PVLD Director's Blog

Congratulations to our new State Librarian Stacey Aldrich!

I just heard that my friend and colleague Stacey Aldrich has been appointed the new State Librarian of California.  Stacey has been in the acting State Librarian since her predecessor, Susan Hildreth, left to become the Director of the Seattle Public Library last spring.  I'm thrilled!

Stacey, at the relatively young age of 39, has nearly 20 years of library experience as well as training and experience as a professional Futurist. 

I've had the pleasure of getting to know Stacey as a fellow mentor on the Eureka Leadership program and through working together on several taskforces.  She is energetic, smart, politically astute, and a lot of fun.

Her passion for exploring the further horizons of the future and trying to understand what it means for libraries, her commitment to nurturing the next generation of library leaders, and her commitment to finding ways to unite libraries across this large and diverse state are just what California needs right now and I am looking forward to working with her as she takes on this challenging task.

Congratulations Stacey!

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.... 

Twitter and the transformation of communication

This TED video of Clay Shirky talking about "How Social Media Can Make History" has been floating around the blogosphere for little while now.  I just had a chance to watch it, and found it to be one of the most succinct and compelling descriptions yet of how the Internet is transforming not only traditional media but how people communicate and how organizations and institutions need to respond. 

The entire video provides food for thought, but I was particulaly taken by his description of a new world of what he calls media, and I would call information, that is produced locally (i.e. everywhere), by amateurs, extremely quickly (essentially in real time) and in abundance...and where it's distribution is not one to one, or even one to many, but many to many in a rich network of messages and conversations. 

Mr. Shirky's talk is in large part about how this change in the very nature of information and communication is making old models of institutional control of individuals irrelevent and driving new models of organization based on convening and supporting groups and conversations. He uses China's attemtps to control access to the Internet use as an example of the former (particularly relevent given news in the last day or so that China has suspended access to Twitter and Facebook to prevent the dissemination of information about ethnic riots in Xinjiang province) and Barack Obama's presidential campaign as an example of the latter.

He doesn't mention librarians or libraries at all, but I couldn't help thinking about what all of this means for a profession and institutions that originated to collect, organize, and disseminate information/media in a world that was the inverse of that being created by the Internet - i.e. where information/media were produced centrally, by "professionals", disseminated slowly, transmitted "one way" to a person or group, and scarce/expensive.  This model is at the very heart of the professional library disciplines of cataloging, collection development, and reference and I have to wonder how they will change in this new world.

My own view (as previously stated on this blog!) is that the role of the librarian will need to move from collecting, organizing (controlling?), and disseminating information to  fostering connections between people and to a large extent letting the information take care of itself.  We're already seeing this role emerge in the growing importance of library "programming" (speakers, events, and activities) programs in general, and at least here at PVLD we are particularly seeing an interest people in ongoing clubs (like PVLD's book groups, story times, history discussion group, chess clubs, etc.) and "series" type programs such as the concerts organized by librarian Ashely Burdick or the Cine-Monde movie series - which provide not only entertainment and learning opportunities, but foster intreaction. conversation, and relationships. Interestingly in our case these ongoing programs are increasingly supported and even led by volunteers and to an extent self-organizing.

I can see a future in which less an less of a librarian's time is spent on the traditional activities of collection management (which increasingly can increasingly be automated based on actual usage data and techniques such as standing orders) and reference (which becomes less important in a world where information and the tools to find it are ubiquitous and people feel capable of finding what they need on their own) and more time is spent as Mr. Shirky puts is "Creating an environment for convening and supporting groups".

And since the video doesn't always display correctly - here's the link! http://www.ted.com/talks/clay_shirky_how_cellphones_twitter_facebook_can_make_history.html

Libraries on the front lines of the recession

  For all those who wonder if there is a role for libraries in the age of the Internet - here's more compelling evidence of why we matter.  Librarian Eva Gronowska of the Southfield Public Library outside of Detroit has written an amazing and moving description of how the recession has affected her work and her community in the April 6th issue of Newsweek. 

We are seeing the same trends even in a relatively affluent area like the Palos Verdes Peninsula - more job-seekers using our computers and other resources; books on personal finance, frugality, and related topics flying off the shelves of our "rainy day" display; and library use that grows each month.

On a Friday afternoon at the end of a very long week Ms. Gronowska's article was a heartwarming reminder of why we are here...and that at the heart of the myriad roles we play for our communities is the most important of all, "a bastion of hope".

Web 2.0 and Government - a study in contrasts

I spend a fair amount of time reading and thinking about how libraries can use technology to expand our range of services and our reach into the communities we serve.  While the use of "web 2.0" technologies by libraries is growing, the topic is not without some controversy as we wrestle with how to balance the open-ness of the social web with our professional commitment to individual privacy, whether gaming or using social networking sites are appropriate uses for library computers, and even how to provide adequate bandwidth to support streaming video.

That's why I was interested to read about two very different situations and approaches regarding the use of technology by government entities.

First, this article from the Washington Post about the current state of the technology in the White House (thanks to librarian Michael Barb for sharing).  While the description is shocking in its own right, its even more shocking when contrasted to the smart and aggressive use of web 2.0/social networking tools by the Obama campaign, to Obama's obvious reliance on technology-based communication as evidenced by the great Blackberry controversy, and to the Obama teams' obvious intent open up communication between the White House and citizens as evidenced by the new www.whitehouse.gov website and  Office of Public Liaison. 

What a contrast to how the Air Force is harnessing social media to engage all 330,000 Air Force personnel in communicating with the public as described in this post from the Web Ink Now blog.

If the Air Force with its security concerns, classified information, and military secrets is willing to empower everyone from the newest recruit to top brass to use You Tube, Twitter, and other social networking tools to communicate not just with family and friends but with the world at large you've got to wonder what the White House, or for that matter libraries, have been afraid of! 

That said, discussions like this give me hope that the Air Force won't be alone in its efforts to use social technology tools to transform the way government communicates! (Thanks Michael Sauers at the Travelin' Librarian)

Tough Times for Libraries in Tough Times

I've posted a few times about how busy libraries get when times get tough.  It seems that every blog posting and magazine article on saving money includes a reminder of all of the free resources that are available from your local public library.

A few days ago I posted about how use of our PVLD libraries has grown over the past year, and Tuesday evening NBC Nightly News ran this story about the challenges faced by libraries nationwide as we try to serve more people with tighter budgets - 

Things aren't as dire financially for PVLD as they are for some of the libraries featured in the story, but we still face some significant challenges. Local property taxes make up nearly 88% of our budget, and although the housing market on the Palos Verdes Peninsula has held up better than in most areas we still expect our revenues to be flat at best.  State funding typically makes up only 1% of our budget, but given the current fiscal crisis in Sacramento we will be lucky to see any of that money.  Revenues from our Passport Service have also declined as fewer people plan international travel, and falling interest rates mean we are generating much lower investment income.  Couple the revenue challenges with expenses that are rising due to both inflation and increased library use and it is going to be a challenging few years.

In this environment the support we receive from the community via the Peninsula Friends of the Library  is even more important than ever.  Without the support of the Friends the community would not enjoy our array of events and activities including the Summer Reading program, special events for kids and teens; free concerts, movies, and more.  We would also not be able to keep the Peninsula Center Library open on Sunday afternoons (and Sundays are our busiest days on a per hour basis), and could not have gotten the Annex off the ground. If having access to outstanding library services is important to you, consider joining or making a gift to the Friends!  

A gloomy future for California?

Yesterday I started my term as Chair of the California Library Association Legislative Committee with a meeting at which our lobbyists gave us an update on the truly dismal state of our California State budget and the apparent unwillingness of our elected leaders to put aside partisan differences and self-interest to deal with the profound issues that face the state (a small example - the Governor has called a special session of the legislature to deal with the budget, but many legislators are not in attendance because they are in places like China, Europe, and Maui on "study tours" funded by various special interest groups).

Today I was skimming through some blogs and came across this article from the American Magazine  (thank you Michael Wade of Execupundit for the link). 

As a fourth generation Californian whose family came to California in the very early 20th century because of the promise of economic prosperity, and as someone who went to public schools in the late 1960s and early 1970s when California's education system was among the best in the nation, I was saddened by the picture Joel Kotkin paints in the article. 

As someone who left California in 1975, moved back briefly in the mid-late 1980s, returned regularly to visit family, and now has returned for good I have witnessed firsthand the decline in California's physical, social, and educational infrastructure against a backdrop of my experiences living in other countries and other states that have managed to avoid the kind of profound change for the worse that California has experienced.

As a resident who cares about my community and my state; as a public servant committed to improving the quality of life in the communities I serve; as a Library Director who believes firmly in the value of libraries in enhancing the economic, educational, social, and cultural vitality of communities; and as someone deeply involved in advocating for libraries across the State I want to believe that we can do better than Mr. Kotkin predicts.

My hope is that in accordance with the old Chinese proverb, the current crisis will at long last stimulate fundamental change in the governance structures and processes of this state that I love...I just wish that my experiences and observations of how we got here made me more optimistic about our ability to change. 

Gloomy thoughts....

Budget Uncertainty Continues - We Need Your Help!

Late yesterday I received an update on the current situation regarding the State budget (or lack thereof) from our California Library Association lobbyists.  The full text of the update follows, but I thought it would be helpful to talk about the impact on PVLD.

PVLD actually receives very little direct State funding.  We get a small (well under $1 per capita) allocation from the Public Library Fund, and also get partial reimbursement for the cost of providing library services and materials to non-residents through InterLibrary Loan and through direct lending of library materials to non-residents who hold a PVLD library card.  Together these make up 1% of our operating revenue.

We also based our 2008/2009 budget on the assumption of a 10% cut in this state funding - which is what it appears that the Republicans are currently proposing.  So - if the current Democratic budget proposal were to move forward we would see a very small increase in revenue.  If the Republican proposal moves forward we would essentially receive what we have budgeted.

There is, however an indirect impact as many other public libraries rely more heavily on State funds than we do, and also depend on already pressured local city and county general fund revenues.  As their revenues are cut they are likely to cut book budgets and services, which could drive more people from surrounding communities to use PVLD libraries.  It also will have a disproportionate impact on poorer communities.

Cuts to programs like the English Language Acquisition and Literacy program do not directly affect PVLD but are of community interest as they provide one of the few sources of free basic literacy education to the many adults of all backgrounds whohave poor literacy skills.

 The biggest concern for PVLD is the potential for the State to borrow local property taxes as these make up 87% of our budget, and if the State borrows the maximum allowable we would lose as much as $500,000 and we are not optimistic that it would be repaid.  The good news is that neither the Democratic or Republican budget proposals currently include borrowing local property taxes.  The bad news is that until there is an approved budget signed by the Governor anything can happen, and borrowing from local governments could come back on the table in a heartbeat.

PVLD staff are working hard to identify and implement cost saving and revenue generating measures so that we  can weather the current budget uncertainty with as little impact on library service levels as possible. 

We are not filling vacant positions, have cut back our security guard service, will be making some modest adjustments to hours of operation (for example closing on Christmas Eve and closing the Annex a bit earlier each evening), have eliminated lesser used online databases, and are cutting costs wherever we can.  If the State does end up borrowing our property taxes we will need to look at more drastic cuts to our budget for library books and other materials (movies, CDs, etc) as well as further cuts to operating hours.

We are also working on ways to enhance revenues.  We now offer Passport Services on Saturday mornings, and are planning to host weddings at the Malaga Cove Library in the near future.

You can also help!  First and foremost, contact the Legislators identified below and remind them of the importance of public libraries and that borrowing local property tax revenues solves nothing and hurts local communities.You can also join the Peninsula Friends of the Library , make a donation to the Friends, and patronize the Friends of the Library Book Sales and Library Gift Shop.  The Friends provide essential supplemental funding for library services. 

Thank you for your help - now here's the budget update.  Read it and weep!  (Since it may not display well on your screen, you can click here to get the full text!)

News From the Capitol - Action Alert Budget Update and New Threats to Library Funding More Info Action Requested I. Session Ends - No Surprise, No Budget On the evening of Sunday, August 31st, (the deadline for passing ordinary, majority-vote bills), the Legislature concluded the 2007-08 Legislative regular Session. Both the Assembly and Senate remain in session as Sunday's deadline does not apply to fiscal bills such as the State Budget, and related "Budget Trailer Bills," as well as "urgency" measures, all of which require a 2/3 vote. Because of the Governor's previous threat to veto all bills until the Legislature passes a Budget, the Legislative leadership is holding close to 700 bills in "engrossing and enrollment," a final step where bills are properly prepared before going to the Governor. September 30th is the last day for the Governor to sign or veto the bills that were passed by the Legislature before September 1st, and rumors circulate as to what the Governor will do if the Legislature dumps 700 bills on his desk prior to the deadline. II. Budget Battle Continues - Senate Republican Proposal Recommends Cuts or Suspension of Many Library Programs For weeks, Assembly and Senate Democrats have been critical of the Republicans for insisting on major Budget cuts to balance the Budget without indicating where the cuts would be made, or offering an alternative Budget plan. Last Friday, Senate President pro Tem Don Perata brought up the Governor's so-called "August Compromise Budget," with a few modifications, on the Senate Floor for an hour-long debate. He said the Democrats would agree to the Governor's proposals for a temporary 3 year sales tax increase, no borrowing from local government, an agreement to "securitize" the State Lottery, and deeper cuts to schools, child care, and health and welfare, etc. Senator Perata stated, "The only demand we did not give the Governor is the tax cut after the temporary sales tax increase expires." When it was obvious there were no Republican votes, even for the Governor's "compromise," Senator Perata angrily commented: "Eight months later, two months late, and with little to offer; my friends across the aisle, it's your turn. Either vote to approve the compromise that the Governor tells us has your support, or offer an alternative acceptable to the majority and the Governor." Republican Senator Sam Aanestad subsequently asked Senator Perata if the Republicans were to prepare an alternative Budget, would the Democrats allow it to be brought up on the Floor for a vote, to which Senator Perata said: "Yes." The following day, Saturday, the Senate Republicans, with involvement of Assembly Republicans, called a press conference to introduce their alternative which they call a "no tax increase Budget." Without going into a lot of detail, the Republican plan rejects the sales tax increase, proposes to "securitize" the Lottery for about $2 billion, and takes Redevelopment Agency funds in the amount of approximately $350 million. It also makes substantial cuts, similar to those proposed by the Governor. Like the Governor's plan, it does not borrow from local government property taxes and transportation funds. Additionally, the Republican plan calls for a number of Budget reforms and so-called "economic stimulus" proposals, such as workers schedule flexibility (10 hour days) for employees, many of which are likely to be opposed by Democrats. Governor Schwarzenegger criticized the proposal saying "I applaud the Republicans for proposing a budget and moving the debate forward. That said, their budget is not fiscally responsible because it simply pushes our problems to next year. We were sent to Sacramento to solve problems once and for all - not kick the can down the alley for others to deal with in the future." Monday afternoon the Senate held a rare holiday Floor session, as Senator Perata has scheduled sessions for every afternoon this week. The Republicans announced that they would not be able to translate their one-page Budget outline into actual Budget bill form that can be voted upon, until Friday. The Assembly has not met since Sunday on the Floor, but the Assembly Budget Committee met this afternoon to hear the so-called "Republican Proposal." The committee hearing began amidst confusion as the committee was not working from an actual piece of legislation, and technically they were working off of a Senate working draft proposal. Several Republican members of the Assembly Budget Committee asked why the committee was holding a hearing when the hearing would be more appropriately the purview of the Senate, while another Republican asked, "Did you even invite anyone from the Senate Republicans?" The Chair, Assemblyman Laird, responded that it was the apparent "misunderstanding" of the Democrats that both Republican Leaders (Senate and Assembly) were endorsing the plan, as "the Assembly Republican Leader had been present at the press conference" where the plan was rolled out, and subsequently endorsed the plan. The Senate Republican plan contains specific recommendations for cuts or suspension of programs operated by the State Library. In most cases, the Senate Republicans recommend that the majority of the library programs be reduced by 10 percent, not the 5 percent reduction that the Budget Conference Committee ultimately adopted. Specifically, the Senate Republicans are proposing: Proposes a 10 Percent Cut they would, according to the Plan, save an additional $216,000 by an action to "suspend the project altogether until the state's fiscal condition improves (these are the savings beyond a 10% cut.)" During the hearing this afternoon, the Assembly Budget Committee briefly compared the three Budget proposals (the Governor's, the Democrats', and the Senate Republicans), as it pertains to Proposition 98 and the securitization of the lottery against the education dollars. Several education leaders voiced their opposition to the plan, claiming the complex lottery scheme could result in a $1.9 billion loss to education. The Senate Republican proposal also makes significant cuts that health advocates called "devastating" and "unsafe" particularly for Child Protective Services and In Home Health Care programs. At the conclusion of the hearing, Chairman Laird noted that the committee would wait to take any action on the Senate Republican proposal until, likely, next Monday, at which time, they anticipate an actual piece of implementing legislation will be in print. At this point, as you might surmise, both sides remain far apart, and without new revenues being part of the mix, the proposed cuts to libraries will remain on the table and local property taxes are still at risk. ACTION NEEDED Please take a moment today to write the members of the "Big 5" Leadership and urge their strong opposition to the Senate Republican Budget Proposal, and please note in your letters, the devastating effect it would have on the five major library programs listed above. The Honorable Arnold Schwarzenegger Governor, State of California State Capitol Sacramento, CA. 95814 The Honorable Don Perata Senate President pro Tempore State Capitol Sacramento, CA. 95814 The Honorable Dave Cogdill Senate Republican Leader State Capitol Sacramento, CA. 95814 The Honorable Karen Bass Speaker of the California Assembly State Capitol Sacramento, CA. 95814 The Honorable Mike Villines Assembly Republican Leader State Capitol Sacramento, CA. 95814 Note: When you send your letters, will you please cc: the following two individuals who have been strong supporters for these library programs: Assemblyman John Laird, Chair Assembly Budget Committee State Capitol Sacramento, CA. 95814 Senator Denise Moreno Ducheny, Chair Senate Budget Committee State Capitol Sacramento, CA 95814