answer is to have products that have value to individuals.

In a poor economy library usage increases, library funding is stagnant or falls, and the publics’ return on investment (ROI) is phenomenal. Our challenge will be to grow the ROI as the economy recovers.

Measuring Up?

2009-02-24T11:02:00.000-08:00

No one is questioning that the current economy is one of, if not the worst, most of us have experienced in our lifetimes. Today’s shrinking GNP, slow housing market, and volatile Wall Street certainly offers challenges for all of us, but the current recession also allows public libraries the opportunity to make a difference in more lives.

Economic down times have consistently created more demand for library services. How well we, as libraries, react to that demand will help determine our ongoing value to our communities. I believe there will be some common measures that people can use to determine a public library’s contribution.

Most municipal libraries of any size have, or will, experience budget reductions over the next year or two. People should be asking a variety of questions about how those reductions are being accommodated to measure library quality. Some of questions to consider include:

a) Are the proposed reductions designed to punish library users to generate political pressure on elected officials?
b) Is an effort being made to protect the library’s materials budget?
c) Are critical children’s programs (such as preschool storytimes and summer reading programs) being maintained even if some reductions occur?
d) Is the library still investing in staff development?
e) Are budget decisions made in accordance with the library’s mission, vision, and core values?
f) Does the library embrace quality before quantity?

My answers to these questions go somewhat like this:

a) Libraries should avoid punishing their clientele. The only time reductions should be used to generate political pressure is when those in power have identified the library for “cuts” well outside the norm for other departments.
b) The materials budget is a bread and butter issue for libraries. The breadth and depth of a libraries collection determines its immediate and long term value to borrowers. While some cuts in this area are often inevitable they really should be kept as small as possible.
c) The children of today are the taxpayers and hopefully the library supporters of tomorrow. We must maintain a reasonable level of children’s programming.
d) Conventional wisdom says staff training and travel is an easy target in tough budget times. If staff development was important in good times it may be even more important in tough times. Significant budget reductions result in less staff. Fewer staff will be serving more people and will require a broader depth of knowledge.
e) Difficult budgets tempt managers to plan to the budget rather than budget to the plan. Libraries must use their strategic and tactical plans in determining budget priorities no matter the level of pain.
f) Libraries will always benefit, especially in the long term, when they embrace quality over quantity. The results may be shorter hours but better delivery when the library is open; fewer titles added to the collection with greater staying power; or more strategic programming decisions.

There are certainly other questions and other measures. A poor economy forces all of us to be more sensitive to how our money is being spent. Ultimately, it is up to the people of Des Moines to determine if your tax dollars are being spent wisely at your library. I would welcome your thoughts and comments.

There's Still Some Good News

2009-02-12T13:19:00.001-08:00

My last blog entry talked about how we intend to address the $300,000 hole in the 2010 fiscal year operating budget. Not a lot of fun but many are experiencing much worse.

One area that has not been dramatically affected by budget woes is the book budget. Most of the monies that support the acquisition of children’s and adult fiction and non-fiction and maintaining a current reference collection come from non operational budgets. The vast majority of the dollars that support the library’s collection come from the city’s capital improvement budget (CIP) or from the “non-city funds budget” which incorporates revenues generated by library fees, state aid, and gifts. There is very little crossover between the CIP budget and the Operational budget. Therefore decreases in one budget have very little impact on the other.

What this means for our customers is that we can still afford to offer a balanced and growing collection along with an expansion of alternative formats. We will still buy multiple copies of bestsellers, invest in teen books, have a strong collection of picture books, and continue to update the reference collection. The print collection is expected to be largely business as usual.

When alternative formats are examined there are two decisions that have been made that will be closely watched to determine if the library is on the right path. First, the library began offering digital audio books as part of the WILBOR consortium a few months ago. This has proved to be a popular but counter-intuitive service. People tend to expect digital material to be available on a 24/7 basis. Due to a variety of copyright issues this is not the case with WILBOR. When a digital audio book is borrowed the next potential user is subjected to the typical library holds queue.

The library expects to maintain its relationship with WILBOR in the short term but an investment has been made in another service that provides access to more than 1700 digital audio books that are available at all times. Borrowers will never be prevented form downloading a title because someone else is currently listening to that book. Approximately 20% of the titles in this database are compatible with iPods. To access this database click on “Digital Downloads” on the library’s homepage and select NetLibrary on the subsequent page and follow the instructions.

The second alternative format the library will be offering is digital video downloads. This service provides access to several hundred videos. These include travel information, cooking shows, classic TV shows, feature films, and much more. All of the titles are available on a 24/7 basis and are always available. Access to this database is the same as specified above. However, on the second web page click on MyLibraryDV and download the software to the computer. Once this is done videos can be watched on the computer or a laptop can be connected to a television for group viewing.

Over the next year we will watch experiments with alternative formats closely. The world continues to move to a digital environment and the library wants to move at a pace that recognizes the speed with which our local community embraces change.

2010 Library Budget

2009-01-21T14:33:00.000-08:00

Our library’s new fiscal year begins July 1, 2009 and ends June 30, 2010. The vast majority of our library’s operating budget is supported by the City of Des Moines which is projecting a shortfall of $6,000,000 for its next fiscal year. All agencies that depend on City support were provided a financial target to meet and the library’s goal was a reduction of $300,000 or 5% of tax support.

Whenever budgets are reduced, difficult choices need to be made. These decisions are made somewhat easier if there is a good strategic plan in place and core values to provide guidance. The two core values that guided our recommendations that were adopted by our Library board at its January meeting are: “we value our customers and focus on their diverse need/wants” and “we value our staff as our greatest asset.” Translating these values into action means that the cuts, while painful, must focus on maintaining the overall quality of service delivery while working as diligently as possible to avoid disruptive staff layoffs.

How will the public be affected by budget reductions? We will continue to offer quality service and accessibility for our customers, but users will see a reduction in our low usage hours. Also, some of our current services will be reorganized or offered only during high demand hours.

How did we decide what to cut? Library staff did a day by day and hour by hour analysis of library use. The information gleaned from this study caused the staff to recommend that Central Library be closed on Thursday evenings and that branches be closed on Friday mornings.

Why are we cutting Sunday hours? Because our Library Board feels it’s important to maintain a Sunday presence, Sunday hours were also studied intently. A detailed analysis of borrowers, by day and hour, has validated our recommendation to eliminate Sunday hours in the branches and to close Sundays during the summer at Central. The highest used Sunday hours which tend to coincide with the school year will be preserved.

Will there be job cuts? The library will be able to avoid layoffs through a combination of attrition and implementing a short furlough. The staff, which is unionized, agreed to the furlough to preserve overall service quality to the public and to protect their fellow employees.

Public libraries across the country experience an activity lull in the last two weeks of the calendar year, so our staff has agreed to take a furlough (unpaid leave) during the week of Christmas. This means that no library service will be offered that week. Customer loan periods on borrowed materials will be extended to account for this closure.

Where else are you trimming costs? We are currently looking at every opportunity to reduce costs. We’ve asked everyone on our staff to share their ideas and we’ve already acted on many of the suggestions. For instance,
The library will discontinue its subscriptions for two electronic databases. NoveList and Mergent are very good databases but their use was not justifying their cost.

The demand for telephone reference has been steadily declining for the last several years. Statistics indicate that demand wanes in the evening and on weekends. Therefore, telephone reference will only be offered Monday through Friday during the day. E-mail reference will be available during all open hours but response time is dictated by the level of activity in the building.

The Rosie van service is being reorganized to reduce cost. The result will be a concentrated focus on delivery to low income children.

Recently, our library has seen a surge in usage, typical during a downturn in the economy, as people turn to their library for the many free services that we offer. The great fiction of the last several years is that you can do more with less. The reality is that you do less with less. My hope is that the less being delivered by the library in the 2010 fiscal year disrupts our customer’s lives as little as possible and that our customers continue to recognize and support the on-going value we offer every day.

Good Intentions

2009-01-08T09:30:00.000-08:00

One of my New Year’s resolutions was to update my blog at least twice a month. Over time we’ll see how well I do. If nothing else, for those of you who are familiar with the quote from either St. Bernard of Clairvaux or Samuel Johnson, you will understand the title for this blog.

This year I really want to talk about several issues. Many of my comments will focus on the library’s budget woes but I also want to talk about how we find ways to make lemonade when handed a financial lemon. I plan to write about new initiatives, how we plan to apply existing and new technologies, and library programming for children, teens and adults.

I am planning to ask for your help. While we can always use more money what I have in mind won’t cost you a cent. I want you to become a library advocate. As a child, my mother told me that the best and worst advertising a company can receive is word of mouth. Not surprisingly she was right.

What I’m asking you to do is to take a few minutes each day and tell a friend, neighbor, or acquaintance something that is really cool at the library. If nothing comes to mind immediately here are a few conversation starters.

Did you know the Des Moines Public Library offers online tutoring in math, science, social studies and English every day of the week between 3:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. Students of all ages love the product and its cost is underwritten by the Des Moines Public Library Foundation. You should log into our web site at: www.desmoineslibrary.com and check it out.

The AViD (Authors Visiting in Des Moines) is planning a stellar lineup of speakers again this year. So far, we have confirmed visits by Steven Biel, Marion Blumenthal Lazan, Sara Gruen, and Omar Tyree. Watch for an announcement soon with a complete listing on our web site. Beginning this month, we are participating in The Big Read featuring the book, Their Eyes Were Watching God. Then in February, watch for some great programs about the environment when we kick of the 2009 reading program called Read 2B GREEN.

Public libraries are heavily used when the economy is in recession. People can save money by borrowing books rather than buying them, they can look for employment on public access workstations with high speed connections to the Internet and they can realize part of their recreational needs by attending the myriad of free programs offered for all ages.

The Franklin Avenue Library is scheduled for renovation and expansion in the near future. I’m really looking forward to a bigger and better branch.

Hopefully, you get the idea.

My goal for 2009 is to update this blog at least 24 times. There is plenty to say, the trick will be budgeting sufficient time to write. For now I’ll thank you in advance for going out and talking about your library

Strategic Plan

2008-08-04T10:40:00.000-07:00

For the first time in more than a decade the library has a new strategic plan. The mission, vision, and core values have been examined and revised. I think they are much improved but the proof of the pudding will be how well we use them to develop our work plans and how thoroughly we, as a staff, embrace them in our interactions with internal and external customers.

The library mission that has been in place since 1996 stated: “The Des Moines Public Library provides equal access to quality information services, materials, and resources to all members of our community for their lifelong learning and enjoyment.” The new mission is, “The Des Moines Public Library is the bridge to a world of information and ideas for personal enjoyment and community growth.”

I think being a bridge is an exciting and traditional role for a public library. What are libraries about than helping people on their journeys through life? In order to get where we are going there is many a bridge to cross.

The library’s old vision is too long to duplicate here. The new vision is, “The Des Moines Public Library is the recognized leader in expanding the universe of opportunities for imagination, innovation and lifelong learning benefiting its diverse community.”

Libraries are unique. It is indisputable that the center of each person’s universe is somewhere different. Because libraries deal in information, tend to be non-judgmental, and are available to everyone they have the opportunity to be a part of every person’s center.

If any organization is to be successful it has to have a set of core values the staff can embrace. In reality the language of the core values have been modernized but not their sense. The new core values are:
“The Des Moines Public Library values:
our customers and our focus on their diverse needs/wants.
intellectual freedom and confidentiality.
innovation as the engine that drives change.
our staff as our greatest asset.
stewardship of the community’s investment.
universal access to services, materials and opportunities for lifelong learning and enjoyment”

The Library Board adopted these statements at its July meeting. Now it’s up to the staff to make them meaningful for our clientele.

Flood of 2008

2008-06-23T09:02:00.000-07:00

Floods are awful but they often bring out the best in people. This is my second experience with a natural disaster. In 1971, I experienced Hurricane Agnes when I lived in Northern Virginia. Both experiences demonstrated how people pull together when they have a common purpose.

The good news for your libraries is that water damage was very minimal to our buildings. There was some damage at the South Side Library from excessive rain. That issue has been addressed.

City Hall and the Armory both experienced sewer backups in their basements. This required that both facilities be evacuated and workers be relocated. We volunteered the Central Library as temporary quarters. Initially we thought the library would house between twenty and thirty City staff. Ultimately, we accommodated at least 170 additional employees.

For our customers this meant some reductions in service. We closed the second floor and created a temporary City Hall on that level. This meant that the library’s nonfiction collection was only available on a closed stack basis and public access Internet workstations were unavailable. We also cancelled all bookings in meeting rooms to provide additional office space and temporary City Council chambers. We were able to maintain children’s programming and the Summer Reading Program was able to begin without a hitch.

As a group you have been very patient and understanding. Thank you! However it’s pretty normal to ask when will things return to normal?

We expect, if the weather cooperates, the City to begin moving out this week. Hopefully the second floor will be ready to reopen either this weekend or on Monday, June 30th. Some city workers will remain until mid July as new office space is prepared.

It’s fair to ask what have we learned and would we volunteer again? The answers are that the Central Library is a very flexible building. Library staff really went the extra mile in addressing the needs of City staff and our customers. There was some real benefit in working on a day to day basis with our colleagues from disparate City departments. Yes, despite reducing services to customers, we would volunteer again. In this instance the public, the library, and City Hall staff are a part of the same family and you do what is necessary to make things work.

I hope the loss of the second floor and meeting rooms has not inconvenienced anyone too much. Once again, thank you for your patience.

Highlights For FY 2008-2009

2008-06-05T09:28:00.000-07:00

I’ve committed the cardinal sin of bloggers and not updated this page for far too long. I’d like to say it won’t happen again, but we all know the road to hell is paved with good intentions. So all I’ll say is that I’ll do my best to be more attentive.

The library is coming to the end of one fiscal year and is on the precipice of beginning the next. Rather than review where we’ve been I’d rather give you an overview of where we hope to go between July 1, 2008 and June 30, 2009.

The Library Board will adopt a new strategic plan that incorporates a new mission, vision and core values. This should be completed before the end of summer.

Architects have been selected for the Franklin Avenue Library project. Benjamin Design out of Ames working with David Milling Associates as their library consultants is the team that will design an updated and expanded library. Like all of the other library architectural projects this one will be jointly funded by the City and the Library Foundation. We need about 1.6 million dollars in additional private dollars before we can put a shovel in the ground. If you want to accelerate the project send a six or seven figure check to the Foundation today.

Technology will keep chugging along. Our current integrated library system (ILS) has a very limited life span. Therefore, we will be migrating to a different ILS. We also expect to purchase a new PC time and print management system that will offer some e-commerce solutions to our users. We are hoping to adjust our use of RFID technology (this is the tool we use to check materials in and out and to maintain some levels of inventory control) to encourage customers to increase their use of self-check stations. We will explore swapping out our public access workstations to a thin client environment.

From a public service perspective we will continue to expand our digital footprint. This month we began offering audio book downloads through a local consortium. Expect to see more print based reference services disappear and be replaced with online resources. There will be an effort to increase investment in downloadable audio-visual products and there may be some investment in downloadable print.

Another new service that will emerge before the end of the calendar year will be video teleconferencing. This capacity comes to the library as a gift to the Library Foundation from Allied/Nationwide. I’ve worked with this technology in the past and it offers some interesting opportunities.

We will continue to buy traditional library staples that update the library’s book, CD, and DVD collections. New media will compete with old for financial support. Ultimately, you will determine the shape of the collection.

Adult and juvenile programming will continue to be supported at approximately the same level. The Library Foundation has already committed to support for summer reading and next year’s AViD Author Series.

This constitutes some of the highlights for the next fiscal year. There is certainly more that will happen but this is a blog not a book. Feel free to tell me what You want to happen in the coming fiscal year.

Live Homework Help @ the library and from home

2008-03-31T10:08:00.000-07:00

I am very excited to announce that Des Moines Public Library in partnership with Tutor.com launched Live Homework Help (LHH) as a Proof of Concept last week. What is LHH? What is the Proof of Concept? How does LHH work?

Live Homework Help (LHH) is an online tutoring service that was launched in the mid 1990’s. The Proof of Concept makes LHH available at no cost twenty-eight hours per week and allows customers to purchase additional time if they so choose. If they buy additional hours the library will receive funds from Tutor.com. that offset the library’s investment in the product.

Between the hours of 3:00 and 7:00 P.M. every day of the week any student in grades 4 to early college who needs assistance with math, science, social studies, or English can visit our web site and be connected with a live tutor at no cost. Tutors are available on a 24/7 basis but time must be purchased by the individual outside of the 3:00 to 7:00 timeframe. The tutors have been thoroughly vetted by Tutor.com for expertise in their field and appropriate online behavior.

A typical session might look something like this:

An eighth grade student is stymied by the concept of quadratic equations. The student visits the library web site (either in the library or from home) and selects LHH. The student is asked for grade level and subject. The student selects math and the subset of algebra. The student is then, usually in less than two minutes, connected to a tutor. Once connected the tutoring session begins. The tutoring session can be equated to a one on one chat with special tools available for teaching assistance. The average length of most sessions is between fifteen and twenty minutes.
These are literally on-demand tutoring sessions.

The goal is not to provide the students with answers. Rather, the goal is to increase the student’s ability to understand concepts and increase their level of success in the classroom. I have worked with this product in two other libraries and can assure you that parent, teacher, and especially student response to LHH is consistently enthusiastic.

We will be publicizing LHH broadly in the next several weeks. This is a product that helps students learn and boosts classroom confidence. Well over 90% of students who access the service say they would recommend it to their friends.

As a reader of this blog I ask you to visit LHH and test it for yourself. If you agree that it is a boon for students help us spread the word. The very best advertising is word of mouth. So, the more of us talking the better.

Budgets

2008-03-17T11:41:00.000-07:00

Des Moines Public Library, like the vast majority of its peers across the United States, is always participating in an awkward budget dance. Each year we set priorities, review past performance, and hope sufficient revenues will be available to deliver a quality product to the community.

The vast majority of library revenues are provided by the City of Des Moines. The stronger the City’s financial health the more likely the library’s budget will be secure. The opposite is also true. If taxable property in the city loses value or if the Franchise Fee is eliminated the library’s budget will shrink.

The library’s budget is supplemented by fines, fees, state aid, grants, and gifts. Fines, which I have addressed in an earlier blog, help offset the City’s overall tax support. Fee revenue is generated primarily from the rental of movies on DVD. State aid is used primarily to support the materials collection and underwrite Des Moines Public Library’s participation in open access. Grants are usually one time funds used to initiate a new program. Most library gifts are generated by the Library Foundation and are primarily used to underwrite programs like Summer Reading and AViD and supplement library investments in collection development and technology. Supplemental funds constitute approximately 10% of library revenue.

Total library revenue is between 7.5 and 8 million dollars. The question is what does it buy?

First, it buys open hours at all six library outlets. Currently the library is open for sixty-five unduplicated hours over a seven day period. Second, revenue is used to build a collection. Every library survey reassures us that most people still use their library to borrow material. Third, money is used to support a variety of programming for children, teens, and adults. Pre-school storytimes, an Anime Club, and author visits are all a part of the mix. Fourth, we spend money on technology. Des Moines Public Library is probably the premier public computing site in our area. In addition Des Moines is still a community where the digital divide is alive and well. The common thread and our biggest investment is staff. Without them nothing moves forward.

When we establish budgets our initial goal is to maintain current service levels. Our hope is to improve and expand service. Too often, shrinking revenue from one or several sources causes us to determine what services can be reduced without an overly negative impact on the public.
The library has an established budget for the 2008-2009 fiscal year. City revenue can be anticipated but the remaining revenue sources are less predictable. Odds are there will be no major shifts in library service in the coming year but…

Here at the library we are already beginning the budget dance for 2009-2010. Personally, I prefer the waltz.

Why fines?

2008-02-27T05:55:00.000-08:00

I have always disliked the concept of fines.

In theory people bring borrowed materials back promptly to avoid an unpleasant surcharge. Further, there is an underlying assumption that a low level of financial punishment is appropriate when rules are violated. In part, fines are justified as an “educational” experience.

In practice, fines become a nuisance fee for regular library users, a barrier to use for the poor, and a source of ongoing arguments between library users and circulation staff that are left with the unenviable job of collections. Those who can afford fines often happily pay with the assumption that their “contribution” is being used to strengthen the library’s collection.

Those who really can’t afford to pay are often blocked from further borrowing even though materials have been returned. Even more troubling is the fact that many families of moderate and low income refuse to let their children have library cards due to potential liability for overdue material.

Library staff dreads the confrontational customer. The arguments are many and varied but the usual claim is that materials were returned promptly and somehow there were internal processing errors within the library that caused the problem. The exchanges tend to be less than cordial

If my statements above are valid then why not simply eliminate fines? Des Moines Public Library generates nearly a quarter of a million dollars in fine revenue annually. Our funding source, the City of Des Moines, anticipates those funds when establishing our budget each year. In other words, we have become dependent on the revenue.

Is there a viable solution? The answer is a definite maybe.

First, we need to discover if the community is willing to support a fine free library. In this area the public library should reflect local sentiment.

Second, we need to determine if the $250,000 in revenue can be replaced. Will individuals or corporations be willing to step up and contribute on a regular basis to support a fine free library? I can envision XYZ Corp. and/or John Smith contributes $22,500 to make August fine free at the Des Moines Public Library.

I’d be interested in your thoughts. Is fine free something to work towards or simply a waste of time.

Formats are a Challenge

2008-02-05T10:52:00.000-08:00

I'm old enough, just barely, to remember 78 rpm records. At one time libraries that offered 33 1/3 rpm records for loan to the public were considered cutting edge. With each technological advancement in the delivery of audio and video libraries have been faced with an ongoing dilemma.

At what point do you abandon an old format and embrace a new one? Let's take some cases in point and track the genesis of change and look at the issues libraries must address.

In the mid '70s many libraries circulated 8 and super 8mm films for home use. A few libraries also circulated 16mm feature films. By the mid '80s libraries were embracing videotape, although the debate between BETA and VHS raged on longer in libraries than the general marketplace. As we moved into the new millennium DVD became the video format of choice for libraries, although not many of us have eliminated our back stock of videotape. Today real time digital downloads of video content appear to be the direction the public will be embracing.

For many years the only people with access to audio book recordings were the blind and physically handicapped. These were bulky items originally on vinyl and subsequently on tape that involved public libraries in an inordinate amount of red tape. At some point in the '70's or early '80's books on tape became available to the general public. These items generated a substantial user base and subsequently became available in a cd and then an mp3 disc format. This was followed by real time digital downloads.

Format changes force libraries to evaluate what is being offered to customers and determine if we should change how we offer certain products and if it is our responsibility to continue to offer some products if they are readily available commercially. For example, there is no shortage of video stores or online alternatives. Despite this, libraries still circulate a high volume of DVDs and videotapes.

Format changes force libraries to examine how scarce collection dollars are allocated. Should we continue to add to the DVD collection, divert some money from DVD to digital downloads, or abandon the service altogether? If we choose to invest in digital downloads how many dollars are we willing to commit? If we choose to abandon not only a format but a popular service are we willing to accept the public outcry and an almost certain drop in circulation?

The questions are difficult and satisfactory solutions are elusive. I would be very interested in reader comments and suggestions that address these questions.
draft

Write, Call, e-mail

2008-01-24T11:38:00.000-08:00

Libraries across Iowa need your help! Please contact the Governor and your legislative representatives and tell them that a 1.1 million dollar cut to libraries is unacceptable in a state budget projected to increase by 6%

Governor Culver's proposed FY 2009 budget proposal cuts state library funding by 18%! That's $1,119,442. Should this proposal stand, the following programs or agencies will see cuts: State Library, $135,000; Library Service Areas, $259,442; and Enrich Iowa $725,000.

What does this mean to you?

First, libraries across the state will have substantially less money to spend on materials, programming and technology. Public libraries use Enrich Iowa monies to supplement and extend services. Without state dollars expect longer waits for books, fewer programs for children, less computer access, and diminished outreach efforts. In addition, state wide reciprocal borrowing could be in jeopordy.

Second, reductions to Library Service Areas (LSA) affects continuing education for library staff. Smaller libraries with the fewest resources will feel this reduction most deeply.

Third, the proposed reduction in State Library funds indirectly impacts public library budgets throughout the state. The State Library uses its monies, in part, to negotiate statewide acquistions of electronic databases that benefit all Iowans. The State Library can negotiate better prices and extend budgets for larger libraries and offers products that would otherwise be unavailable in smaller communities.

Fourth, Iowa currently ranks 30th in state support to libraries. A cut of more than a $1,000,000 would reduce funding to pre 1999 levels and place Iowa in the bottom tier of support for libraries. In addition, the propsed cut could jeopordize federal funds received by the State Library.

I sincerely hope you choose to contact the Governor and your local legislators. This is how to access them:

E-mail the Governor
chet.culver@iowa.gov

Write the Governor
Office of The Governor and Lt. Governor
State Capitol
Des Moines, IA 50319

Call the Office of The Governor
515.281.5211

Addresses for your legislators available online at:

Senate: http://www.legis.state.ia.us/aspx/Legislators/SenateEmail.aspx
House: http://www.legis.state.ia.us/aspx/Legislators/HouseEmail.aspx

or contact your local library for more contact information.

Welcome -- We'd like to hear from you!

2008-01-16T12:27:00.000-08:00

I hope you like our library's new web presence. Staff have worked for several months to make our web site more navigable and convenient for our customers. All of us would be interested in your comments and suggestions on how we can continue to improve the site.

In the coming months, our library will be making efforts to increase its electronic footprint. Expect investments in online tutoring, downloadable audio, and perhaps downloadable video. We need to know: if we buy it, will you use it?

The nature of our traditional reference services is also changing. More and more of what we offer will be digital products that are available in the library as well as 24/7 from your home computer. Take the time to explore the products available to you through our web page and don't hesitate to let us know what you think of current products and to make suggestions for future acquisition.

Ultimately our responsibility is to provide a good return on investment to the Des Moines community that supports us with their tax dollars. While we have many measures, one of the best is your input. Are you getting your money's worth?