Libraries and Business

I have written before about how libraries help their communities by supporting job seekers.

Libraries also help their communities through business development and support. A recent article in the Kiplinger Report highlights how libraries are being transformed and can foster redevelopment and economic growth. See the Kiplinger Report for March 7.

The example cited in the article is the Seattle Public Library - the downtown Seattle Library has played an important role in revitalizing Seattle's Downtown. The Library is an architectural landmark - designed by Rem Koolhass, the structure is a striking glass building that is a buzz with activity. It is a destination for Seattle and has helped draw traffic to the downtown. People come downtown and then they do other things, helping other businesses and generating more activity. Seattle's downtown has benefited significantly from its new library.

Other libraries in other cities all over the world have done similar things - locating libraries in shopping districts, combining the library with other organizations or services and creating multimedia environments that draw people in and serve as community magnets, helping to recharge and revitalize communities, helping the local economy.

Libraries attract people into town, people that visit libraries will also visit other businesses in the area or in the community. Money will be spent. This helps the overall business environment.

Libraries can also serve as entrepreneurial training grounds - local business owners can do research, craft new business ideas, learn about business trends and issues all at the library.
We also offer services that local businesses can use - meeting rooms, video conferencing, databases, etc.

Once again, the Library is a pretty amazing place, isn't it?

Libraries, budgets and hours of service

This past week, the City of Huntington Beach approved recommendations from all city departments for additional budget cuts this year. We found ourselves looking to cut expenditures again, because revenues aren't keeping up with projections.

This wasn't a real surprise and we aren't alone. This is happening all over. I've heard from colleagues throughout California about hiring freezes, budget cuts, reductions in hours and service. We heard similar stories from all over the country, where libraries were facing layoffs, closures and serious overall reductions. And the budget cuts keep coming.

Libraries in general are used to operating with lean budgets - We have done a good job stretching staffing, supplies and all our resources to maintain hours and service. Here in Huntingon Beach, we have done a really good job maximizing the return on investment in staffing, materials and programs.

This time, the revenue shortfall is forcing us to make hard choices. There are no easy decisions when it comes to cutting the budget. Working as a team, our Library managers pulled together a list of recommendations that would balance the reductions throughout our system.

We decided to reduce hours at 3 locations - Central Library will be closed on Sundays. The Sunday closure means a loss of 4 hours of service at Central Library. Helen Murphy, our smallest location will close 2 additional days, for a reduction of 14 hours and the Banning Branch Library will be closed one additional day, for a 9 hour reduction.

I know that these changes will have an impact. Sundays are a popular day and I know that closing will be inconvenient for some. We had to make some tough choices - closing on Sundays allowed us to maintain our others hours at Central Library and minimized our reduction of hours as much as possible. It isn't ideal. But then these are not ideal times.

Budget cuts and reduced hours are difficult for any library, but these changes force us to be creative, to try new approaches to service and to continue providing the City with the best possible library service.

Libraries and the economy

Everyone knows that our economy is slowly getting back on track - there have been some positive signs, but jobs and job creation is on everyone's mind.

Did you know that the Library is one of the best resources in the community for job seekers? More and more employers are only posting job openings online. Many require and will only accept online job applications. So if you are currently unemployed and can't afford Internet access, how do you find work?

YOU COME TO THE LIBRARY. We have free Internet computers, free Wifi access, information on resume writing, how to interview effectively, career information, etc. We are your own local job center, with friendly and knowledgeable staff.

Just this past weekend, we had a patron who had been out of work for two years come in to the library to let us know that she had found a job. She had used our computers, worked with our librarians and found resources that helped her.

Libraries do this all the time. But our legislators and our governing agencies don't know about it. When a Jobs Bill comes up, are libraries remembered as supporting our economy? No. This needs to change.

How do we do a better job sharing our stories and letting our Senators, Representatives, City Council members, and other governing bodies know what we do and why we are ESSENTIAL services?

I'd love to hear what you think.

And if you care about your library, take a moment to call or e-mail your Senators and Representatives and urge them to support libraries and library jobs, so we can help our economy!

Thanks, I will now get down off my soap box.

Boston and ALA Midwinter

I just returned from the ALA Midwinter Conference in Boston - I left an icy and wet Boston to come home to a chilly, wet and windy California. Currently, we are on Tornado Watch here in HB and the County EOC has been activated. I have a new appreciation for Sandbags.


But back to Library topics - Midwinter seemed to be fairly well attended, even with the cold weather. (Cold for me that is. I am a native Californian, so I am a temperature wimp.) I toured the exhibits, found some new things, went to committee meetings and saw old friends. Unfortunately, what I heard everywhere was how we are all dealing with budget cuts...


ALA published a study on the condition of libraries just before Mid Winter and it affirms what we were all talking about at the Conference - Library use is up, with more people coming in and using our services, but our budgets are suffering. We are all looking at reductions in hours and spending in general. Here's a good summary of what all public libraries are facing.


What does this mean for our library clientele? When times are tough, people turn to their libraries for books, programs, help with finding a job, homework support, etc. Every hour we have to pull back means that many more people don't have access to what they need.


So what do more budget cuts mean? It means longer lines, fewer resources available, fewer computers, or at least fewer computers that work. It means fewer people to help fill requests, shelve books, fewer books on the shelf, fewer programs, etc.


As a library director, my challenge is to figure out how we can still provide our essential services with less money. What is most essential? Is it our computers? Is it our books? Is it the building? Is it the programs?



I'd love to hear what you think it is absolutely essential in the modern library.

Libraries, reading and E Readers

As we start 2010, there is a lot of discussion and talk about the future of reading and the future of libraries. There is a lot of media buzz right now about E Readers - Amazon's Kindle did booming business over the holidays, and Barnes & Noble's new Nook reader essentially sold out after it was introduced.

More E readers are on the way, with new ones from a wide range of companies. Some of the new readers are bigger, some are thinner, some look a bit like a book, some are very modern and streamlined. From the sound of things, this is just the beginning.

So what does this mean for libraries? In a recent post I talked about what makes a library a library - well, what makes a book a book? What is the reading experience? I think we are beginning to see some real changes in the reading experience and the new E Readers are a manifestation of this change. People are getting used to viewing content in all sorts of ways.

What do the new E Readers mean for the library? We are already getting inquiries about E Books and content for E Readers. We are being asked which reader we support and which ones we might recommend.

Recently the Go to Hellman blog talked about a new future for libraries where we facilitate access to content. The forecast is for more library consolidation to provide greater access to a wider range of content, while at the same time more outlets opened to facilitate that access. So are we looking at "Super" library systems, but with lots of small outlets with computer access and pickup facilities? It is an interesting question.

As the owner of a Kindle, I do enjoy the device and use it regularly. I now read the newspaper on my Kindle, and I really enjoy the convenience when I travel. But I still read "old style" books.

So the New Year looks like the year of the E Reader - the buzz is hot and it gives us lots to think about, while we all grapple with maintaining service and budgets.

I'd love to hear what you think about all the E Reader buzz and what it means for reading and libraries. Is this just gadget enthusiasm? Or are we seeing a fundamental shift in how we read? What does this mean for libraries?

I'd love to hear what you think.

Happy Holidays!

I just wanted to take this opportunity to wish everyone all the best of the season.

I look forward to our conversations in 2010.

Happy New Year!

What makes a library a library?

What comes to mind when you think of a library?

This question came to mind after I read an article about a new Library Express outlet in Redmond Ridge, Washington. The King County Public Library in Washington State opened a Library Express in the master planned community of Redmond Ridge. The Express outlet is unstaffed, and library patrons can enter the building by scanning or typing in their library card number. Holds/Reserve pickup, a small collection of paperbacks, a library catalog computer and a dedicated phone line to staff at the nearby Regional Library are the services available.

I've heard of other libraries installing automated Library Kiosks in transit stations or having hold pickup outlets, taking some library services out where people are. But is the library just "commodity" distribution? What about all the other things we do? What about story time? What about the book clubs? What about the library staff?

So what goes into the library experience? Is it the books? Is it the programming? Is it the computers? Is it the people?
What is your library experience and what makes a library a library?

I'd love to hear what you think.