PVLD Director's Blog

Who says librarians don't rock!

Thanks to my Facebook friends Paula and Eileen for sharing this!  Very appropriate for me to see it on a day when a birthday is looming.  Also, sometimes working in a library sure feels like being in a roller derby and this is turning out to be one of those weeks!

So you think you make rational decisions?

Something to think about on a sweltering Friday!

Micro-volunteering

Here at PVLD we rely heavily on volunteers to supplement our staff.  Over 220 volunteers gave nearly 29,000 hours of their time last year...that's the equivalent of about 15 full-time employees or about a 30% addition to our full-time-equivalent paid staff! 

Most of our volunteer opportunities require people to make a substantial and regular time commitment and to come to one of the libraries, and most of our volunteers are either high school students who leave us when they head off to college, or retirees. 

At the same time, we know that societal trends and changing demographics mean that this model of location-based volunteering is under threat.  The contingent of older volunteers who are willing to make this kind of commitment is aging, and the Baby Boomers are increasingly looking for volunteer opportunities that can be done to fit in with their busy lives, on their schedule, and that capitalize on their skills and life interests.  Coming to the library every week to shelve the new magazines and newspapers or work in the library shop just isn't appealing to them.  Students are also increasingly busy and find it hard to commit to a regular schedule, although the fact that volunteering looks good on college applications is a powerful incentive.

That's why I was intrigued by this new online service that delivers what it calls "micro-volunteering" opportunities to people's mobile phones.  Essentially organizations can post volunteer opportunities that can be done remotely and when convenient for the "volunteer".  The Extraordinaries offers "on demand volunteerism" by mobile phone.  The opportunities posted on its home page are fascinating - documenting instances of government waste, posting stories that put a face on the immigration debate, contributing to an online map showing the locations of Automated Defibrillators around the world, adding tags (descriptors) to images in an online virtual arts library, reporting bird sightings to the Audubon Society, providing coaching and feedback to someone learning English....even the Library of Congress is using it to get people to help tag images in their digital image collection!

While this will never replace what volunteers do within our library walls, I can see some interesting applications for PVLD - for example adding tags and reviews to the items in our online catalog, testing website updates or databases and giving us feedback, posting information about the library or the Friends of the Library to various social networking sites (e.g. asking people to post PVLD/PFL information to their Facebook page or send it out on their Twitter accounts), adding tags to our local history photos and other digital photos, sending in testimonials/photos of themselves using the library for use in our marketing and fundraising efforts. 

Right now The Extraordinaries is still in beta, and is only available for the Iphone.  I've downloaded the Iphone app and will be following its progress...and maybe even trying out some of the listed opportunities.  I'd also love to hear any ideas you have for how PVLD could leverage this new tool!

Tough times for schools

I confess that I spent more time working during my vacation than I probably should have, but I spent a lot of time waiting around...for my nephew to go on rides at Knott's Berry Farm (I am a confirmed coward in his mind since I won't go on anything scarier than the log ride) and while he tried on shoes and clothes (he's a shopper, and I'm definitely not!)so checking my email on my Iphone not only helped pass the time, it made my re-entry today much smoother.

I also had the privilege of attending some of the Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District's management retreat on Thursday morning while my young visitors slept in.  I appreciated the opportunity to spend time with PVPUSD administrators and Principals, and to learn in more depth about some of the challenges our local schools are facing.

School Superintendent Walker Williams presented the "State of the District and there were many parallels between the PVPUSD tale and ours - from declining revenues to fewer programs to cash flow challenges to what Walker termed "enterprise" efforts to generate revenue through  fee-based programs to the Peninsula Education Foundation's commitment to double their level of support.

At the same time, there were some substantial differences that made me glad I don't have Walker's job.  Per student "average daily attendance" funding from the state has declined 18% over the past two years, and there is every expectation that this could go down even further as the State economy continues its freefall and the expectation is that public agency funding will lag 12-18 months behind the general economic recovery.  PVPUSD relies on the State for 81% of its funding (by comparison only 1% of PVLD's funding comes from the State) so there is little hope of a turnaround any time soon. 

The net result is that despite the Peninsula Education Foundation raising its level of support from $1.1 million to $2 million this school year, and for the first time funding classroom teachers in additional to supplemental programs, PVPUSD will have 40 fewer teachers to support essentially the same number of students. 

Of particular interest to PVLD is that instead of having both library aides and technology aides at the elementary schools, Prinicipals will have funding for less than 15 hours/week of non-classified support staff and will have to choose how to deploy those funds with the likely scenario being another year with unstaffed school libraries.  

Yikes!  

In the face of these tough times both insitutions are facing, PVLD and PVPUSD continue to work together to  coordinate expenditures, to further our shared educational mission, and to enhance the quality of life (and the property values!) on the Peninsula, although with staff in both organizations stretched thin it isn't going to be easy.... 

Vacation!

I'm heading off on vacation - back at work on the 24th. We're hosting our nieces and nephew (ages 20, 18, and 14) so it will be fun!

Don't expect any new posts, but in the meantime I thought I'd share the "State of the District" presentation I will be giving at tonight's Board of Trustees meeting! Since my favorite presentation-sharing site Slideshare.net let me down today, here it is as a pdf.

Download State of the District 08 09

Reading real books

(Note this is a re-post as I had to fix a glitch!)

After my blog post about the Kindle last week I got plenty Facebook comments from friends and colleagues, most of whom are Kindle fans...but I still have this little niggle about whether an e-book will ever replace a real, physical book. 

That niggle got more pronounced with two items in the media this week.  The first is an article by David Ulin on The Lost Art of Reading from Sunday's Los Angeles Times that our Adult Services Manager Sylvia Richardson brought to my attention. Its not about e-books per se, but it did make me wonder whether there is something about the physical nature of a book - the act of turning pages, and even the smell of the paper, that lends itself to reading as the contemplative act that Mr. Ulin describes.  It's also hard for me to imagine that a device that allows one to flip from e-book to website to blog at the push of a button would not offer temptations and distractions that a confessed multi-tasker like me would find impossible to resist...thereby making it even harder to immerse myself in the book at hand. For me, at least, I think curling up in a quiet room with a real, paper book is the only way to experience the distancing from the day-to-day world that is a true joy of reading.

This morning, I heard this item on National Public Radio's Morning Edition -

I love author Jonathan Lethem's description of reading as a "very private, eccentric, intense journey" and I confess that I hadn't really thought about the privacy implications of digital books.  As a member of a profession that has long been fiercely protective of peoples' right to maintain the privacy of what they read, and yet at the same time a person who values the openness that the Internet provides and has questioned whether my profession sometimes oversteps people's right and responsibility to decide how private they want their reading (or any other information about them) to be I found the NPR item very thought-provoking.

I do think that the privacy concerns raised by the Electronic Frontier Foundation and ACLU are legitimate, and I agree that an approach that Google's "just trust us" approach is inadequate, but I also wonder whether a requirement that all data about reader behavior be deleted isn't going too far.  Shouldn't there be a role for the individual reader in determining whether/how data about them is used?

The bottom line?  I don't think e-books will replace reading "real" physical books in my life any time soon.  I may break down and get a Kindle (and I've already downloaded the Kindle app for my IPhone even though I haven't used it yet) for benefits such as being able to load it with travel guides, or to access newspapers when I travel...but when it comes time for what David Ulin calls "real reading" you'll find me with an old-fashioned book in my hands!

One Book, One Peninsula

Last night was the culmination of PVLD's first ever One Book, One Peninsula program. Our book was Adventures in Darkness by actor/musician/athlete/writer/motivational speaker (and Peninsula resident) Tom Sullivan.

About 200 people (and 3 guide dogs in training) braved a cool and windy evening to hear Tom speak, sing, and inspire on the roof of the Peninsula Center Library. Tom and his production manager Austin put on an amazing show...and Tom has been extraordinarily generous with his time and support throughout the planning of the One Book program. He even donated our essay contest prize - a private lunch with him.

We also honored the winners of the essay contest - an adult, high school student and younger student who each read their essay about "Fences I Have Jumped".

We've talked about doing a "one book" program almost as long as I've been at PVLD but it took the initiative and hard work of Adult Services Manager Sylvia Richardson to turn words into action.

Sylvia and Librarians Louise Beebe and Ashley Burdick selected the book, contacted Tom, and did all of the planning and publicity. And there was a LOT of planning and organization to be done!

They were supported by our Facilities Department, and especially James Davis, who worked with Tom's staff on a challenging set up on the roof.

Other staff including Marjeanne Blinn, Merna Marshall, and Dori Medina and volunteers (especially Peggy Hill) pitched in to help sell books and refreshments.

The end result was a terrific first effort for what we help will be an annual One Book, One Peninsula program and a truly amazing event last night.

Since I had virtually nothing to do with it I also was reminded that sometimes (usually?) the best thing a leader can do is get the h*^!€! out of the way.

Thank you to Sylvia, Tom, and everyone else who contributed - you are all amazing!

Curling Up With a Kindle?

Anyone who knows me knows one of my great pleasures is curling up with a book.  While there is no doubt I am also a technology junkie, I've been very sceptical about e-books...but I have to confess that I am beginning to change my mind.

This started with seeing the first generation Kindle that a colleague bought to take on a European vacation.  The thought of being able to carry around the full text of multiple travel guides on a device that was roughly the size of a single book, and also use that device to download newspapers and other information while travelling was pretty appealing.

Then I got my Iphone, and while it's small size limits its usefulness as a medium for reading I have been amazed at how handy it is for reading newspaper articles and other shorter pieces.

A few weeks ago a friend emailed me to say she was thinking about getting a Kindle for her mother and asked whether the library had any for people to try. We don't but it is an interesting idea if we could find the money and figure out the licensing/copyright issues.

Monday morning as I drove to work I heard this interesting piece by Linda Wertheimer on NPR's Morning Edition (if you don't want to listen you can click here for the transcript):

And then just today as I was surfing some of my favorite blogs while eating lunch I came across this post about the Kindle Iphone app on colleague Genesis Hansen's Wrong Again blog. (As an aside Genesis is a Manager at the Newport Beach Public Library, and an up-and-coming library leader who was one of the inaugural participants in the State Library's Eureka Leadership Program for future library leaders).

Hmm...Linda Wertheimer curls up with her Kindle and Genesis uses her Iphone to have access to multiple books any time, anywhere ...maybe I need to give e-books a try.

On the other hand, since one of my favorite places to read is in the bathtub maybe I should wait for the waterproof version!

Disaster Strikes the Louisville Free Public Library

For the five years prior to returning to California my husband and I lived in Louisville, Kentucky.  My office was a few blocks from the Louisville Free Public Library's main library in downtown Louisville, and while I didn't visit it as often as our charming little neighborhood Carnegie library on Brownsboro Road, colleagues and I did make use of its magazine section at lunch time.

Now it has suffered the kind of disaster that gives Library Directors nightmares - http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20090804/NEWS01/908040355/Main+Library+hit+hard+by+flooding - floodwater (sewage actually!) just pouring in.

This photo is one of many posted by LFPL librarian and IT Manager Greg Schwartz. 

And here's Library Director Craig Buthold wading through the muck.

Right now even the library's website is down as they flooding affected their computer systems.

Interestingly, while the main library copes with this disaster the branch in the Portland neighborhood, which is by the river and hard hit by the flooding, is serving as a Red Cross disaster relief point...another reminder of why libraries are important.

And even as the staff tries to assess the damage they are having to deal with well-meaning people who want to give them their used books.  At a time like this money helps, but used books just make more work and probably don't meet the library's collection needs in any case!

My thoughts are with my colleagues in Louisville...

Money, Money, Money

It's been longer than usual since my last post, mostly because we have been busy dealing with the fallout from the California budget - which includes the State "borrowing" 8% or more of PVLD's property tax revenue.  Since property taxes make up about 87% of our revenue, that's a big hit, and there is no expectation that we will be repaid before June of 2013. That's why my thoughts and energies have been focused on the budgeting rather than blogging.

PVLD has already felt the effect of the economic downturn and lower assessed property values which meant we've already had to overcome an $800,000 budget shortfall (12% of our total budget) for the current fiscal year by trimming library open hours, reducing our purchases of books and other materials for the library collection, eliminating our security guard service, and making cuts in every other budget category.  We've also increased fees for meeting room rentals, overdue items, and movie rentals; added new fees; and expanded our Passport Service in order to bring in more revenue...so finding another $450,000 or more is no easy task.

The good news is that we started really tightening our belt in early 2009 when it became apparent that the State would likely borrow local property tax revenues to solve their own budget problem.  As a result, we ended the 2008/2009 fiscal year with a surplus, and are starting this fiscal year with more money "in the bank" than we had anticipated.  This came as a  surprise, as we thought the budget variances we were seeing during the spring were due to the timing of invoices but they turned out to be real.  Great work by the staff!

The staff has also scoured the budget for further cost savings and have managed to squeeze another $220,000 or so out of the budget through rebidding service contracts, energy management to reduce utilities costs, lower Workers Compensation and general liability insurance premiums, some organizational changes resulting in lower personnel costs, and plain old reduced spending in a number of areas. Again great work by all concerned!

The net result is that we will have a budget deficit this year, but we have sufficient money in our reserves to cover it...albeit with some cash flow challenges.  We are also projecting a budget deficit for next fiscal year, but that assumes we reverse some of the budget cuts from this year.  If we can hold the line on all of those cuts and possibly find some additional revenue sources (we're working hard on that!) we should come close to a balanced budget as long as property values don't drop more than expected.

It's going to be a tough few years though, with revenues projected to grow at no more than 1-2%/year, the spectre of inflation, and a labor contract that seemed very conservative a year ago but has "salaries and related" expenses rising at a significantly greater rate than our revenues.

We'll be paying close attention to every expenditure, thinking "outside the box" about how to generate more revenue, being very cautious about adding new programs given our limited staff and financial resources, and supporting the Friends of the Library in their efforts to expand their fundraising. 

Given what I've seen our staff achieve as we've navigated through the rough budget waters of the past few months, though, I think we'll actually come out the other side of this crisis in good shape, and maybe even stronger than we were....and I don't think that is just wishful thinking!