Library Legislative Day 2009

Braving bone-chilling winds, a group of seven from southwest Wisconsin traveled to Madison on February 3 to advocate for libraries at the State Capitol. Traditionally in late January-early February, WLA and WEMTA arrange for visits with legislators by library advocates. This day is known as Library Legislative Day (LLD).

This was my fourth or fifth trip to the Capitol for LLD. As someone with a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science, I admit that I’ve always found the process enjoyable. Given the impending budget shortfall both this fiscal year and for the next biennium, I expected that the discussions would be difficult and we would be told to expect the worst. What our group experienced, however, was something completely different.

Every one of the five legislators we visited was very positive and supportive about libraries and their role, especially in these hard economic times. And based on what other librarians had to say, our experience was the norm, not the exception.

I’ve been pondering why, in a year that is so difficult, was our reception so great? Our message was virtually the same as in years past, so that’s not it. Hmmm…. And then another article hit my desk about the importance of libraries in this economy. Could it be that the message reached our audience before we could deliver it? It’s been nearly impossible these days not to have heard about the increased demand for library services in Wisconsin and across the country in the current economic climate.

And while it’s easy to ride on this wave of positive feelings, it also a call to action. Just think of what we can accomplish if we simply promote ourselves every chance we get. I plan to make a point of sending news to our representatives on a regular basis from now on, and I encourage all of you to do the same.

Held a program with outstanding attendance? Take a picture and send it to your Mayor, City Council, State Representative and Senator. Take every opportunity to share your stories with those in positions of authority. I fear that if we don’t, we’ll have missed a golden opportunity. After all, we don’t want to highlight the value of libraries only in response to a crisis.

---Krista

As usual, these opinions are my own and do not reflect on SWLS.

Libraries as Investment

From the Director's Desk:

Just about everywhere you turn, from the internet, to newspapers to the national media, people are talking about libraries. In most areas, library usage has skyrocketed as the economy worsens. This is no surprise to us in the library world. We’ve been here before, and unfortunately, will be here again, I’m sure.

While the spotlight on libraries is good, there’s one aspect of it that concerns me—and that ‘s the continual use of the word “free”. “Free” books, DVDs, internet...the list goes on and on. And while we may think this is good to promote “free”, are we really being honest with our patrons?

Now wait a minute, you might say, library services are free! We don’t expect patrons to break out their checkbooks or credit cards at the circulation desk (well, apart from paying those pesky fines). And no one has to feed dollar bills into a machine to get an hour’s worth of internet, do they? And I will concede your points.

However, as any trustee or library director knows, library services are anything but free. Each and every month, bills are paid for materials, supplies and utilities. Every two weeks or so, staff is compensated for their time. Once a year, negotiations for funds to provide library services are held with municipal bodies. There is a cost to providing library services. And, taxpayers pay them once (or twice) a year.

Let’s consider a change in our thinking and rhetoric about library services:

Libraries are not free. They are investments.

The recent study by NorStar Economics showed that, in Wisconsin, for every dollar spent on libraries, there’s return of $4.06. And it’s not just in Wisconsin either. In Chicago, when the city targets a neighborhood for economic development, guess what the first thing they do is? Why, it’s a branch of the Chicago Public Library. Those branches are the first step in turning a neighborhood around.

Library services are not free—they are, however, provided at no addition cost to the patron. Patrons “invest” in the library at tax time. Library patrons get a return on their investment each time they use the library. The rate of that return is based on the amount of use. Heavy users get their investment back plus that of their neighbors. Non-users don’t see a return on their investment, but it is a choice they can review at any time.

I also fear that our focus “free” negatively affects another “f” word—funding. If people don’t associate costs with public libraries, then how to we expect them to advocate (yep, there’s that word again) for libraries when we need them. We need to be transparent about what it really costs to provide those much needed services. And how those services help promote the well-being of the community. We need to show people what they pay for library services and what a good deal it is.

I encourage all of you to reconsider your use of “free” when it comes to promoting library services. Remember— library funding is a sound investment in the well-being of your community, this state and country.


—Krista
**Note--this is MY opinion--not an official opinion of the Southwest Wisconsin Library System

Mark your Calendars

Upcoming events in late January/February

January 30: Annual Report Support at Headquarters--email Krista to RSVP

February 3: Library Legislative Day, Madison--register at http://www.wla.lib.wi.us/legis/day/index.htm

February 6: Annual Report Support at Headquarters--email Krista to RSVP

February 13: Annual Report Support at Headquarters--email Krista to RSVP;
College of DuPage webinar: "Targeting the Ages: Programming that hits theMark"

February 16: SWLS closed for President's Day

February 20: Annual Report Support at Headquarters--email Krista to RSVP

February 27: PLAC & Net SW Director's Council Meetings, Headquarters

Add it Up : Libraries make the difference

The ALA web site now has a new advocacy page targeting library services to youth. The site is filled with advocacy strategies, statistics and more on how important library services are to children of all ages, preschool to teen.

In this tough economic climate, it's more important than ever to have conversations with our local, state and federal officials on how libraries contribute to the well-being of a community, state and nation.

Check out the web page at: http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/advocacy/advocacyuniversity/additup/index.cfm

A President's view of Libraries

In preparing for Library Legislative Day, I ran across an article from American Libraries August 2005 which featured a speech that President Obama, then Senator Obama gave at the opening session of ALA conference.

Here's the link: http://www.ala.org/ala/alonline/resources/selectedarticles/obama05.cfm

It's worth a read.

Reminder: WiscNet work on January 9, 2009

On Friday, January 9 from 6 am to 6:05 am, WiscNet will be doing some work that will affect all libraries in SWLS.

It's possible that the online catalog will not be available during that brief period of time. OverDrive access may also be affected.

Online Continuing Education Courses from UW-Madison SLIS-CEU

From Anna Palmer:

Continuing Education Services
School of Library and Information Studies University of Wisconsin-Madison http://www.slis.wisc.edu/continueed

Online Continuing Education Courses
Winter/Spring 2009

Public Library Administration
January 7-March 31
http://www.slis.wisc.edu/continueed/plaadmin.html

Basic Reference
February 9-May 2
http://www.slis.wisc.edu/continueed/basicref.html

Fundamentals of Cataloging
February 9-May 2
http://www.slis.wisc.edu/continueed/funcat.html

Adult Book Discussions in the Public Library February 16-March 13 http://www.slis.wisc.edu/continueed/adultdiscuss.html

Connecting Teens with the Best in New Teen Lit February 23-April 5 http://www.slis.wisc.edu/continueed/connectteens.html

Library 2.0: 101
March 2-March 29
http://www.slis.wisc.edu/continueed/lib20.html

Children, Technology, and the Library
March 9-April 3
http://www.slis.wisc.edu/continueed/kidtech.html

Graphic Novels in the Library
March 11-April 8
http://www.slis.wisc.edu/continueed/graphicnovels.html

Spanish for the Library
Begins the 1st of each month
http://www.slis.wisc.edu/continueed/spanishtutorial.html

Questions? Contact Anna Palmer, ahpalmer@wisc.edu