Homeless at the library

The Post Crescent today published a story about a homeless couple who hope to get married. The couple spends a substantial part of their day at our library, apparently using resources to look for work, reading and watching movies.

The responses in the paper's online comments have been coming thick and heavy. In between the personal attacks such online discussions generally devolve to, there's been some good discussion of homelessness and societal response, as well as the appropriateness of homeless people spending time at the library.

Like the post a couple days ago about sleeping at the library, this issue is not simple or one-sided. We know there are people in the community who would rather not have these folks at the library. I imagine these homeless folks would like to have more alternatives -- like a job or a place of their own. But their time at the library is limited only by their behavior: if they want to use the library and they're not interfering with other people's use of the library or bugging the staff, they're welcome.

What follows is my response on the newspaper's website:

Replying to susan1032003 [who said]:

First of all Appleton Public Librairy should not be a place for the homeless to hang out and look for work. That's what Job Service is for! I won't or can't stand going to the public library anymore because it does smell like, dirty socks, and underwear, PU!

The public library is for everyone who wants to use it and can behave decently. In over thirty years here, I've always seen people using the library to look for work -- as well as using Job Service, Workforce Development and other agencies.

The library is a source of Internet, newspaper classifieds, job and career info, and books with tips on resumes & interviewing. And, of course, the library offers opportunities to learn about almost anything.

On rare occasions, we've asked people to leave because they smelled so badly that it interfered with other people's ability to use the library. That's a sad situation, but most of the time, people are tolerant. We get more people all the time -- a broad cross-section of the community, with people from all economic strata. It's important to be available to all.

Terry Dawson, APL

Yes, we're here for you.

Our December circulation was up 10.3% from the previous December -- we circ'd over 106,000 items. It's not like our use had been going down, but now it's really up. Yesterday, there was a story in the Wisconsin State Journal, As the economy goes down, traffic at the library goes up and today's Boston Globe had an op-ed piece The library - a recession sanctuary, which noted:

"Libraries are shining so brightly in this recession, the nation's politicians - from Obama to the mayors - must keep their lights flickering."

We're thankful for the local support from the community and our elected officials -- and for media attention. The State Journal article got me a radio interview on WHBY and a visit from a TV crew.The embedded video player from WFRV.com, Channel 5, has several stories. To view Angenette Levy's Jan. 2 story about APL, either cycle through the stories or click on the picture of the library bookshelf in the lower menu bar.

Squeeze play

As the economy gets worse, there's one place where business just keeps getting better: the public library.

...the Post Crescent noted in an article last week. Amen -- and just about every library staffer I know can corroborate this. The work keeps growing, even if the staff or the materials budget doesn't. We keep trying to get more efficient, and our strategies have included automation, training, volunteers and alternative revenue streams (grants, printing revenue, donations, etc.). But as the impact of a worsening economy continues to ripple through our community, concerns for the library will grow as well.

Then in a Dec. 30 editorial, the Post Crescent opined:

During this time of economic uncertainty and a projected $5.4 billion state budget shortfall, we should expect across-the-board cuts to state and county programs, to salaries and to jobs — deep cuts in some places. As Gov. Jim Doyle said during the dark days preparing for the next legislative session, "Everything should be on the table." We agree.

So, take a deep breath, folks. It may not matter how busy we get, how much difference we can make, or how much more we're needed -- if the money isn't there. This means lower wage increases for staff, decreases in insurance benefits, and obviously some people are considering other benefit reductions as well. Although our budget for the year is approved, our City Council is looking at imposing a hiring freeze -- and those of us who are ever busier would feel it more.

So what can we do?

1. Don't panic. Douglas Adams' advice is always good -- we need to stay level-headed to provide the best service we can and deal with challenges.
   
2. Keep perspective. We're not in this alone -- there's a global economic problem with particular implications for the public sector here in Wisconsin. We need to own our share. Just because libraries have to tighten belts doesn't mean we're a target. And if we're staying open and not doing big layoffs, we're ahead of many places.
   
3. Trust in our value. "Everything is on the table" is hardly the same as"all is lost." We need to continuously re-examine our assumptions and goals, as well as our activities, but our importance as an institution is undiminished. Libraries have been socially vital for millenia; the Internet has, at least so far, increased the value of public libraries.
   
4. Stay the course. Our strategies of automation, training, volunteers and alternative revenue streams have been effective, and we can find more ways to apply them. Although the economy has affected many people's ability to give, it has not stopped people from being generous to our Friends and Foundation. There's more work we can do.
   
5. Work with the system. Our City Council, Mayor and our City Human Resources and Finance Departments may not have identical interests to library priorities, but our common interests are significantly larger than our differences. We're part of a federated library system and automation network with other significant common interests. We have a great Board and supporters. Together we can do our best for the community.
   
6. Seek new efficiencies. 2009 will be a good year to go lean and green. Sustainable green practices can be more affordable in the short run while good for the library and the planet in the long run. And we can make a mindful effort to re-examine activities and processes for more efficiency. Our Technical Services staff is doing significantly more work -- through more efficient work flow and automation -- without significant staff growth. Our Business Manager came up with a plan to use different light bulbs that saves tens of thousands of dollars in utility bills. Our Circulation staff recently worked with our network to change the format of a routing slip in a way that saves a dozen hours a month in staff time. There's more that can be done.
   

Dang! Did I just do New Year's resolutions for the library director? If not, then here are some for me:

1. Provide good community value -- ensure that our services are responsive, professional, friendly and efficient
2. Speak up -- Communicate the library's value to help people make the best use of services, and to help funders understand needs and opportunities
   
3. Advocate for our staff -- while helping the staff deal with the real impact of economic problems
4. Keep planning -- we have a good long range library plan, technology plan and Foundation Plan. City staff is working to revise the City's strategic plan, and we need to do more planning with our Friends group. All our plans should be used, but re-examined to be useful living documents, not stone tablets.

</soapbox>

DC libraries waken controversy

There's a tough dance between being a good librarian, compassionate, progressive, inclusive in providing service -- and yet tough-minded and aware that we're always making choices about scarce resources.

Proposed Rules Would Ban Sleeping in Library

By Martin Weil and Elissa Silverman

Washington Post Staff Writers
Monday, December 29, 2008; Page B03

New rules have been proposed for D.C. public libraries, including a ban on sleeping and a limit on bringing in bags, in what library officials called an effort to make the system more welcoming. [full story]

The coverage is in the Washington Post, but the more interesting story is in the online comments posted, which constitute a fascinating debate about the role of libraries and the problems of homelessness. Seems to be a polarizing issue.

Our approach to date at APL has been to evaluate situations on the extent to which they cause a problem and interfere with library use. The occasional (non-snoring) sleeper has not been a problem, someone passed out in a chair in an alcoholic haze with a booze bottle in his pocket is a problem. If all our chairs were occupied by sleepers it would be different, but where's the line? It's tempting to be black & white: "sleeping is forbidden!", but for now that seems more unjust -- if simpler -- than the more difficult gray of judgement calls.

Looking back at 2008

Looking back in reflection on an eventful 2008, it's difficult to pick out just 10 things as most significant, so I have no "top ten." Here's a selection of significant items from my perspective. Some of the items on the following list are inter-related, some are examples of broader areas, and several point the way to 2009 activities.

1. Building study - this one took up a lot of time and energy, but felt like a watershed. About 1,000 people gave input and the final recommendation was to consider a new library building. This was carried forward with more planning to be done in 2009. along the way there were surveys, public meetings, TV coverage, newspaper stories (and debates in online forums). But lots of people are thinking, talking and planning for the library's future and that's a good thing.
   
2. Fox Cities Book Festival - we held the first ever book festival in our area in conjunction with our annual community read, the culmination of years of planning and even more years of dreaming. We were touched by the vision of poet Ellen Kort and the hard work of many people. The Festival marked a huge collaborative effort, was a howling success -- and plans for next year's fest are well under way.
   
3. Changing of the guard - after 27 years at APL, in jobs ranging from volunteer tour guide to Assistant Director, Barb Kelly is retiring. Barb was a pioneer in many respects, as a leader in reference and library technology. We'll miss her. We've hired a lot of good folks in the past year, and every one of those jobs is important, but a vacancy for an Assistant Director happens seldom and the position holds a lot of responsibility. So we put a lot of work into our search and hiring process to find a successor. Our new Assistant Director will be Colleen Rortvedt, with experience in circulation, reference, audiovisual, young adult services and library technology. In her twelve years at APL, she's done work in policy and planning, built collections and web pages, and worked with the community to help set up Harmony Cafe and to lead the effort on our Hmong Resource Center. We expect her to hit the ground running.
   
4. Print management - it was a huge project to replace our public computer printing and photocopiers with networked multi-function devices. It was months of planning and contract work by many staff led by Barb Kelly, and more technical details than I could appreciate. But the end result is better service, fewer hassles for staff and public and an end to people ripping off our "honor system" printing. With Internet printing replacing traditional photocopying as well as a chunck of magazine and pamphlet circulation, this was an important step. At year's end, the new system seems to be working well and is more than paying for itself.
   
5. Rearrangement - creative work by staff has kept an increasingly crowded facility flexible and responsive. We continue to weed heavily, but also consider the impact of online resources in retention of periodicals. We continue to tweak arrangements: moving children's paperbacks to wall shelving; creating a seating area for tweens; moving bound periodicals to reference --allowing for growth in fiction; adding public access Internet stations. We were also able to add a number of power strips to tables and carrels to accommodate laptop users and plan for some lighting upgrades.
   
6. Growth in library use - use continued to grow in many ways, including overall circulation, door count, program attendance, meeting room use, and electronic resources. Despite increasing Internet workstations, we often see waiting lines, even on slow days. Some of this is doubtless fueled by the economy with people less able to buy books & DVDs or maintain high speed Internet service at home, and simultaneously needing job and communication resources. But we have been seeing continuous growth for several years.
   
7. Children's program attendance - while there's been almost across the board growth in services, the number of children reported attending library programs has grown by 60% this year. There are several reasons, but the biggest is work by the Children's staff to increase the number of programs, making more time choices available, and less crowding. Increased community emphasis on early literacy means more awareness of the value of library children's programs, and we keep seeking ways to collaborate.
   
8. Materials policy - it's been several years since we had revised our materials policy, but the increased use of media materials and the increased role of resource sharing were both significant. Our revision incorporated new, more explicit methods for public challenges to materials, involving the Library Board and providing for increased community input while working to ensure intellectual freedom.
   
9. Community support was a huge factor for us in many ways, from the many folks who got involved in the building study, to those who spoke up for the library at budget time. The League of Women Voters, the Post Crescent and Appleton Downtown Inc. all took pro-library stands.
   
10. FOAL & Foundation - our Friends group and our Foundation have been some of our most important supporters for decades. This year, the Foundation adopted a new long range plan and we hired a consultant to work with both boards to explore the feasibility of merging the two groups. At year's end both groups had approved exploring a merger. This will, we hope, create a stronger, more efficient support organization with a higher community profile, more effective for advocacy & fund-raising.
    
11. Volunteers - the growth in volunteer hours has been phenomenal, thanks to an open-minded and flexible staff and our Foundation-funded Volunteer Coordinator. Shelving volunteers helped staff keep things moving through our sorting and shelving area even in our busiest times. We've become reliant on volunteer help in several areas, as we can't count on property tax- funded positions to grow at the same rate our use is growing.
    
12. Washington Square - this neighborhood improvement effort is beginning to bear fruit, with better communication, heightened awareness, new outdoor furniture and staff and volunteers from Appleton Downtown helping by patrolling. We still have work to do, but there's a renewed commitment to making the neighborhood "clean, safe, and friendly." The library building doesn't exist in isolation, and the neighborhood is safe, but we need to make sure it feels welcoming to everyone.
    

Newspaper: As economy dips, Fox Valley libraries have 'banner year'

Patrons seek out more free services

By Ben Jones • Post-Crescent Madison bureau chief • December 28, 2008

As the economy gets worse, there's one place where business just keeps getting better: the public library.

Several Fox Valley library directors report circulation and patronage is up, driven in part by job seekers and people with tightening entertainment budgets ... [read full story]

Tasha Talks Tech @ FVLC

Our good neighbor Tasha Saecker, Director the the Menasha PL, did a presentation on libraries and technology at a recent Fox Valley Library Council meeting. For those of us who couldn't make the meeting, she posted her PowerPoint on her Sites & Soundbytes blog -- thanks, Tasha!

Technology And Libraries

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own.

The Future of the Internet

The Pew Internet & American Life Project has released "The Future of the Internet III", a non-scientific survey of anticipated trends. Key findings reported by the Pew:

• The mobile device will be the primary connection tool to the internet for most people in the world in 2020.
• The transparency of people and organizations will increase, but that will not necessarily yield more personal integrity, social tolerance, or forgiveness.
• Voice recognition and touch user-interfaces with the internet will be more prevalent and accepted by 2020.
• Those working to enforce intellectual property law and copyright protection will remain in a continuing arms race, with the crackers who will find ways to copy and share content without payment.
• The divisions between personal time and work time and between physical and virtual reality will be further erased for everyone who is connected, and the results will be mixed in their impact on basic social relations.
• Next-generation engineering of the network to improve the current internet architecture is more likely than an effort to rebuild the architecture from scratch.

My inferences for public libraries:

• we need to pay serious attention to mobile computing
• more people will expect social web features as a norm
  
• we'll stay caught in the crossfire on intellectual property issues
• informal self-directed education will remain important
• we'll need to be creative in developing information delivery channels

It's worth looking at full report details.

Seasonal thoughts: joys & concerns

[originally written Nov. 22 and published in the Winter '08 issue of the Fine Print newsletter]

At this writing, we are past the City’s budget adoption, coming up to Thanksgiving and looking forward to the challenges of 2009. In this season, I’m finding a lot to be thankful for and many challenges to anticipate. We were dramatically reminded in the recent national elections that democracy doesn’t come easy, choices are hard, and you can’t take government for granted. is is just as true of the local government decisions, which may not happen on the grand scale of national politics, but are more accessible to direct citizen involvement.

Thinking particularly of our budget, I’m thankful:

• for the work of many people in funding library operations for another year, including the staff, Library Board, Mayor and Council;
• for the support of our Friends and Library Foundation;
• for the thoughtful support of local institutions: the League of Women Voters, the Post-Crescent newspaper, and Appleton Downtown, Inc.
• for community members who spoke up at the public hearing on the budget, and were eloquent about the importance of library service in our community;
• for others who called, wrote and contacted their alderpersons on behalf of the library.

The most hotly debated library item in the budget is also one of our biggest challenges in the new year. After a study this year documented space and design problems with our current facility, 2009 will feature a project for program design to lay out spaces for a new or remodeled library,
giving us some good cost figures and maybe even concept drawings. is study is funded by the City and our Foundation. But whatever the result, we know we are years away from any major facility changes. is brings me to the challenges of 2009:

• doing a thorough job of space planning and program design that will help inform future decisions;
• beginning a process of community fund-raising -- because we need to accept that some private dollars will be essential to moving any project forward;
• seeking ever more effective ways to work with our Foundation and Friends;
• meeting ongoing service needs with the facility we have, seeking new ways to be more cost-effective, environmentally responsible and efficient
• continuing to develop technology, training and volunteers as means to support staff and services;
• telling our story to the community, to help people understand library issues for future decisions, as well as make the most effective use of the services we offer.

A final concern is an occasion for both thankfulness and challenge: after 27 years here at APL, including the last 12 years as Assistant Director, Barbara Kelly is retiring. As a volunteer, part-time staff, professional librarian, computer geek, supervisor and administrator, Barbara has done amazing work which has shaped this library over decades. We will greatly miss her. She is a leader not only in our library, but in our community, and the statewide library community. We are in the process of hiring a new Assistant Director, but Barbara cannot be replaced.

[Barbara's final "BiblioTech Topics" article reviews some of the changes she has seen and facilitated.]

More valuable in tough times

And we thought we were busy back when the economy was good!