Library issues & the state budget hearing

The Joint Finance Committee of the Wisconsin Legislature is holding one of their regional budget hearings in Appleton today. There was a huge turnout at Lawrence University. I felt I needed to testify in support of public libraries.

Libraries are reasonably well-served in the budget: if we're getting less of what we asked for, we're getting a great deal of what we need. We're feeling the squeeze of significant increases in use and flat or decreasing funding. The Governor has done right to support library systems, which in turn support local libraries. To do this, he has moved more of state funding for library services off the income tax and is funding it via the Universal Service Fund, which comes from a surcharge on phone bills. This plan was attacked by our State Senator, Mike Ellis, so I felt some need to defend it. You can read a copy of Sen. Ellis's critique and my response on the FoxPolitics blog.

Here's my written testimony as submitted to the Committee:

Members of the Joint Finance Committee:

My name is Terry Dawson. I serve as the Director of the Appleton Public Library, and am a member and Past President of the Wisconsin Library Association.

I support the 2009-2011 budget bill, as introduced by the Joint Finance Committee, which provides a Universal Service Fund appropriation to fund specific library services: BadgerLink, Public Library System Aids, the Statewide Resource-Sharing Contracts, and Newsline for the Blind.

The original act that established the Universal Service Fund, 1993 Wisconsin Act 496, states that the fund shall give priority to: "local units of government, educational institutions and libraries". To that end, I served as a public library representative, appointed by Governor Thompson, on the Universal Service Fund Council, advising the PSC on fund disbursement, for two terms, beginning in 1994.

In recent years, library systems have become increasingly focused on and built around telecommunications-based services to local communities; technology has evolved systems into networks. Thus state support coming from the Universal Service Fund, as opposed to income tax, makes good sense, is consistent with the purpose of the Universal Service Fund, and makes it possible to sustain critically important library services.

During these difficult economic times, library use has increased dramatically, and use of telecommunications services provided through libraries has been even more dramatic, as we provide increased support for job seekers and those who have lost access to other resources. At our library alone, users logged 12,899 hours on public computers in the first two months of 2009, a 60% increase from the previous year. These computers access the Internet over connections provided through our library system. Systems are provide open access and communications services -- effectively promoting collaboration to level the playing field, and create opportunities for all Wisconsin residents.

The Appleton Public Library has over 84,000 library card holders, and more than 1,600 people per day come through our doors. Every item checked out, every web page viewed, every database search, every use of the catalog – these are all made possible through services provided by the Outagamie Waupaca Library System, funded through this budget. Vital access to information and materials occurs through BadgerLink, Resource-sharing and Newsline.

I urge you to use this budget, as introduced, to help sustain our library and all of Wisconsin’s public libraries as we work to create equal opportunities for your constituents to learn and enrich their lives.

Thank you.

The Death of Content?

Aaron Schmidt has posted "libraries might not provide content in the future & it’s okay on Walking Paper. It's a provocative piece occasioned by some recent technology developments including:

• iPhone's Kindle ap, allowing any iPhone owner the ability to buy Kindle content (the same content Amazon will not license for library circulation, no matter how many Kindles we buy)
• Netflix offering streaming-only subscription plans, and new collaborations with the New York Times and Rotten Tomatoes, hastening the demise of the DVD as a physical artifact the same way that
• iTunes has become the world's biggest record store -- which is probably why Amazon is emailing me MP3 sales promos
• the demise of many newspapers, including the Rocky Mountain News and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer on the brink
• more online content subject to restrictive DRM that will tend to squeeze out libraries
  

I agree that this is a serious concern, but disagree with where Aaron Schmidt seems to take it:

It really doesn’t matter if we stop providing content in the same way. It might be the best thing to happen to public libraries. Yes, there will be some access equality issues that need sorting, but if we don’t have to concern ourselves with making sure people have access to content we’ll have more time to create excellent programs and experiences based around content and conversation.

In response, I wrote:

Yes, we are increasingly a community center. But let’s not kid ourselves: it’s access to materials and the Internet that are bringing people to our doors. Kathleen de la Pena McCook has famously noted that information equity is the core value of our profession. It may be that in our provision of popular media we have veered too far toward Charlie Robinson’s “give ‘em what they want” and that the loss of ability to provide content will create more opportunities to “give ‘em what they need.”

But we should not let the baby slide out with the bathwater. I agree with Jonathon Rochkind’s comment above:

“we also ought not to sanguinely accept publisher’s attempts to illegalize libraries traditional content provision business in the “1s and 0s” market, like they would have liked to even in the print market. We should fight it with tooth and nail.”

In the interest of preserving equity of access to information, we need to utilize — and seek to improve agreements with — online content providers that see potential in our markets.

You note that “the real emphasis has been on providing shared experiences by gathering people together at hosted events. Connecting people in this way has more of a positive impact than sinmply sending someone home with a disc”. True as far as it goes, but the “shared experience” part of our service is still only a small fraction of the “circulating materials” part of our service. We need to intentionally prepare for changes, but I’m not ready to shrug off materials provision in the future just yet.

I think we need to be serious about content provision in new ways. It doesn't bother me that users will get new content in new ways -- I enjoy streaming Netflix too -- but we have an interest in assuring that diverse content is broadly accessible. Although equity of access and quality shared experiences are both critical for public library, the importance of access will continue to be primary for the foreseeable future. I suggest we need to do several things:

• continue collective action on DRM legislative issues. ALA has terrific resources on this, and we may currently have a more receptive audience in Washington than we've seen for awhile;
• our market muscle may not be huge, but it exists: we can encourage vendors to broaden offerings and make them easier to use and license, e.g. Overdrive's adoption of MP3;
• continue to develop other digital resources via
• digital and digitized collections
• robust vital websites
  
• chat reference
• mobile web
• continue to help our patrons know that however content and information channels change, however the digital divide evolves, librarians have a commitment to helping them get access to the resources they need;
• continue to do our best to work with currently available media -- seems like a no-brainer, but people are borrowing more books than ever.

Libraries' role as content providers cannot be a warehouse function only, but needs to look forward as well as backward. Libraries' role as an agency of transformation needs both sacred communal space and connection to unlimited possibilities. Digital excitements notwithstanding, the novel and the picture book seem stronger than ever and not likely to go away soon. I'm glad teens can play Guitar Hero here, but that doesn't supplant the importance of a parent with a toddler in their lap reading Goodnight Moon. Some parts of libraries' transformative power are more intimate than they are collective.

But as caleb notes in a thoughtful response on Bibliographic Wilderness: "we are going to work harder than ever". That much we all seem to agree on.

Pat Horn, Circulation Clerk, receives Courtesy Award

Pat Horn, left, with random cybrarian and Rotary Courtesy Award presenter Barbara Kelly

Pat Horn was one of the recipients of this year's Courtesy Award from the Appleton Downtown Rotary. She was nominated by Terry Bergen, who wrote:

I am a frequent patron of the Appleton Public Library because I am in two book clubs. The library becomes more and more heavily used every day and the line at the circulation desk is always long. I am always surprised to notice the good humor and gracious helpfulness of the circulation staff at the check-out desk, regardless of the conditions. Patrons will often get angry or rude for reasons beyond the control of the staff such as an overdue book fine or a lost book fee. The circulation staff serve thousands of people every day at the checkout desk, processing more than 1.5 million items every year. One individual I noticed in particular is an exceptional provider of customer service. I described this person to the Circulation Supervisor at the library who gave me her name, Pat Horn. The Circulation Supervisor also endorsed Pat as the outstanding member of her team because of her caring and attentive customer service.

Pat (Patricia) Horn is particularly worthy of the Courtesy Award because she warmly welcomes everyone who approaches the checkout desk at the library and:

• listens to patrons' concerns
• is able to communicate and enforce library rules, procedures, and policies in a way that informs without offending
• makes everyone, from all walks of life, feel like this is his or her library
• never has a bad day
• never gets rattled
• will drop everything and look throughout the library for something a patron wants so that they leave knowing she did everything she could do to find what he wanted

This award reflects particularly well on Pat, who has a great gift for service, cares deeply, and applies her heart and mind to doing a good job for our patrons. But it also reflects well on the whole terrific crew at our Circ Desk.

Thanks to Library Trustee Terry Bergen for taking note and submitting the nomination. Thanks to the Rotary for making this award. But especially, congratulations & thanks, Pat!

from left: Brian Kopetsky, Terry Dawson, Colleen Rortvedt, Pat Horn, Vicki Lenz

The Library Rebooted

There's a very worthwhile article for librarians and library supporters in the Spring 2009 issue of Strategy + Business. The article, "The Library Rebooted" has a good overview of changes in library services, a good section on the relevance of public community libraries, a section on digital challenges for research libraries, an excellent sidebar on "Why Libraries Are Good Investments", and Seven Imperatives for Library Leadership, including:

1. Rethink the operating model
2. Understand and respond to user needs
3. Embrace the concept of continuous innovation
4. Forge a digital identity
5. Connect with stakeholders in ways pure Internet companies cannot
6. Expand the metrics
7. Be courageous

Thanks to Tom Corsmeier for the heads-up on some good reading!

Diversity: What is Your Comfort Level?

I'm excited that next Saturday, March 7, Appleton will host a Diversity Conference. Our library will be a participant at the event, held at Appleton North High School and sponsored by the Fox Cities Rotary Multicultural Center -- of which the library is a member.

I have long felt that public libraries have a natural affinity for diversity efforts. Inclusiveness and opportunity for the entire community are part of our core values, and our continuing focus on intellectual freedom means we are bound to seek out and include all points of view. So I'm glad we'll be participating in this conference, which "is to provide ideas, resources and inspiration to educators and community members to make a difference", with a focus on

• Enhancing a Multicultural Learning Environment
• Eliminating the Achievement Gap
• Fostering Social Justice/Activism
• Promoting Multicultural Education in the 21st Century

Sessions will include, among others:

• Eliminating the Achievement (Opportunity) Gap through Multicultural Education: Shifts of Consciousness and Practice
• Societal Trends Affecting Education
• Mental Health Issues in the Classroom and the Community
• Integrating Multicultural Literature Into Curriculum: A Space and Place For All
• Closing the Knowledge Gap is a key to Eliminating the Achievement Gap
• Honoring our Common Differences: Creating Inclusive Classroom or Workplaces
• Disparities in Poverty and Race: Closing the Achievement Gap
• Promoting an Inclusive Environment for Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, and Transgender Individuals in our Schools, Workplace, and Community
• Diversity Resources at the Appleton Public Library
• Lawrence University ArtsBridge: A Successful Model for Integrating the Arts with the Contemporary World Studies Curriculum
• Our Impoverished Notions of Poverty: Toward an Authentic Understanding of Education and Class
• Community Dialogue on Unity and Diversity

I'm glad our community is intentional about this conversation and look forward to the increased awareness that will result. I'm proud we can be a small part of it. Get a brochure for the event here.

Library building study 2009

There's more unemployment. The world's economy continues to degrade, and is not likely to significantly improve before next year. Appleton voters defeated two school referenda. Is this any time to be planning to grow the library?

Emphatically, yes.

There are three reasons this is a good time for planning. First, to plan is not to build, but to be ready to build when the time is right. Second, the need to do this was well established years ago, and strongly demonstrated again in the study done last year, even before the economic downtourn. Third, the worsening economy has made the library even more important in many lives.

The library's volume of business has been growing steadily for years, but in recent months has grown in leaps with the economic problems. The added library use gives us a preview of how crowded we will continue to be without more space. The poor economy has re-emphasized our need to find new efficiencies in operations, even while it reminds us that we need to plan for brighter days.

Our 2008 study, involving about 1,000 community members in surveys, focus groups, interviews and town hall meetings, reaffirmed that our library needs a larger space designed to efficiently provide 21st century services. This year, we will work with architects to roughly lay out spaces to do this work. We'll plan sizes, adjacencies, and functions. We'll look at cost options for a new building vs. remodeling current space. We'll get a vision of what could be.

When that vision will be realized may be uncertain. But it is certain that we need to be ready for a better future and move in that direction. The staff and Board of our library will keep talking and will keep involving the community. We won't go forward until this city is ready to go forward, but this is a good time to plan: realistically and hopefully looking toward the future.

I Love My Library Dinner 2009

Post Crescent coverage of Prime Time

Reporter Cheryl Anderson from the Post-Crescent did a nice article:

Cheryl Anderson: It's Prime Time again for library's literacy program
February 10, 2009

Each Wednesday evening, 31 children and parents gather at the Appleton Public Library to share a nutritious meal and then a story at the multilingual, multigenerational Prime Time Family Reading Time. ...

I posted a story about this program last month, and I continue to be proud of our children's staff and thankful for the grants and volunteers that make this program possible. We've seen some of the families participating in the Summer Library Program, so we have reason to think the program is effective. I'm hopeful we'll find the resources to make it a regular service.

Building on our support

[my before-dinner speech at the I Love My Library dinner, Feb. 8, 2009]

There are a lot of people to thank for tonight, starting with all of you who came here in support of our library.

The best way I can show my appreciation is not to talk too long, because I know we're all waiting to enjoy a good meal. But I need to thank all the people whose names you see in your program: it takes a lot of work and not a few dollars to make an evening like this happen. So I first want to thank all those who sponsored, who solicited and donated silent auction items, and who did the work to prepare for tonight. Volunteers and staff have worked together so we can enjoy this evening.

Librarians are frequently asked questions, and a question I hear often is "What's happening with the Library building?" And to briefly share the answer with all of you, we're still looking at questions and making plans. We know that this is hard time for the economy of the whole planet as well as Appleton, and this is not the time to spend millions of dollars. But we also know that as things are difficult, libraries become more important to more people.

My job is to look at the long-term library service needs of our community. Most of what we do, libraries have been doing for millennia: collecting knowledge, organizing and making it available in service of education, commerce, spirit and community. More recently, public libraries are devoted to self improvement, helping people make informed decisions, family literacy, assistance in making productive use of online resources and providing open gathering places in a world where communication and learning uses electronics but depends on human interaction.

We know that libraries change lives and provide gateways and tools for transformation. We are fortunate to enjoy community support from donors, elected officials, volunteers and library users. We are fortunate to be part of a community that values learning and is rich in resources, with opportunities to collaborate with schools, community groups and other libraries in programs like Project Promise, Fox Cities Reads and the Fox Cities Book Festival.

What does that mean for the library building? Last year's study told us that we need more space for library users and materials. But even more, we need a facility that's designed to let us deliver service efficiently, that aids in security, that offers opportunities to access adequate electronic resources, that offers readily available spaces for gathering and programs. And so this year, we're going to look at some alternative layouts and costs. We're not ready to design a building, or to decide on location, until we first design some spaces and arrangements to provide the services the community needs from us. We'll be doing that this Spring and will keep everyone informed of the discussions, so the decision-makers on the Library Board and City Hall can determine next steps and a timeframe.

Neither last year's study nor this year's could have happened without funding from our Library Foundation. This effort has truly been a public-private partnership and I'm grateful that all of you have gotten us where we are. We know that as we go forward, we will continue to need community support on many levels. The staff will do our best, but the decisions about the library belong to all of you.

Thank you -- and now here's Rev. Will Bloedow to say grace for us.

Grace for the library: a wing and a prayer

At last night's Library Foundation fundraiser, the "I Love My Library" dinner, Library Board member Rev. Will Bloedow offered the following:

In 1943 Harold Adamson and Jimmie McHugh wrote a patriotic song which tells of a damaged warplane barely able to limp back to base.

ON A WING AND A PRAYER
Comin’ in on a wing and a prayer
Comin’ in on a wing and a prayer
Though there’s one motor gone
We can still carry on
Comin’ in on a wing and a prayer.

This image and song came to mind for me on January 15 of this year when US Air Flight 1459 came in on a wing and lots of prayers as it landed in the Hudson River in New York City. The image of 155 people standing literally ON A WING speaks to where we as Americans and Fox City residents stand at this junction of history. On that day the people of the world witnessed how a potential tragedy was averted by TEAM WORK (pilot, crew, air controller and rescuers working together, helping all to live to see a new day).

Tonight we gather to celebrate our library, an important wing on which we stand together (community, city government, corporations, patrons of the library, library staff), all part of a great team that not only hopes but believes that we will live to see many new days as we live into the future.

So with this in mind, let us pray as we gather together:

To you who is the guide for love and life, we give thanks for the wing of community and support.

We give thanks for the wing of teamwork and collaboration. We pray for hope, understanding, new vision and the courage to take risks.

Bless our fellowship, our food, and give us a continuing appreciation for the Appleton Public Library which provides sources of uplift for the people of the Fox Cities and beyond.