• Spring

April 2000

• President's Memo
• Trustee Institute 2000
• Editorial: The Survey - A Library Marketing Tool
• Ken Wilbur Remembered
• Assemblywoman Naomi Matusow
• Senator Hugh Farley
• Library Construction Funding
• Library Policy Has A Higher Purpose
• Library of Congress Bicentennial
• Join NYSALB Today
• Legislative Action
• Minutes of NYSALB 1/15 Meeting
• Beyond Albany ... Funding Elsewhere
• Letters to the Editor
• NYSALB Board & TRUSTEE Ownership

by Parry Teasdale, NYSALB President

As trustees, we all know what our libraries Do -- what services we render. But do we ever consider whether the library is an educational or cultural institution?

That kind of rumination might matter this year. As part of his 2000-2001 state budget, Governor Pataki has proposed a major shift in the way libraries in New York State are governed. Right now, libraries fall within the jurisdiction of the Board of Regents, with library regulations and policies enforced by a unit of the state Education Department called Cultural Education. The governor wants to transfer control of libraries to a brand new agency called the Office of Cultural Resources, or OCR. The OCR would be a sub-unit of the New York State Council on the Arts.

This proposal has implications far broader than a bureaucratic reshuffling. The governor's plan places libraries in the middle of a power struggle between the executive and the legislature.

The Regents are appointed by a majority of both houses of the legislature. With the current make-up of the houses, Democrats get to choose who becomes a regent. By contrast, the governor, a Republican, would appoint the board of the OCR, meaning that governance of libraries would be removed from the Regents and would become a function of the executive branch.

Albany veterans dismiss the OCR proposal as just another jab by the governor's office at the Regents -- a skirmish in a long struggle that predates the current administration. And legislators by and large have been unenthusiastic about the plan.

But the library community should actively pursue this idea. It's the best opportunity we've had in years to raise the visibility of library funding as a budget issue.

Libraries have not received much attention in the last few state budgets, and library systems in particular have struggled with inadequate funding. If this is all we can get as cultural education organizations, maybe we ought to consider the offer to become institutions of educational culture.

What will the governor offer us to endorse the switch? So far, all he's put on the table is a change of address and a bureaucracy with a new name, but nothing in the way of more money. If that's all we could expect, the plan would be nothing more than a cynical ploy to use libraries for political ends. But I think we should keep an open mind, which is why NYSALB has requested a meeting to ask the governor how this move will benefit library service statewide. I urge you to ask him the same thing. His answer could prove very instructive.

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by Nancy Simaitis, NYSALB Trustee, Trustee Institute Chair

Call the NYSALB office today to make your reservations. Many trustees have attended all four of the previous Trustee Institute programs. Join them for an enjoyble and great learning experience.

Celebrating the 50th Birthday of the New York State Association of Library Boards (NYSALB) 1949-1999 and Presenting the 2000 Trustee Institute

May 5-6, 2000, Holiday Airport Inn, Rochester, NY

Friday, May 5

6:00 p.m.- 7:00 p.m., Opening Reception
7:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m., Dinner and Success Stories
Networking Night - An informal opportunity to share your successes, bright beginnings and bloopers with trustees statewide. Last year's program was so successful and participants so enthusiastic that attendees called for a repeat. NYSALB responded. Share your stories!

Saturday, May 6

• 8:15 a.m.-9 a.m., Breakfast
  
• 9:00 a.m.-10:15 a.m., Basic Trustee Programs, Part I: Richard Panz, Director, Monroe County Library System, will discuss How Your Library System Can Help Your Library
  
• 9:00 a.m.-10:15 a.m., Programs for Experienced Trustees, Part I: Assemblywoman Naomi C. Matusow, Chair, Assembly Committee on Libraries and Education Technology will present How To Make Your Voice Heard
  
• 10:15 a.m.-10:30 a.m., Coffee break and Trustee networking
  
• 10:30 a.m.-11:45 a.m., Basic Trustee Program, Part II: Joan Rodgers, President, Avon Public Library and Pioneer Library System, along with Don Allis, Monroe County Library System Board of Trustees, will discuss Responsibilities and Duties of Library Trustees
  
• 10:30 a.m.-11:45 a.m., Programs for Experienced Trustees, Part II: Jim Farrell, Library Development Specialist, New York State Library, will discuss Public Library Implications of the Regent's Commission on Libraries Report
  
• 12:15 p.m.-2:30 p.m., Lunch and Presentations: Commissioner Richard Mills and Regent James C. Dawson Will Discuss Their Respective Roles and Their Relevance To Library Trustees and Critical Issues Facing Libraries

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by Edwin M. Field, NYSALB Director, TRUSTEE Editor

It makes little difference whether the project is a planned multi-million dollar building or a new and creative series of library programs. For planning purposes, it is important for your board and its administration to be able to judge the reaction of your borrowers and, indeed, the residents of your service area to each important new program. It is this broad community who either through taxes or political or other degrees of support, will ultimately pay the bill for library growth and/or change.

Your library board and administration may be developing a strategic plan, a plan that focuses on potential library activities and growth three to five years or more down the road. Your team may be trying to prioritize library goals to determine which will receive immediate and which will receive long term attention. Responses from borrowers (your customers) and the community can certainly be helpful in this process.

A feasibility study may be under consideration. An expansion program or a fund raising campaign may be in the future. The feasibility study can give the library board a measure of the potential success of such an action. The library may be interested in tapping into new markets. Completely different cultural and social markets may be developing in the communities the library serves. You may want to bring these newcomers and their families into the library's orbit.

How does a survey or library study test whether borrowers and the general population are in agreement with a particular plan of action? Can the surveyed community actually be counted on to provide fiscal and other types of support for your planned endeavor? How does the population really feel about your library? Is it their opinion that it is doing a satisfactory job for them and their children? Do they feel "comfortable" with your library?

Fortunately, there is a broad variety of options which may be used to study the population's reaction to the library's plans and programs. Some of these are:

• Direct Mail Survey - A direct mail survey consists of a questionnaire sent via the U.S. Mail either to a select group or randomly to every third or fifth or tenth member of the community. The survey questions are designed to elicit responses. A judgment may be made by the library board on the basis of responses received. If possible, survey questions should be developed by a professional familiar with this technique. The survey information may also be combined with other studies.
• Telephone Survey - The telephone survey is similar to the direct mail survey in content. The questions posed are shorter and designed to fit the phone call time span available. Persons skilled or trained in phone survey techniques should be used to develop the questions and possibly train the phone call survey staff.
• Focus Groups- A focus group is composed of a broad spectrum but limited number of participants. They are gathered together in one place for a timed working session. A skilled group leader introduces a pre-designed series of specific questions covering the particular library subject. Responses are noted and categorized. There are also professional companies available who run focus groups over the Internet.
• Advisory Groups - Advisory group participants are selected based on community status, interest in library activities, prevalent community politics and other factors. A pre-designed series of questions are posed on particular subjects of library interest. Advisory group sessions offer opportunities for a broad discussion but also may focus on specific questions or issues.
• Letters To The Editor - At the appropriate time, a planned "Letters To The Editor" program can be most effective. Letters are sent to area newspapers with each letter focusing on a specific issue, plan or idea. The letters are designed to float a particular idea and to gauge community interest or lack of interest in a library project or process. Although the letters are sent and signed by different individuals each is targeted to the campaign.
• Studies - A study commissioned by the library is prepared to analyze particular library and/or community needs or programs. Upon completion, the study is made available to the press, members of the community at the library or by mail on request. A meeting is held to discuss the study and seek opinions for the particular library action or program developed by the study. A full program of library publicity should serve as a backup for the study.
• e-Mail - Local chat rooms, public e-mail sites and web sites provide additional options for today's libraries to tell their story and discuss plans and programs. Provider companies, librarians and borrowers generally have an intimate knowledge of select local area e-mail and web sites that can be used for such a process.

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by Parry Teasdale, NYSALB President

With deep sorrow and a tremendous sense of gratitude for his years of service, the members of the Executive Committee of the New York State Association of Library Boards resolved last week to make a contribution to the East Syracuse Free Library in honor of the late Ken Wilbur.

Ken was Treasurer and a long-time member of the NYSALB board. He died suddenly at his home last month. He was 65. He had recently attended a NYLA Leg. Committee meeting in Albany, just one of the many functions he performed as a tireless volunteer on behalf of public library service. He had been a trustee of the East Syracuse Free Library since 1972 and president of the library board since 1978. Those of you in the Syracuse area probably also knew him as president of the Onondaga County Public Library board since 1997, or perhaps you read his summaries of NYSALB meetings, which he diligently circulated throughout the system after each of our gatherings.

The list of Ken's community service activities covers a remarkable range of activities, including elected office as a village trustee and member of the local planning board and the housing authority, not to mention his 32 years in the Army Reserve, from which he retired as a lieutenant colonel.

Those of us on the NYSALB board knew him as a friend, a man of great practical wisdom and a person of constant good cheer. If there was a task to be done for the betterment of libraries, Ken would volunteer. I'm sure that even the legion of politicians in whose offices Ken was a fixture when it came to pressing for more library funding will feel the absence of his broad smile and quiet enthusiasm. He set an example other trustees will find hard to live up to. All of us in the library community will miss him.

(Editor's Note: There has been an outpouring of memorial tribute to our friend and colleague Ken Wilbur. Unfortunately, space limitations do not allow us to reprint them in our newsletter.)

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Many times since becoming Chair of the Assembly's Libraries and Education Technology Committee, I've been impressed by the depth of caring and commitment found in you, the library community. Your efforts, devoted to providing and advocating for delivery of the best in library services to the most people in the face of limited state support, are worthy of the highest praise.

Nevertheless, nothing prepared me for the impact of the statements made by New York writers at the Library Committee's hearing held in Brooklyn this January. Instead of trying to focus the topic, we simply asked for authors to share their personal impressions of and experiences with libraries. You would have been thrilled by the words of the authors.

Those of us who are readers may see the library in only one way - but to a writer, the library is both alpha and omega. The writers spoke of the library as inspiration, resource, and refuge. During their various speeches, each writer that day personified the library as a friend.

Nearly all of the writers began with reminiscences about their childhood days spent at the library. They spoke of librarians who made them feel welcome, and of books in which they saw themselves and their dreams reflected. The writers of children's books spoke of wanting to provide those same experiences for today's readers.

Many of the speakers also had stories to tell about what they couldn't find at libraries. They, like so many New Yorkers, have had to deal with reduced hours and smaller collections due to the funding drought libraries have faced. These dedicated library users felt keenly the lost opportunities created by closed doors and empty shelves, not only for themselves but for the thousands of other readers who come to the library with them.

At one time or another most of us have, after closing a book, experienced a renewed sense of purpose. The words spoken at the Libraries Hearing had the same effect. The members of the Committee and those in the audience felt a renewed commitment to libraries, and I felt a deep desire to have similar inspiring words reach a larger audience.

That is why I encourage you to have author speak-outs all over New York, mobilizing people across the state to demand increased state funding for libraries. I urge all of you to think about holding a similar event in your community. The Libraries Committee would be proud to participate. This may inspire in those who've come to take libraries for granted a new commitment to fighting for appropriate library funding.

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As I write this, the Legislature is involved in two major library initiatives. With luck, when you read this, we will have made significant progress.

First is Governor Pataki's initiative to create a new State Office of Cultural Resources with responsibilities for libraries, museums, and archives.

Supporters of the idea make two major points. First, they note that libraries have been starved for State support for years. Even the State Board of Regents' blessing of plans for funding and new standards has not led to actual implementation. Any reasonable change, they say, may be worth trying. Second, they say that there are advantages to being "the big fish in a small pond." Long the stepchild in a giant agency dominated by massive issues of public education, libraries would become the leading component of a new advocacy advancing cultural resources.

Opponents also raise two primary arguments. They point to growing support of libraries by the Regents, including appointment of the Regents Commission on Libraries in the 21st Century and Regents' support for library funding increases. This is not the time, they say, to lose the growing support of the Regents. What is more, they say, libraries ARE education. Many libraries are actually parts of schools and colleges. Other libraries form what Senator Jacob Javits called, "the people's university:" the place where citizens unaffiliated with schools can obtain books and educational resources.

As we sort out the pros and cons of this proposal, it is important to recognize Governor Pataki's strong personal support for libraries. He worked actively in support of library legislation while in the Assembly and the Senate. In the "actions speak louder than words" department, his Executive Budget initiative providing full funding for the current Chapter 917 aid formula was not only one of the largest State funding increases in history, it also made Governor Pataki the first Governor since Tom Dewey in the 1950s to propose a library aid increase in the Executive Budget. The other major library issue before the Legislature is, as usual, funding.

The "Books, Bricks, and Bytes" proposal advanced by the New York Library Association has made its way into the form of a bill which I have the honor of introducing in the Senate. The Regents' "Libraries 2001" bill includes new funding proposals for library construction and for the "NOVEL" statewide library card.

Although I don't agree with all aspects of each bill, I make no apologies for the fact that each proposal would cost a lot of money. Most of us as taxpayers place libraries at or near the top of our list of government priorities. Both proposals allocate new funds toward the three major needs of our library patrons: acquisition and maintenance of library materials, restoration and rehabilitation of physical structures often in dire need of being brought to 20th (much less 21st) century standards, and new resources to ensure that free libraries are an active resource in the electronic information age.

I hope that we will see strong, united support for this legislation, not only from librarians, but also from the broad community of citizens represented on and by our library boards.

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By Valerie Chevette, Library Communications, New York State Library

• Libraries 2001 Proposes Funding for Public Library Construction
• Technology and Services to the Disabled

Library boards of trustees work hard to secure funds so that their libraries can meet the growing needs of their communities. Facilities need renovation and modernizing, library materials need updating, and technology has become a growing area of need and expense. Add dwindling local resources, and trustees often see to face an uphill battle.

Libraries 2001, the New York State Regents -

State Library legislative and budget initiative, aims to help New York's libraries find the resources they need. The $23 million initiative proposes that the state invest in its libraries by creating NOVEL, the New York Online Virtual Electronic Library, and providing matching grants for public library construction. The initiative will also make more braille and talking books available to loan from the New York State Library and the New York Public Library and its sub-regional partners.

Public Library Construction -

Library boards will have to find funds to meet the estimated $800 million needed statewide for local public library construction over the next 5 years. New facilities need to be built. Existing ones need renovation and modernization to accommodate new Internet and computer technologies and to serve community residents with disabilities.

A recent survey revealed that more than half of New York's public library buildings outside of New York City are 60 years old or older. Almost 95% are at least two decades old. This means many public libraries in the state were built before computer and Internet technology became significant information tools and before public buildings were ADA compliant. Minimal needs include wiring and space upgrades, wheelchair accessible lavatories and access ramps.

Meanwhile, the state currently spends a meager $800,000 annually on library construction.

Libraries 2001 begins to close the gap by proposing $10 million initially with a total of $90 million over the next five years in matching funds for public library construction. The grants will be competitive within library systems and will give trustees a foundation on which to create partnerships and build a strategy for fund raising for large and small capitol projects.

Enhancing Local Library Collections -

Local budgets are stretched to meet the costs of purchasing books and other information resources. Consequently, many libraries are falling behind in their ability to meet the demands of an increasingly technological and diverse society.

Libraries 2001 proposes the state invest $12 million to create a statewide digital library that will effectively multiply the value of local library collections at no cost to individual libraries. The New York Online Virtual Electronic Library (NOVEL) has its foundations in EmpireLink, the State Library's statewide electronic database access project. A recommendation of the Regents Commission on Library Services, NOVEL will provide access via the local library to digital information through the library or from remote locations. There will also be funds for digitization of historic and rare materials often held in inaccessible special collections.

This means that libraries in even the most geographically isolated or financially stressed communities will be able to supplement their own collections with a vast array of online information resources. Library users will have access to databases, online catalogs, digitized collections of photographs, images, maps, encyclopedias and other material. And unlike the Internet, NOVEL will feature resources selected, accessed and updated by librarians for quality and relevance. NOVEL will be cost free to local libraries.

This centralized purchase will provide $25 of electronic information to libraries for every $1 invested by the state. The cost would be around $20 million if local communities were to act individually.

Besides creating NOVEL, Libraries 2001 will compound the value of other public and private funding. Funds for content and training will provide the substance and technical expertise to make federal telecommunications discounts (ERATE), high-speed cable grants from Time Warner Cable, and one-time grants from the Gates Library Initiative really work for local libraries.

Serving Library Users With Disabilities -

How will library boards meet the challenge of providing special materials to users with physical and learning disabilities? The New York State Library's Talking Book and Braille Library (TBBL), The New York Public Library's Andrew Heiskell Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (AHLBPH), and its subregional partners in Nassau and Suffolk Counties serve more than 60,000 readers.

Despite outstanding efforts by these libraries, approximately 295,000 New Yorkers with disabilities remain unserved. By making more materials available from these regional libraries, Libraries 2001 will raise current levels of service and provide the means to reach out to more of those in need.

If passed by the Governor and Legislature, Libraries 2001 will be an important investment in New York's libraries. It will help provide the funds for library materials and construction that trustees need and strive so hard for to sustain their libraries. It's an investment that your library can grow and thrive with.

For more information on Libraries 2001 see the New York State Library web site at http://www.nysl.nysed.gov or contact Janet M. Welch, State Librarian, at 518/474-5930, email: jwelch2@mail.nysed.gov.

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by Dr. William Taber, NYSALB Trustee

As you know, the trustees of public libraries establish and oversee the policies that determine the library's mission and the general rules by which it is run. To make the policies actually work, we frequently must work "downwards" as well, from the general to the more specific, by creating guidelines to help the director understand the policy goals and the means by which to put them into actual practice. The library staff then has the obligation to run the library in compliance with the policies and the guidelines.

However, there is another direction to which we should turn our thoughts in this process -- this is to "look upwards", to judge the policies that we create as if they were themselves the specific application of even more universal purposes and standards to which we are obligated as public library trustees. But what standards? Where are they?

This is perilous territory, full of dangers that must be skirted cautiously. One danger is that institutions which affect human thought or behavior (e.g. education, government, entertainment, police, ...and libraries!) are themselves natural targets for ideological, religious, and political agendas. Institutions which are based upon concepts of freedom such as freedom of thought, of expression, of research, of access to knowledge, of self-determination, etc. are especially likely to be targeted because, in the minds of people who are most rigidly certain of the truth of their own beliefs, the intellectual freedom of others is easily seen as a threat to themselves . Targeting can be done consciously by pressure groups or it can be done unconsciously through the medium of our own preferences and prejudices as we are affected by a society in constant turmoil and change.

Library policy must not be controlled by outside agendas or cascading fads of popular thought; for above this ebb and flow of life styles, there are basic principles that are inherent in the very nature of the public library. These principles are the stars by which we steer its course: as Captains on the ship, this is our obligation.

1- Safeguard human knowledge and the totality of human history.
Knowledge of past human experience is the primary advantage that humankind has as a species in its task of survival. Technology, skills, language, insight -- all lessons of the past -- are perishable commodities, and any course change in the direction of safeguarding them serves the whole of humankind. It fulfills part of our obligations to the past generations who have brought us to our present state of enlightenment (such as it is) and to the future generations who will shortly succeed us. Public libraries are collections of this precious memory -- they are not just entertainment centers for the literate.

2- Pass it on.
Public libraries are not static repositories of treasure. By their very nature, we make this treasure available to those who seek it out, and we encourage others to realize that they too can seek it out. Human populations are mixtures of savagery and culture, and a function of public libraries is to push that mixture toward culture. A policy course in this direction is always justifiable, but it can meet with resistance as the winds and currents of society try to force-feed the populace with currently popular ideas or absurdities.

3- Prevent the monopolization of knowledge by elites.
This is the star that is often most difficult to follow. Knowledge is power, and the elites of wealth, politics, administrative position, ideological supremacy, and education know this very well.

Knowledge is the rightful heritage of all humankind, but it can be stolen, and those who steal it damage all of us. Whenever knowledge is monopolized, the result is always some form of oppression, some structure of lasting inequality that is not the natural result of differences in individual human potential, talent, or effort. By its inclusiveness, the public library is directly set against monopolization, guild-like elitism, or censorship. The Hitlers, Stalins, Mao's, and Khomeni's of the world would destroy us for following this star since our course is incompatible with their domination. And this is a very good reason to keep the star always in mind.

Firmness of purpose and flexibility of means go side-by-side. Sometimes ships must go off course for a short while to survive a storm. Sometimes libraries must hunker down for a bit to survive a political tempest. But the stars and principles are still there, and the only true disaster is when we forget to use them.

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An invitation has been extended to all public libraries to participate in the national celebration of the Library of Congress Bicentennial.

On April 24, 2000 the first day of issue, the United States Postal Service will release a commemorative postage stamp at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC. From April 25 through May 31, libraries around the country can hold their own ceremonies as "second-day" issue sites.

On request, the Library of Congress Bicentennial Program Office will send an information kit which includes a timetable and checklist for planning your library's "second-day-issue" event, guidance for planning a ceremony, programming ideas and suggestions. Included in the kit will also be information about envelope designs for your event, publicity guidelines and many other documents to assist with event logistics. Staff in the Bicentennial Program Office is also available to work directly with your library on planning an event.

More information on this project is available by calling Kathy Woodrell at the Bicentennial Program office (202) 707-7206 or toll-free at (800) 707-7145.

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• advocates support of libraries and their programs;
• communicates with library trustees to inform them of issues affecting libraries and library service;
• educates trustees about their role in the library; and
• recognizes and celebrates the accomplishments of library trustees.

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By Mary Rinato Berman,Chair, NYLA Legislative Committee

What do libraries throughout New York State need as we move into the 21st century? Adequate funding from all levels - local, state, and federal. The New York Library Association has prepared a legislative action plan designed to bring traditional library services, along with electronic information resources and technology, to all residents of our state.

"Books, Bricks, and Bytes" is a comprehensive funding initiative, developed after consultation with libraries, library systems and other library organizations, that includes five goals:

1. To maintain the infrastructure of support services to libraries and their users.

2. To insure New Yorkers' access to technology through their libraries, and to address inequities of the "Digital Divide".

3. To provide incentives to localities to build or rebuild their library or system headquarters' physical plants.

4. To enhance and maintain library collections and make them available to all New Yorkers.

5. To enhance and maintain library services to New York's special populations.

This legislative plan builds on the 1990 Omnibus Library Bill, better known as Chapter 917, and calls for an additional $60 million in state funding. Chapter 917 provided a basic, stable platform from which to develop a plan which would take into account new priorities which have emerged for libraries during the past few years. With this additional money, libraries around New York State will be able to focus on three main areas.

First, libraries can maintain and keep current their traditional, but still much needed, book collections.

Second, as use of these library collections and services increases, library buildings need to be expanded or renovated to meet the changing needs of their communities.

Third, libraries need to install or upgrade technology that will enable its users to connect with the entire world of information. New York State's libraries currently rank behind those in states like Mississippi and Arkansas in state funding of library services. Technology grants from the Gates Foundation, E-rate discounts, and programs such as NY Wired are appreciated but can never replace the regular, ongoing funding necessary to provide the libraries and library services that the residents of New York State not only deserve but require to compete in today's world.

Each of our 211 legislators who represent us in Albany need to have this library message delivered to them, whether in their home districts or in Albany. You, as members of Library Boards across the state, have the key role to play as the budget process moves through the final stage of negotiation. Educate our legislators and their aides about what libraries do for their constituents and the many important roles libraries play in their communities.

Tell them the stories of what your library has done and how it has improved the life of its patrons. Urge them to move New York State into a leadership role in its support of libraries.

The result of providing the needed increase in funding will be to ensure every citizen access to the information they must have to prosper in the 21st century. Most important, we must take this message to our representatives throughout the year, not only during the final stages of the budget process. Make a committment to talk to your legislator several times a year about libraries and to invite them to programs at your library on a regular basis.

Never let them forget how vital libraries are to the life of every community. Never let them forget that people who value libraries will remember how they vote on library funding.

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1/15/2000

By Martina Thompson, NYSALB Trustee, Secretary

The NYSALB Board of Directors acknowledged the loss of a wonderful colleague, Ken Wilbur

Appointed Audrey Smith to serve as NYSALB Treasurer

Reviewed a preliminary treasurer's report which showed a profit in excess of $10,000

Reviewed a proposal from the Board of Regents which recommends that audit committees be established by public boards with budgets of $300,000 or more

Received a draft of suggested changes to the Trustee Handbook from Malcolm Hill

Reviewed plans for the Trustee Institute and invited Commissioner Mills to speak at the Trustee Institute's program on Saturday, May 6, 2000

Listened to a legislative report from Mary Renato Berman, NYLA Legislative Committee chair

Listened to a report by Jim Farrell, Library Development Specialist, NYS Library

Discussed the Governor's proposal to move libraries to a new Office of Cultural Resources and the proposed status quo in funding

Discussed "free direct access" and its affect upon library systems

Agreed to expand the newsletter to eight pages when necessary

Recognized the need to establish a "letters to the editor policy"

Planned NYSALB workshops for trustees who attend the NYLA Conference in November in Saratoga Springs

Adopted the resolution to recommend to the Regents Commission to include training for trustees in the Standards for Public and Free Association Libraries

Recognized the need for NYSALB to assist in providing the training format to meet the suggested training requirement Renewed NYSALB's contract with Prestige Associates Management Services, (Christine Paulsen)

Set the following NYSALB meeting schedule for the year 2000 and early 2001: Saturday, March 11, 2000
Friday, May 5, 2000, 1-5p.m. prior to Trustee Institute
Saturday, September 16, 2000
Saturday, November 4, 2000, during the NYLA conference
Saturday, January 13, 2001
Saturday, March 10, 2001

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Beyond Albany...

By Rebekkah Smith, Development Associate, Mid-Hudson Library System and List Manager of the ATM-FUNDRAISING Listserv


"The estimated need for public library construction is almost $800 million while the state currently spends $800,000 annually on library construction."- Regents Chancellor Carl Hayden

Mr. Hayden's quote, taken from a February press release, refers to the Board of Regents proposition that the state invest $90 million in New York State's public libraries for modernization over five years. This is not the first year that the Regents Commission or the New York Library Association has put forth a plan to increase the amount of construction money budgeted for New York's public libraries, and it won't be the last. This pattern highlights the need for a strategic capital improvement fundraising plan for your library that is not on hold - waiting for state funds to be awarded to your library or library system.

The current New York State allotment for public library building and renovation is not sufficient to meet even one of New York's 23 library system's needs. Sixty percent of New York's public library buildings are more than 50 years old, and another 20 percent are more than two decades old, according to a survey jointly conducted in 1998 by the New York State Library and the New York Library Association. The survey included 70 percent of New York's 1080 public libraries.

Problems identified include:

38 percent of public library buildings lack adequate electrical wiring to accommodate computer, Internet technology and other needs.

46 percent lack full accessibility for individuals with disabilities.

75 percent lack adequate space to accommodate the past 10 years growth of their collections at a time when information resources are growing exponentially.

At the same time, 73 percent of New York's total households use public libraries; the national average is 65 percent.

The quote from Regents Chancellor Carl Hayden reminds library advocates that an increase in state funds may not be on the immediate horizon. Such an increase will depend on many variables, including each of us advocating for library funds.

Can your library afford to wait for the passage of increased state funding for libraries? Public libraries need a strategic fundraising plan that does not rely on inconsistent or non-existent state budget increases or irregular run-off monies in the form of member items for libraries. (Relying on member item grants is a risky tactic, that won't translate into a stable funding source for libraries.)

Fundraising for your library should come in many forms - as many as your board can manage without spreading themselves too thin. Consider an annual campaign, an on-going book sale, applying for mini-grants and matching grants, hosting special events such as charity auctions, raffles, or even starting a "bucks for bricks" program. Assess your current fundraising plan. If your roof is leaking, you lack space for another computer, your operating hours are low or your budget is depleted before you start - come up with a new strategy.

Empower yourself and your board colleagues to find paths to better funding for your library.

Participate in library advocacy events ( NYLINE ). Stay abreast of current and pending legislation affecting libraries - locally, statewide and nationally.

Write, call, email or visit your local State Assemblyperson and State Senator.

Invite them to your library.

Inform your county and municipal leaders of the importance of legislation affecting libraries and ask them to contact their counterparts in Albany.

Coordinate these actions with other library board members in your system and the state. (Use the structure of NYSALB to your advantage and look for networking opportunities with other library trustees [check out TusteeNet ].

Look into some of the fundraising resources provided by area libraries. The Mid-Hudson Library System has Fundraising Information Centers in the Chatham, Beacon, Cairo, Mahopac and Marlboro libraries, and a Foundation Center Cooperating Collection in Poughkeepsie. They all provide print and electronic resources.

Start investigating grantmakers and corporate giving programs in your immediate service area, as well as throughout New York State and nationally - explore helping.org and learn how to better utilize web resources that are available to nonprofits. Take a look at eGrants.org and match your needs with grantmakers who give online - it can't hurt to look into these resources and the sooner you familiarize yourself with other fundraising opportunities the sooner your library will benefit.

Don't wait for New York State lawmakers to solve your funding woes. State funding is just one of the possible pieces of the jigsaw.

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Letters to the Editor

When space permits, with authors permission, we will be reprinting letters sent in response to articles appearing in TRUSTEE. The following is one of many received following Parry Teasdale's article "Standards For Trustees."

TO: Parry Teasdale, President - NYSALB
FROM: Peter Ward, Director, Smithfield Library


I read with great interest your article regarding standards for library trustees that appeared recently in TRUSTEE. As a library administrator, I strongly support your proposal that trustees receive some type of formal training.

Holding a library board position is a challenging, yet rewarding experience. A library trustee is responsible for making decisions that involve public funds and is therefore subject to a high degree of accountability. In addition, the fast-paced information technology environment we live in has put the public library in a position of continually having to clarify and justify its role. As a result, the task a library trustee faces today is not only more demanding but also more complex.

I have recently begun developing an independent learning course for trustees. It focuses on the roles, duties and responsibilities of a library trustee, along with some basic terminology and concepts. I would greatly appreciate the opportunity to discuss my project with you in more detail at your convenience. Please feel free to telephone or e-mail me.

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THE TRUSTEE

Vol. XI, No. 2, April 2000

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 XI Issue #2, 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

WEBMASTER: Norman J. Jacknis, norm@jacknis.com

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

1st VICE PRESIDENT: Davis Crippen

2nd VICE PRESIDENT: Norman J. Jacknis

TREASURER: Audrey J. Smith

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

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

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