• Spring

October 1999

• President's Memo
• Library Circuit: Voorheesville Public Library
• Editorial: Schools & Libraries
• The Legislative Spot
• NYLA/NYSALB Conference
• Regents Commission Update
• Guerrilla Fund Raising
• Assemblywoman Matusow
• Judging A Book By Its Cover
• NYSALB Board & TRUSTEE Ownership

by Parry Teasdale, NYSALB President

Have you heard? One preliminary recommendation of the Regents Commission on Library Services is that all library district boundaries should coincide with school district lines. It's a thought-provoking suggestion, one of many this industrious Commission is likely to produce. The question each library board should ask itself is: What should we be telling the Commission?

In the first round of Commission hearings this spring, NYSALB filed comments on the need for trustee involvement and training (see President's Memo, July 1999). Our proposals did not call for a major alteration of the structure of libraries or for a huge new expenditure of state funds, although raising the profile of trustees statewide would be a radical departure from past practice. Because the Commission is still hard at work, we don't know how it will react to our suggestions.

As NYSALB's representative at the Albany hearing, I was proud to present our proposals. But as an individual trustee and as a citizen, I also had some personal thoughts I wanted to share with the Commission. After drawing a clear distinction between my roles, I presented two ideas I believe will help improve public library service statewide: the election by the public of all trustees, including those of association libraries (though not system boards), and more stringent standards for librarianship in small libraries.

Libraries spend public money and make policy for the public in institutions regulated by the state. So it's only logical that the people who govern libraries should be directly accountable to the public. I don't underestimate the difficulties of establishing such elections (who may vote? who pays for the elections? etc.), but I believe the benefits outweigh the obstacles. In addition to serving a high political principle, the direct election of trustees would end what amounts to de facto clubs running public institutions.

I also believe all library directors should have at least a four-year college degree. But that alone should not entitle someone to serve as a library director. The state should establish or accredit a short-term, intensive program to train persons with a bachelor's degree who have been appointed director of any library not currently required to have a director with an MLS. The program could take place semi-annually or annually. At least part of the cost should be borne by the state.

Don't agree with me? Have ideas of your own? There will a second opportunity coming up to file comments once the Commission adopts its preliminary plan. For details, contact the Commission staff at 10D45 Cultural Education Center, Albany, NY 12230, 518-474-1195, rcols@mail.nysed.gov.

Nobody has to participate in this process. We're all free to let people we may not know create policies we may not agree with that we, ultimately, will have to apply in our libraries. You could argue that there's no guarantee the Commission will adopt whatever suggestions we make. And that's true. You could also argue that if trustees remain silent, we most certainly cede the future of our libraries to someone else.

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When visiting the Albany metro region, stop in at the nearby Village of Voorheesville, NY and check out the award winning Voorheesville Public Library. On two occasions (1993 and 1998), this library was one of four libraries nationwide to receive "Special Mention" in Library Journal's Library of the Year Award for innovation, creativity and leadership. In 1995, the library was one of six libraries in New York State to receive a Moving Towards Excellence Commendation from the NYS Board of Regents' Advisory Council on Libraries.

The Voorheesville Public Library serves the 7,200 resident school district community which includes the village and Town of New Scotland with a staff of 13.0 (FTEs -27 people). The library's current budget is $574,600 or $79.00 per capita. Residents make about 80,000 visits to the library a year and annually borrow approximately 110,000 items from its holdings of 41,939. "Nearly 8,000 people annually participate in VPL year round programs and its reference librarians answer 10,000 queries a year," according to Library Director Gail Alter Sacco.

A member of the Upper Hudson Library System, the Voorheesville Public Library has formed partnerships with and received funds from organizations both in the region and nationally. Activities at the VPL range from those considered traditional such as providing reader's advisory and reference services to some of the more innovative. The library was among the first of the UHLS libraries to have a homepage and accept questions via e-mail. Of particular pride is the fact that the Voorheesville Public Library's budget requests have never been turned down by the community. The library received its provisional charter in March 1915. It became a school district public library and received an absolute charter in July 1949.

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Can They Learn To Work Together

To Serve Children Better?

by Edwin M. Field, NYSALB Director, TRUSTEE Editor

It may be time we shared responsibility. We've seen the statistics. The media has covered them extensively. Newspapers, radio and television stations have headlined the story. A large percentage of our youngsters attending schools statewide have reading scores that flirt dangerously with rock bottom. Finger pointing will not provide a resolution to the problem.

A practical approach, which offers a chance of working effectively is to find a way to help teach our young people very early, so that they look forward to and really enjoy the gift of reading. Hopefully, this early intervention can be one of the keys and this is where libraries can help.

In many areas, state and nationwide, libraries provide the initial exposure to a whole new world for youngsters. It may come in the form of regular children's reading hours or in the array of children's books parents bring home to read to their young ones. It may be as simple as the thrill youngsters receive when librarians provide the first library card of their very own allowing them to borrow books just like their parents. It may be a multitude of ideas and "out of the box" techniques that children's librarians have found effective in helping youngsters enjoy and learn from their reading experiences.

Whatever the method or technique, it has become increasingly necessary to share the ideas and put them to work in our own libraries. The beneficiary -- children.

The Reader's Digest Foundation has a program called the Tall Tree Initiative. At this time, the initiative is funding school/library collaborations primarily in Westchester County. Mini-grant programs, however, are also being conducted in Putnam and Dutchess Counties and Fairfield County in Connecticut. It calls for educators and librarians across their area of service to work together to serve children better. The program supported by a Foundation investment of over $2 million is going into its fourth year. The Westchester Library System and three school library systems, the Yonkers, Southern Westchester BOCES and Northern Westchester/Putnam BOCES school library systems have established a partnership and created a new model for library services. They call the work group "laboratory" communities.

Results to date indicate that "teachers report a visible effect on their students, especially in research skills and attitudes toward reading; librarians better understand the role of teachers, and teachers cite their own enhanced appreciation for librarians and the public library and public libraries report booming community-wide awareness, usage and attendance for programs and services."

The overall Tall Tree goal emphasizes full collaboration at every level, challenging educators and librarians to meet students' Information Age needs, and to make the library a vital and welcoming place in children's lives.

The Reader's Digest Foundation Tall Tree Initiative expects the concept to continue to grow. For information check the Foundation web site at <http://www.talltreeinitiative.org>; or call: (914) 674-3600, Ext. 262.

Isn't it time we share the responsibility of the Tall Tree Vision: "Schools and libraries together can create a seamless gateway to knowledge, a place where children are eager to develop their talents, strengthen their skills and master the knowledge they will need to succeed."

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By Kenneth Wilbur, NYSALB Trustee & Legislative Chair

Was the recent state budget a good one for New York libraries? Basically, state funding for libraries remained at the same level as last year when Chapter 917 was fully enacted. The level of funding is $88.5 million. Could this be because libraries are not mandated by New York State and receive token support?

Speculation is that since Chapter 917 was finally fully funded last year, the same funding would be sufficient for this year, as once again, libraries are not on the mandated list. Every legislator is in favor of more funding for libraries, but the story that library advocates hear is that "there is just so much money to go around."

There is also the thought that libraries received a large amount of federal funds through the E-rate provision of the recent communications laws. Another view is that the STAR program that reduced local school taxes would allow local funding to be increased for libraries without increasing over all tax bills to residents.

Maybe the fault should be with the trustees whose basic responsibility is to hire a competent director and obtain funding for the library. Are we doing as much of the latter as we could? Do we wait for the other trustees to write the letters, make the phone calls, visit the legislator's offices and all of the other efforts to promote libraries?

This would be similar to the story we hear from the legislators who tell us they support our funding request, but the other group does not.

Just examine your commitment on your appointment or election to your library board. It is not enough to just attend meetings. You have to take a more active role in telling the library story to the people who control the funds. Be willing to write the letters, make the phone calls and visit the legislator's offices. Think about the impact that every one of the 7,000 library trustees in New York State could have.

As long as the percentage of trustees' participation remains the same -- so will the funding.

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Your Last Chance This Century!

The count down is on. Take advantage of the time frame opportunity. It's absolutely your last chance to participate in a NYLA/NYSALB conference this century. Mark these important dates on your calendar today. October 27-30, 1999. The place, Buffalo, NY.

Special NYSALB trustee programs include the Velma Moore Award presentation at the Inaugural Banquet and Awards Ceremony, Friday evening, October 29 and Saturday, October 30 programs at 10 a.m (Open Exchange: Trustees and Librarians) and at 2:00 p.m. (Serving Non-English Speaking Residents). A NYSALB board meeting will also be held on Saturday, October 30 from 3:45 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

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Report of Progress

The Regents Commission on Library Services was appointed in May 1998 to study library services in New York State and develop a plan to improve library services in the 21st century. To date, the Commission has held five regional hearings to talk about the future of New York's libraries with hundreds of people and representatives of organizations. Information has also been pulled together through a telephone survey, a demographic study and a review of models from other jurisdictions. A draft report of findings and recommendations is expected in January 2000, followed by a series of public hearings to discuss the contents of the draft report. A final report is expected by July 2000. Three key ideas currently under discussion by the Commission are presented here to illustrate the Commission's direction and progress.

Library service for all New Yorkers

The Commission is concerned about the 1.3 million unserved New Yorkers without local public library service. To solve the problem of unserved New Yorkers, the Commission is considering an option that would provide incentives for public libraries to move towards public library districts coterminous with school district boundaries. Because school districts cover the entire state, this would solve the geographic problem of unserved areas. There are currently about 130 public libraries in New York State that use this model successfully. It allows for a public election for library trustees and a vote on library budgets. Experience demonstrates that per capita funding is higher for libraries where the public votes on library budgets.

Neither this idea, nor any other option under consideration, would compel libraries to close. At public hearings earlier in the year, the Commission heard moving testimony about the importance of the local public library as the center of community life. The Commission realizes, though, that flexibility would be required to arrive at solutions that meet individual needs and that this idea would not apply to some areas, such as New York City.

Digital Library of the State of New York

A second key idea under consideration is to create a New York Digital Library to provide broad access to electronic information and other significant library materials and a Statewide E-Library Card. Surveys show that New Yorkers want more library services, including more information technology and access to library resources outside their local community.

The proposal includes:

• free E-Library cards for all New Yorkers so they can use the New York Digital Library at their local library, home, school or office;
• cost-effective statewide services such as the purchase of statewide licenses for access to commercial databases, including full-text of online magazines and newspapers;
• continued digitization of library collections to expand access to significant materials and collections.

School Library Media Specialists

A third key idea under consideration is that all public school students in grades pe-K-12 in New York State should have access to a library media program staffed by a full-time certified School Library Media Specialist. The Commission has found that school children in New York City and rural upstate New York are the least likely to have the services of a school librarian. This is a crucial equity issue since children from every background need systematic training in finding and using information. It is the Commission's vision that all of New York's students will have access to a School Library Media Specialist in the future.

Next steps

The next meeting of the Regents Commission on Library Services will be held September 29, 1999 at The New York Public Library. The New York Library Association (NYLA) Annual Conference in Buffalo will provide an opportunity, on the morning of October 29, for Commission members to discuss ideas under consideration with those in attendance. The Commission looks forward to the continued involvement of library trustees in this process which we hope will improve and extend library service to all New Yorkers and assure to every library the support it needs to provide it users with the quality of service they deserve.

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by Dr.William Taber, NYSALB Trustee

If you have read my columns in previous years, you may remember that our small library solved its ADA problem partially by winning Federal and NY grants, a real success given the smallness of our budget.

However, I have not yet written about our dismal failures, now three years in a row, in trying to obtain grant support for a preservation project of local historical significance that costs less than 1/4th of the ADA grants. Weeks of work by each of us were chewed up in unsucessful efforts to navigate a minefield of application guidelines so filled with requirements and specifications and ambiguities that its complexity and density would have delighted my old Company Commander. Dismayed and exasperated, we eventually decided that it was impenetrable by our small library, and we turned away bloody, wounded, and defeated by a superior adversary.

But a good guerrilla fighter doesn't give up permanently. When defeated, as was George Washington initially, he or she seeks alternative targets and tactics.

I am sorry for the war-like analogy here, but it seems appropriate as I now review our mood at the time, and perhaps it is generally applicable to the situation of many small libraries. A small public library is certainly not an army of strength. It is more like a small dedicated force dealing with hugely larger forces of influence and power who control them relevant environment.

To pursue the analogy one more step, the guerrilla must grab opportunity without hesitation; must inventory resources with total objectivity; must focus limited strengths tightly upon a mission; must pick the mission with the sense of practicality that defines it as something worthwhile which CAN be accomplished; must dare; and must survive the experience with some resources intact for the future.

I will give away the ending right now. We started a local fund drive. It raised twice as much money as what we had requested unsuccessfully over the years.

Lessons learned? There exists more community support and good will for the library than we had realized, but it needs nurturing. Our opportunity was an unexpected gift to be matched for a worthwhile project. We invested $350 for advice from a fund-raiser concerning orchestrating publicity, a number of media addresses, draft letters and news releases concerning the project, proposed time tables, and brain storming sessions with the board. This gave us some initial direction, and, most importantly, it energized the board members. Then we took the lead and ran with it ourselves.

We arranged a photo session with our state senator who approved of the project and suggested a backup position in case we fell short. The photograph and news release were not sent out until we were nearly ready for the letter phase of the campaign. If you know some reporters or an editor, try to interest them in your project from their point of view ... circulation.

When the releases were sent out, the story appeared in different guises in five regional newspapers over a period of about four weeks. Each paper went at it differently. Three wrote their own story; one sent a photographer; two printed the news release as written. Each week, the Pennysaver carried an ad for our Photographic Memory project.

After this public preparation, the letter campaign was started in earnest. For weeks, board members had researched addresses for three different lists: individuals, businesses, and organizations. Sources can be telephone books, advertisements, word of mouth, real property tax lists (unfortunately not in alphabetical order), and library patron addresses. If you have a really good friend in the post office, that will be of help despite the official frown. For businesses, ask also for the corporate addresses of chains. Don't forget the addresses of former residents -- especially old timers who have retired elsewhere, or survivors of deceased residents.

We sent a different letter to each of the three lists, and the letters were photocopied onto letterhead paper. Our board president, herself a former librarian with extensive knowledge of the people and relationships within the community, wrote by hand in each letter a personal note in the space that we had deliberately formatted for that purpose! Often, she suggested a gift in memory of a particular loved one.

We sent out 242 personal letters (and received 126 donations), 71 letters to businesses (and received 25 donations), and 9 letters to local organizations (and received 7 donations). Some of these donations were large.

During this period, we hosted public programs by an expert in the restoration of old photographs and by an expert in the photographic and digital reproduction of images. They were well attended. At the end of this mission, the survival of our main resource (good will) requires that we maintain our credibility. Our board president again wrote by hand a note of thanks to each donor: we will soon publish the names of all the donors, and their names will become part of the permanent display when it is done about a year from now.

As the result of the campaign, we are able now to accomplish the initial project of preserving and duplicating many hundreds of deteriorating 19th Century local historical photographs that are irreplaceable. Because of its success, we also will initiate a second phase: an ongoing program of collecting and duplicating local historic images from the 20th Century, soon to be history itself. This will be a living and growing local resource for decades to come. Not bad for a guerrilla mission.

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There was some good news for libraries in the 1999-2000 New York State budget. Several public libraries received individual funding, and the Senate joined the Assembly in restoring the increase in school library monies from $4 to $6 per student. Funding for General Library Aid (also known as Chapter 917) was maintained at last year's amount of $88.5 million. Unfortunately, this static funding level may have the impact of a reduction given the reality of inflation.

I was also disheartened that neither the state Senate nor the Governor joined the Assembly in providing funding for several important initiatives. The Assembly plan sought to provide $3 million in funding for Electronic Doorways to bring libraries across the state into optimum technological effectiveness. In addition, the plan would have secured capital construction funding to improve or expand facilities, as well as allowing for the purchase of databases for the New York State Library. These databases would be made available for on-line access from all our libraries, at a taxpayer saving of $25 for every $1 in state funding.

We, the advocates of libraries in New York, must be vigilant in informing our elected representatives of the importance of the financial support of our libraries. We represent 11.2 million public library card holders who borrow more than 123 million books, periodicals and audiovisual materials each year. Our constituency consists of a wide range of people including students, business people, children, job seekers, homemakers, hobbyists, entrepreneurs, scholars, legislators, and government employees and officials. Whether allowing individuals to acquire computer skills, learn English as a second language, or perform research for anything from a term paper to a new invention, library activities directly enhance our economy. It is the all-important return on the investment of state and local tax dollars. While library services are free to the users, these services are paid for by tax dollars so that everyone has access to this incredible resource.

The question then is this: why is it so difficult to attract significant state tax dollars to carry out a first class library program across our state ? My guess is that we have not done enough to convince our elected representatives of the importance of library services to the electorate. We need to mobilize our millions of public library card holders - approximately 65% of the population of our state - to lobby every officeholder on the importance of library services. Most important, we must encourage these cardholders to evaluate every elected official on his or her commitment to voting for increased funding for public libraries. We can then make a truly educated and pro-library decision as to whom we support, based upon our elected officials' expressed commitment to public libraries.

Let us start the campaign now, before the Governor proposes his next budget. Let us show him just how important it is to support libraries. I propose that we create a slogan to mobilize our forces: "The Library Lovers Campaign" "I'm a library lover and I vote!" "Invest in libraries - libraries invest in people" "Libraries can't live on love!" "Library Lovers Unite!"

These are but a few very modest suggestions. I welcome your ideas. But hurry. We must act right away. To the battlements!

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By Bill Johns

We've all been told countless times that you can't judge a book by its cover. Like all aphorisms, sometimes that's true, and sometimes it's not. If you're looking at rows of books on grandma's shelves wondering how to glean the wheat from the chaff, you'd better learn to do some quick judging. And the cover is a good place to start.

Of course, we're not talking intrinsic value of the contents or readability here. We're just talking collectable value. There are still a few die-hard fanatics who actually want books to read. If you're one of them, then happily ignore all that follows and just look at the books to see if they look interesting.

First, assess condition. Condition is critical. Collectors want books in very good or better condition. If the book is truly rare and highly desirable, even a poor copy will have some value to a collector willing to restore it, but very few books fall into that category. If the book is water-stained, penciled or crayoned, has loose boards, has missing or torn pages, is badly faded from the sun, or is missing its dust jacket, pass it by unless there is something really special about it -- a very early Mark Twain, for instance.

A word about dust jackets. If a book was issued with a dust jacket, collectors want the dust jacket. A book without the dust jacket is worth only 1/4 to 1/2 what it would be with a "dj." Many people, even today, discard the dust jacket. They might as well throw away the book too (unless they want to read it,) On the very rare occasions when I actually try to read a book, I remove the dust jacket and set it aside somewhere safe so I won't tear it while reading the book. (Then I can't find it when I'm done with the book , but that's another story.) Dust jackets came into use very early in this century. It's a very rare book today that is issued without one. If it's a 20th century book, it almost certainly had a dust jacket. In describing a book, the seller will grade both the book and the jacket. "This is a near mint book in a slightly chipped dust jacket."

Second, look at the publisher. Some publishers are good and some aren't. If the publisher is Triangle or Blue Star, the book has very little value. These were both reprint companies that produced inexpensive editions of best sellers - comparable to today's paperback editions. Another ubiquitous reprint publisher is Reader's Digest. Their Condensed Books are worthless. They're not first editions, they are not attractive, and they are not even the real book! Send them to the dumpster, or use them to heat your house.

Another prolific reprint publisher is Grossett & Dunlap. They're a little harder to evaluate. The vast majority of their books are reprints -- though many are very nicely produced with wonderful illustrated covers. Those have a certain small value if in excellent condition. A few of their books are original works and worth a great deal. Until the 1930s they produced "photoplay" editions based on popular plays and movies, and printing pictures from the movie or play. In excellent condition, they are very collectable. The King Kong photoplay edition, for instance, is worth well over $1,000.00. Another area where they issued first editions is in the juvenile category. Tom Swift and dozens of other juvenile series books have a strong collector following. They were also the original publisher for some of the Edgar Rice Burroughs books -- Tarzan, John Carter, Pellucidar, etc. Some of those are worth hundreds of dollars. Finally, in the 1930s, they issued a series of art and children's books as first editions. Watch for them. So if it's a G&D book of fiction in mediocre condition by a little known author and not a photoplay toss it aside. The handful that remains, save for further research.

The title is also a strong clue to value. Non-fiction will often have some value. The more specific the topic the more value the book MIGHT have. A book on farming is worth something. A book on bee farming in Nebraska is worth a lot more. If the book is about a popular subject -- Indians, baseball, railroads, etc. -- then it might have resale value. If it's about a technical subject -- steam engines, telephones, bicycles etc. -- it may have substantial value. On the other hand, religious books or grade school and college text books have almost no value. (But there are exceptions - most notably the "Dick and Jane" elementary readers. And some 19th century text books -- geographies, for instance -- also have some slight value if in EXCELLENT condition.)

Fiction has very little appeal. 19th and 20th century popular fiction, unless by a well known literary author, are worthless. How many people have heard of F. Marion Crawford? He was a prolific and very successful author at the turn of the century. Few have heard of him, even fewer want his books. Literary authors, however, as opposed to popular authors, can be collectible - and the more obscure, the better. Of course, there's a conundrum. Is the author literally obscure or merely deservedly forgotten? To tell who's who and who's not, memorize the table of contents of the Norton Anthology of Modern Literature.

In contemporary fiction, certain authors have become very hot. Early first editions by Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Sue Grafton, to name just a handful, can be worth hundreds of dollars. Of course those editions were printed in press runs of 10,000 or so books. Later editions by the same authors have press runs in the millions, so they will never attain the stratospheric prices of the early work. But on the other hand, they're certainly worth something because some people actually buy books to read.

We're making progress. Already we've discarded 80% of the books in Grandma's den -- and we haven't even had to pick a book up off the shelf.

… Part 2 - Continued in the next issue of TRUSTEE

Copyright, 1998, Coxsackie Antique Center (Bill Johns, author of this article, is co-proprietor with his wife, Diane, of the Coxsackie Antique Center in West Coxsackie, NY)

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Vol. X No.4 October 1999

is a publication of The New York State Association of Library Boards

TRUSTEE is published by the New York State Association of Library Boards, 3 Douglas Avenue, Rensselaer, NY 12144, four times a year for $10.00 annually per subscriber. Subscription is a benefit of paid membership; cost of the subscription is covered by membership dues.Second class postage is paid at Rensselaer, NY and an additional mailing office...USPS#010-872, ISSN:1085-3170. Volume X Issue #4, Postmaster: Please send address changes to NYSALB, 3 Douglas Avenue, Rensselaer, NY 12144.

NYSALB

3 Douglas Avenue

Rensselaer, NY 12144

Phone: 518-286-2150 FAX: 518-283-8085

EDITOR: Edwin M. Field, efield@catskill.net

PRESIDENT: Parry D. Teasdale, nysalb@sebridge.org

1st VICE PRESIDENT: Davis Crippen

2nd VICE PRESIDENT: Norman J. Jacknis

TREASURER: Kenneth Wilbur

SECRETARY: Martina Thompson

ASSOCIATION MANAGER: Christine Paulsen

DIRECTORS:

Davis Crippen, Piermont

Edwin M. Field, Monticello

Dr. Norman J. Jacknis, Cortlandt Manor

Mary Jo Ketchum, Elma

George Manitzas, Freeport

Constance M. Paine, Willsboro

Mable Robertson, Brooklyn

Judy Rosen, Albany

Nancy Simaitis, Waverly

Audrey J. Smith, Nunda

Dr. William Taber, Richfield Springs

Parry D. Teasdale, Phoenicia

Martina Thompson, Pittsford

Kenneth Wilbur, East Syracuse

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