on Jun 15th, 2011How public libraries can overcome budget cuts through cultural, educational, and business partnerships
By Thomas Badgett
In the current difficult economic times, libraries of all sizes and types face budget cuts, often quite severe. At the same time the need and demand for library services surges. In order to minimize cutbacks libraries need to play to their strengths and promote how much value they offer to anyone who chooses to use them. They need to inform the public that they are available and promote what they offer in the way of services and alternatives to paid entertainment. As the public becomes more aware of libraries and what they offer, they may come to their support and demand more funding from politicians and bureaucrats.
During economic downturns, people cut back on unnecessary spending and seek value on what they do spend funds for. There is no better value than free. Public libraries provide services and materials to users that no competitor can beat because they are usually free. Families seek activities and places they can go to interact, be entertained, and spend quality time together. Libraries provide all this plus educational value, whether it be for self-help, school homework help, free choice learning for lifelong learners, or reference help. Also, libraries can preserve a community’s identity by recording oral histories, housing artifacts, and staging programs informing users of the history and culture of their community as it has evolved. Libraries should play to their strengths as educational and cultural institutions while also promoting their value as free and family friendly social centers.
Ways in which libraries might promote themselves as family-friendly centers include advertising at other family gathering venues such as bowling alleys, movie theaters, ice ream shops, and dining establishments. Libraries could establish booths for self-promotion at special events such as sporting events (soccer and baseball games), festivals (wine, music, crafts), concerts (classical, country, jazz, rock), and baseball card and toy shows. Perhaps the IMLS or ALA would sponsor a NASCAR team? To get the attention of young readers a library could sponsor comic book shows at one of their meeting rooms or have a kiosk/booth at a comic book convention. Cooperation with local booksellers and comic book stores or newsstands would be another way to publicize library services. The library could advertise certain businesses in its lobby and perhaps have signage donated by other businesses (in a manner like sports stadiums are doing). Even bookstores and libraries could refer users to each other in a sense of cooperation since both have a vested interest in the printed word. Libraries could also build relationships with hobby and craft stores and sponsor craft fairs or model kit shows in their community. In addition, the library could build a dialogue with local community members who are craftspeople or model collectors or any other collector. Card games could be sponsored at the library – a cribbage tournament, for example – or a poker tournament (with no gambling). There are innumerable ways for libraries to build relationships and get their message out to the public in addition to the Internet.
Scheduling and management skills on the part of librarians are now more important than ever since less money for staff translates into fewer man-hours for service. Library hours of operation should be based on peak demand times in the library’s community and not traditional banking hours. This is especially critical if the library intends to promote itself as a family or social center. Libraries need to be open when families can use them, not necessarily when it is most convenient for staff to be there. There may be no faster way to render libraries defunct than to cling to traditional banker-style hours Monday through Friday as in the past – unless a library tax is created. Weekends may become a peak demand time in some communities and library staff will have to adapt or face career extinction. In the short-term, at least, certain non-traditional skills (like scheduling in order to meet demand) should gain importance. As libraries continue to evolve additional new skills and a blurring of departments may occur in public libraries. For instance, reference may play a smaller role and customer service skills will be much more in demand. Every library, now more than ever, must focus on what services and materials are needed to provide service to its users.
The IMLS, whose mission is to create strong libraries and museums that connect people to information and ideas, is dedicated to serving a nation of learners. In addition to the NLG program, an International Strategic Partnership Initiative is in place to connect educational and cultural institutions from all over the world. The NLG program fosters collaboration between educational and cultural institutions on various projects, especially digitalization projects, in order for them to reach a broader range of users and make access easier for these users. Collaborations are both short-term and long-term in length, ranging from rotating exhibits between institutions to the multi-state Colorado Digitalization Program. Cultural heritage and educational institutions like libraries, museums, archives, and historical societies are good fits for partnerships through IMLS grants. However, schools and private sector businesses are also potential partners as the cultural/educational network expands.
One major goal of the IMLS is to preserve culture, whether it is local, regional, national, or international in nature. Through digitalization and the spreading of information this goal may be realized. Partnerships between cultural and