• Spring

January 2000

• President's Memo
• Trustee Institute 2000
• Editorial: Legislative Linkup
• The Legislative Spot
• Trustees & Library Funding
• Judging A Book By Its Cover
• Wish For A Small Library
• Library Circuit: Chatham Public Library
• NOPL: A Combined Approach
• Velma Moore Winner
• NYLA/NYSALB Conference
• Assemblywoman Naomi Matusow
• Senator Hugh Farley
• NYSALB Board & TRUSTEE Ownership

by Parry Teasdale, NYSALB President

The library community in New York State hasn't been very successful lately in squeezing money from Albany for new statewide projects. True, New York puts more money into library service than any other state in the nation: $88.5 million last year. But for all that cash, New York lags behind a number of other states when it comes to innovative, statewide library programs and services. And trustees share some of the responsibility for this gap.

Much of the money allocated by the Governor and the State Legislature each year pays for library system operations. Public libraries reap the benefits of this funding through the services systems provide -- interlibrary loan, technology, staff development, etc. The money doesn't go far enough in part because, with around 720 public libraries and half again as many branches, New York has far more libraries than any other state. Meanwhile, our political leaders don't seem to believe that libraries need more than simply enough to maintain our present level of service.

There are over 5,600 public and association library trustees in New York. Collectively, we could be an extraordinary force on behalf of state library funding. But we don't speak as a collective voice on statewide issues, though it's a good bet each of our libraries would benefit from additional state money.

Why aren't trustees more visible at the state level, even when it's in the best interests of libraries? I think it's because we're focused inward on our individual libraries. What's more, most trustees probably don't know what state funding does for their libraries because they never see that money reflected in their annual budgets.

We trustees use the limited time we have to attend to the immediate needs of our own libraries. This often produces marvelous results for our communities. But it can also feed a sense of insularity that traps us in our own little world. By limiting our outlook, we risk ignoring the reality that the delivery of library services is moving ever more rapidly toward a complete dependence on interconnections among libraries, and between libraries and global sources of information.

To strike a balance between meeting the unique needs of our own libraries and developing an awareness of our role in a larger library community, we must begin to raise our own standards for what it means to be good trustees. I suggest that all new trustees -- whether elected or appointed -- be required to take a minimum of three hours of training in the duties and responsibilities of public library trusteeship within two years of taking office. The same requirement would apply to the rest of us at the time of our reelection or reappointment. We trustees would guide the state in establishing the outline of the standards, and our systems would provide the training sessions.

Voluntarily agreeing to standards may seem an onerous prospect. But do any of us really know everything there is to know about being a library trustee? And if you answer yes, then ask yourself this question: if 5,600 trustees know so much, how come we don't have the clout to get the money to make the public libraries of New York the leaders in library service nationwide?

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by Nancy Simaitis, NYSALB Trustee, Trustee Institute Chair

Mark your calendars. Plan to be in Rochester, NY, Friday, May 5 and Saturday, May 6, 2000 for the NYSALB 2000 Trustee Institute.

Friday, May 5

Friday evening dinner participants will have the opportunity to network with trustees from libraries of all sizes. Those who attended last year's institute were so enthusiastic about this part of our program that it is "back by popular demand." Share your success stories. Learn the way others deal with library problems, programs and activities.

Saturday, May 6

Four workshops have been planned covering topics of interest to both new and experienced trustees.

• 9:00 a.m.- Richard Panz, Director, Monroe County Library System, will discuss How Your Library System Can Help Your Library.
  
• Concurrently, Assemblywoman Naomi C. Matusow, Chair, Assembly Committee on Libraries and Education Technology will present How To Make Your Voice Heard.
  
• 10:30 a.m. - 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.
  
• Also at 10:30 a.m.- Gerald Nichols, Director, Suffolk Cooperative Library System, will discuss Public Library Implications of the Regent's Commission on Libraries Report.
  

Regent James Dawson, a member of the Regents' Cultural Education Committee, will be the keynote speaker at the closing luncheon on Saturday.

Invitations to the Trustee Institute will be mailed in February. Please plan on joining other trustees as we celebrate the new millennium and "learn together" how to be more effective library trustees.

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by Edwin M. Field, NYSALB Director, TRUSTEE Editor

What teacher, worth his or her salt, would permit students to take an important exam without providing adequate preparation? Could one expect the CEO of a large corporation to tackle a major company move without first designing a sound business plan? Would an actor or actress walk onto a stage without adequate study of the script?

Perhaps the time has come for the library community to consider business plans and a plan of preparation for its annual dealing with the legislature and the powers that be in government. To begin with, the time is ripe for all of the major library entities to come together, to narrow down their annual appeals for governmental support to a singular voice rather than presenting multiple themes and sometimes conflicting viewpoints. Using the latter approach can often lead to legislative confusion and possibly provide a reason for legislators to avoid positive decisions. The time worn cliche still has a lot of clout: In union there is strength.

Shakespeare said: "All the world is a stageŠ." Library people often find themselves on that stage especially on "Library Day" in the Capital. There is nothing wrong, of course, with continuing the time honored legislative "contact sport" in which we've been engaging. Recognize, however, that some of us excel at one approach over another. There are writers and there are talkers. There are people who are impressive in face-to-face meetings and others who can develop a working relationship via the phone. Let's get the right person handling the right task. Suppose we begin the process of direction and organization by putting our people's assets to work in the fashion that can do the best job.

Let's discuss business plans. Library operation is a business. It requires dollars, cost analysis, operational details, cost containment, promotion, planning, projections and more. On a grand scale, the people who make the ultimate decisions about state, system and the cumulative needs of the individual libraries must jointly develop the library business plan. It has to be clear. It should be simple. It must be complete. The plan should be in writing. It cost X Y Z to operate. These are our plans. We receive $$$ in support from ABC. We seek your legislative support in the amount of $$$. This is what we intend to do with the library dollars for the people of New York. Simplicity is the keynote because everyone on every library and legislative level must be able to understand and relate to the numbers.

Let's consider a couple of other approaches. There are 700 libraries in New York State. Each library comes complete with trustees, library directors, librarians, Friends, borrowers, volunteers and a fairly large group of community supporters. Include with these people their immediate families and friends and you have a sizable number of individuals interested in library support. Each represents a vote that is very much on the minds of legislators statewide.

On a completely different tack, most of our Systems and a large number of individual libraries regularly produce newsletters for their members. Why not regularly dedicate space in these newsletters for a message to our legislators? It might detail library needs, goals and the special activities for people in the legislator's district. Make sure that the legislators receive copies of the newsletter and that a number of extra copies are mailed out or hand delivered to the district offices for legislative staff members. Make the legislators and their staff part of your library family.

If you have developed successful techniques to communicate with your legislators, tell us about them and we'll reprint your ideas in TRUSTEE.

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By Kenneth Wilbur, NYSALB Trustee & Legislative Chair

As we enter another year we must look back, way back. If our ancestors did not have the vision of a library in their community, supported by all and for everyone's use, would the public library of today exist? Ben Franklin was a supporter of gathering places to "improve the general conversation of the Americans." Out of these gathering places, in those early years, grew an exchange of books that eventually developed into the first subscription library in North America, a fore runner of our public library system. In the perspective of man's quest through the ages for knowledge, Franklin's "gathering places" were not actually too many years ago.

The "gathering places" still exist today in every community. Our society has developed the coffee shop, work place seminars, sport bars and similar social spots to allow friends, co-workers, and neighbors to engage in conversation. Ben Franklin's concept is still strong. The atmosphere usually determines if the activity is "improving the general conversation of the Americans." The concept is alive within your community library.

Your community library operates within an infrastructure that will allow the members of our society to nurture their quest for knowledge in the forthcoming 21st century. No income level is required for its use. No recommendation is needed for a "subscription" card. The community needs to support this cornerstone of our society in the same manner as they do our roadway system. As trustees, we have an obligation to remind our elected officials of the need for support. No, there is no ribbon cutting at the library when a shipment of books, videos or software arrives as often happens on the occasion of a new bridge opening. Nevertheless, the arrival of the new books, videos and software is cause for joyful celebration.

The beginning of budget season in Albany starts with the arrival of the New Year. Write letters to the Governor, Senate Majority Leader and the Assembly Speaker to garner their support for library funding. Send letters to your individual senator and assemblyperson. The scheduling of Library Day in Albany on March 21, 2000 will be the last big push for library funding. (Budget deadline is April 1st.) Take the time and make the trip to Albany.

When you are in Albany or have scheduled a meeting with a legislator in their home office do not become disheartened if you do not have the opportunity to meet with the elected official. A meeting with a legislative assistant or staff member can be effective too. A staffer will probably have the "ear" of the legislator and can be mighty helpful. The story we must get across is the need for funding our libraries.

Although there are those who may not use the library, the preponderance of our state's population has come to rely on the library for their information, learning opportunities, place to get answers to perplexing questions and reading matter. These are the people who are following in the path of their ancestors who many years ago built the foundation that created today's community public libraries. They have continued a process to keep the center of knowledge and information nourished over the years.

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

The very nature of public library funding is uneven at best, a patchwork of different sources and factors. A tax appropriation here, a book sale there, a legislative grant, help from your library system, a grant from the state library - all sorts of funding contribute to sustaining your library's operating costs. It never seems to be enough though does it?

Library boards, just as any other nonprofit organization boards of trustees, are entrusted with the ultimate responsibility of acquiring adequate resources to enable the organization to fulfill its mission. This translates into board members playing an active role in fundraising for their library. The board should work in partnership with the library director and development staff, if any, to help raise funds from the community. (Think of 'community' in any way necessary - your town, New York State, the United States of America - whichever will suit your library's needs.)

In an ideal world, your library would have at least basic operation funds, and trustee fundraising would be for special programming initiatives and other lucrative projects. However, this is not always the case. Trustees may need to utilize a fundraising strategy just to put books on the shelves of the library, fix the roof, or to pay staff.

So what can you do to improve your personal and collective contribution to your library's current fundraising strategy?

• Educate yourself on the basics of fundraising. Know what an in-kind donation is, learn more about grant-writing, find out where to look for grant opportunities and how to research prospects and take every opportunity to network and tell people about your organization. Check into the resources listed below if you need some help to get started.
  
• Have a fundraising strategy. As you read in Dr. Taber's October 1999 article in NYSALB's TRUSTEE, "Guerilla Fund Raising," it pays to be organized and have a strategic plan of action for fundraising. The Richfield Springs Public Library hired a fundraising professional, won over their state senator, strategically timed press releases, researched their mailing list and THEN started a letter campaign and saw a 50% response rate. This library had laid the groundwork for success.
  
• Make a personal contribution. If you don't give, how can you ask someone else to? Very often when a trustee asks for a gift, the potential donor first wants to know how much the trustee has given. Many grantmakers have begun to ask if organizations have 100 percent financial participation on the part of the board. Remember that the amount of your gift is not as important as how much the gift is in proportion to your means.
  
• Overcome the fear of asking. Make sure you know what you are raising money for and how the money will be used. Try role playing with your peers on the board - these actions may help to alleviate your anxiety (or dread, apprehension, and panic...) of soliciting funds for your library. Not every trustee must be a hands-on fundraiser. Some very good trustees may never be effective solicitors. You may have the urge to flatly refuse to ask for money but will feel comfortable researching prospects and grant-writing, selling raffle tickets or helping to organize a special fundraising event. All of these actions are obviously useful! Remember that all trustees can contribute in some manner to the never-ending quest for additional funding!
  

Fundraising Resources for Library Trustees: Fundraising and grant announcement Web sites of interest can be found at the Mid-Hudson Library System's web page [http://midhudson.org] on the Access through Technology to Money for Libraries and other Not-for-Profit Organizations Page (ATM Project*) -- you will find this page under 'web projects' from the MHLS home page. This initiative is entering its third year with the project, "e fundraising forum: for library trustees, friends and volunteers." This project will begin to bridge an information gap in two areas: accessing information specifically related to local and state legislative funding opportunities; and sharing experiential knowledge of fundraising achievement.

Other sites of interest and fundraising tips and trends can be found on the ATM-FUNDRAISING List. To join the ATM-FUNDRAISING Listserv (if you haven't already!): send an email to LISTSERV@home.ease.lsoft.com and in the body of the email type: SUB ATM-FUNDRAISING Firstname Lastname (Use your real name, no 'handles').

Here are some of the sites that library trustees may find useful:

• The National Center for Nonprofit Boards [http://www.NCNB.org] is a nonprofit organization dedicated to building stronger nonprofit boards and stronger nonprofit organizations. They exist to help nonprofit leaders -- board members and paid executive staff --engineer healthy, powerful organizations. The organization provides resources, leadership tools, and answers to help you be a better nonprofit leader.
  
• Free Toolkit for Boards of Directors [http://www.mapnp.org/library/boards/boards.htm] from the Management Assistance Program for Nonprofits. This site also has excellent links to general fundraising information [http://www.mapnp.org/library/fndrsng/np_raise/np_raise.htm] and Duties & Responsibilities of a Fundraising Board Member [http://www.smartbiz.com/sbs/arts/bjh16.htm].
  
• The Internet Nonprofit Center [http://www.nonprofitinfo.org/npofaq/] offers information for and about nonprofit organizations in the United States. Check out their Nonprofit FAQ section, they have plenty of tips and answers on a variety of topics related to nonprofit boards: fundraising, board-staff relations, committees, conflicts of interest, liability, policy issues, ...
  
• "Board Cafe" [http://www.genie.org/pubs_newsletters.htm], a monthly e-mail newsletter dealing with board issues is published by the Support Centers of America's San Francisco office. Although a general Board resource they very often have fundraising tips and resources that library trustees may find useful.
  

In a survey of 1,200 charities conducted by the National Center for Nonprofit Boards, fundraising topped the list of weaknesses among board members cited by nonprofit chief executives. Twenty-six percent of the charity executives wished that their boards did a better job fundraising, and only 2 percent called fundraising a strength. Library trustees can help to change this perception by truly getting involved and utilizing the many resources available through libraries to help them to bring their libraries into the millennium!

[*The ATM Project is funded through Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) Funds awarded to the New York State Library by the Federal Institute of Museum and Library Services, the Dyson Foundation of Dutchess County and the Mid-Hudson Library System. For more information contact Mary Keelan, Director for Development, Advocacy & Media at the Mid-Hudson Library System [keelanm@sebridge.org] or Rebekkah Smith [mhlsdev@sebridge.org]

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By Bill Johns

(In the last issue of TRUSTEE author Bill Johns wrote about book condition, dust jackets, reprint publishers and more. In this issue he tackles recognizing publisher's firsts, book clubs, book age and other relevant topics.)

Suppose we find a book that sounds like it might have promise. What do we look for next? Take it off the shelf and look at the dust jacket. Did grandma amass her huge library by joining the Book-of-the-Month Club? If she did, pack it up and go home. Book Club editions are practically worthless. But how can you tell if it's a book club? Some book clubs are kind enough to tell us. It'll say "book club edition" or "selection of the literary guild" or some think like that on the front dust jacket flap. Others will expose themselves by the lack of a price on the dust jacket. If it has a price, it's not a book club. If there is no price, flip it over and look at the back cover. If there isn't a price there either, it's almost certainly a book club. Very few publishers produce books to give away free. A final check. Many book club editions will have a five or six digit number printed in a small white box, usually on the back cover. That is a book club code and a dead giveaway. What if there is no dust jacket? Then look at the back cover in the lower spine corner. You will often find an impressed symbol or letter. That impression means you've got a book club edition.

If the book is still in the running, open it and look at the copyright page. If it's a first edition by a collectable author or on a collectable subject, it might be worth something. Latter printings have very little value. Many 20th century books will say "First Edition" (including some that aren't). Many will list the printing. Only first printings have much value. "Gone with the Wind", issued in 1936 went through countless printings in a matter of months. Many a poor soul with a 1936 "first edition" is shattered to learn that the 42nd printing is not worth $2,000.00.

Many books do not indicate the edition. The tricks to identification vary from publisher to publisher. There are whole books on how to recognize each publisher's firsts. Here are a few tips. If the copyright date matches the date on the title page, it MIGHT be a first. If the copyright page contains an A under the copyright, it MIGHT be a first. If the date is different or the letter B or Z, it's probably not a first.

There is a final trick of the trade. In recent books an obscure row of numbers is to be found on the copyright page, reading something like this - 87 88 89 90 91 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1. What this obtuse code means is that the book is a 1987 1st printing. When the plates are sent to the printer for a 2nd printing, the printer will remove the "1" at the end of the line (unless he forgets to do it!) If it's a new tear, he'll also remove the 87 at the beginning of the line. This system is now widely used and aids in identifying recent firsts. Beyond these few clues, you need to carefully research any suspected first editions to determine what you have and what its value might be. (More on that in future articles).

A final important factor to consider is age. Old is not an indicator of value. They've been printing books for 500 years. For most of that time, they were highly prized possessions, carefully protected and preserved. Only in the last one hundred years did they start making books from materials that seriously degrade with age. Therefore, many old books survive to fill up grandma's shelves. For most old books, the only thing rarer than the book is someone who wants it. American Tract Society books are old. Some are attractive. A few are even interesting. But no one collects them. They have almost no value (unless it's a book about missionary activity in the Sandwich Islands or Bechuanaland or someplace else exotic and collectible.)

So, in conclusion, with these thumbnail rules, we can eliminate 95% of the books on grandma's shelves. And that leaves us with enough time to carefully evaluate the remaining 5% that MIGHT have some collectible value.

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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by Dr. William Taber, NYSALB Trustee

As you read this, a new century and a new millennium have embraced us. Very few generations in the constantly changing parade of human life can observe this numerical milestone and be challenged to think for a moment in its rather long time frames. The date is nothing more than an infrequent and artificial marker in time, but it does jog us (for a moment only?) out of our usual perspectives of the next hour, day, or perhaps budget year.

As any geologist will tell you, a millennium is a very short period of time. About 12 of them have passed since the retreat of the glacier from over the landscape on which we stand here in New York State, an event probably observed by Native Americans. If that seems like a long time, compare it with the sixty thousand millennia that separate us from the last gasps of the dinosaurs whose species already had evolved and ruled for about twice that period of time. And life itself was old before they started.

In just the last single millennium, the Roman Empire collapsed, to be replaced by the intellectual disasters of the Dark Ages; feudalisms and monarchies and empires arose and collapsed with terrible losses; doctrinaire political and religious justifications for tyranny and exploitation held steel-like grips upon the minds of generations, ultimately to fail and to be replaced by something else, often as bad or worse than what had preceded it. The process has continued throughout this last century which has seen the horrors associated with the Kaiser, Hitler, the Japanese Empire, the Soviet Union, Cambodia, Kosovo, and so on. Cohesion on all levels is dissolvable; even our own democratic country split apart after less than a century and was reunited only by a major internal war. History does not stop.

Here is where libraries come in. For during these centuries, there emerged, very slowly and usually with great difficulties, a few creative people who unearthed some of the lost knowledge, who created new ideas and new knowledge, and who influenced the technology, the thinking and ultimately the behavior of significant populations. Their contributions were, and still are, always in danger of being lost, because it is the fate of human populations to suffer the steady infusion of total ignorance and to lose knowledge and experience as the cycles of birth and death roll on.

Ignorance and its allies (narrowness of experience, fearfulness, greed, thirsts for power and precedence) are forever; enlightenment and knowledge exist only as long as human effort maintains them and passes them on effectively. Libraries are a key to this function; for they are our human invention to preserve the products of the human mind and to make them available to humanity in general, not just to the wealthy or powerful.

A fairly long view of history tends to be tragic. For I have no doubt that the major civilization collapses that occur throughout all human history will be in our future as well. The "when" is unknown (hopefully not within the new century -- you see, I am recklessly optimistic); the "why" and the "who" are known; for they will be as always the result of our own degradation of knowledge, of resolve, of timely action, and of effective resistance to greed and power and frivolity on the part of those who control our institutions.

Small public libraries may help to postpone the next collapse and to limit its eventual cost to humanity.

With this framework in mind, what I wish for our small libraries in the next century and the next millennium is something different from our needs for more space, reliable and adequate budgets for a change, and secure political support.

You and I can wish for whatever will help us and our successors to preserve knowledge and the products of culture and to forever make them available to a constantly renewed population. We can use the marvels of digital access to information to reduce the costs of our remoteness but resist becoming DEPENDENT upon them. For example, when information is digitized, its usefulness automatically becomes dependent upon the survival of the "hi tech" commercial, political and technical infrastructure of law, manufacturers, repairmen, and electricity. Infrastructures collapse for all kinds of reasons, lines are cut, technology is forgotten, funds disappear, electromagnetic pulses destroy electronic equipment. If all the knowledge of the world is on a SUPER MAG CD DVD PLUS but it can't be read because the machinery won't work or no longer exists, that knowledge may be lost forever. Simple techniques and local collections are good when bad times undermine the "hi tech" marvels.

Just as "low tech" has a survival value, remote dispersal and high duplication have advantages as well.

The burning of the libraries of Alexandria was a catastrophic destruction of the human knowledge of that time brought together into one place. If, in post-Roman times, "...the Irish Saved Civilization", their remoteness was a precious factor. Your remote small public library is likewise an outpost of civilization removed from the center of interesting events; as a group, the small libraries of New York State are a dispersed resource. Electronic access to information stored elsewhere reduces that dispersal only if it replaces local collections rather than supplements them.

Duplication of information is another resource for bad times, and this is where the digital revolution is a great positive (but only as long as the infra-structures support it). When books were hand drawn or painted, they were few in number and hence very susceptible to extinction. Centuries later the printing press poured out hundreds, then thousands and millions of copies of books and increased the probability that information (somewhere!) would survive the destructions of evil times. Likewise, digital technology has made the duplication of text and graphics hugely efficient and world-wide. Such information in digital form is not highly vulnerable to limited regional catastrophe as long as (but only as long as) the repositories of electronic data remain safely elsewhere in the world.

What would I like to see during the next century (other than peace and prosperity for all and rationality and integrity among politicians)? I would like to see a "hi tech" technology in wide use (at least in every library) that will imprint or burn in from digitized sources the text and graphics of all human literature in VERY small print size (barely legible under pretty high magnification) upon extremely thin, light but durable sheets or rolls of (say) stainless steel or non-biodegradable plastics. These will be loanable to patrons with relatively simple electronic magnifying readers or projectors which will be far lighter and just as versatile as the e-books already on the market. New acquisitions will be downloaded electronically and "printed" out automatically in the library. Inter-library loans will be almost instantaneous. And best of all: when the next collapse arrives, these sheets will survive in large numbers, in remote areas (your library) and will be readable (perhaps painfully and slowly) with "lo tech" technology -- visual magnification. Maybe this time it will be YOU, not Ireland, who saves civilization.

I heat my house with oil from Arabia and electricity from Niagara. But I also have a wood stove.

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When visiting Chatham, NY, stop on Woodbridge Avenue to see the Chatham Public Library, one of 200 remaining Carnegie libraries in the nation. Built in 1905, the brick building was one of 5000 public libraries in the U.S. that made use of a fund established by financier Andrew Carnegie* for public libraries of that era. "On the agenda for the new millennium," according to Library Director Wendy Fuller, "is a $500,000.00 building renovation and technology upgrading program. Included in the new construction will be an original Tiffany window donated in 1908 by the widow of a library benefactor. The stained glass window currently holds a place of honor and will be an intrinsic part of the library building renovation."

The Chatham Public Library, sponsored and governed by the Chatham Central School District, also operates a small branch library in Canaan, NY for the convenience of residents in that adjacent area. The library's service area also includes Austerlitz, East Chatham and other areas within the central school district. The main Chatham Public Library and its branch in Canaan serve a population of 8,841 with holdings of nearly 37,000 books and approximately 850 audio-visual items. Together, the libraries circulate close to 44,000 books and 6000 audio-visual items annually.

Included in the library's special collection are a section on local history, large print fiction books and Internet access for patrons. From an historical perspective, the library also boasts a majestic red oak planted on its property in 1902. The tree is the oldest Arbor Day tree in New York State.

(*) A historical note: When the Carnegie Foundation gave a municipal entity funds for a library in the early 1900s, a pledge was extracted from its officials that they would furnish the site and support the place forever.

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During the early part of 1996, a new library district was established. "Named the Northern Onondaga Public Libraries, NOPL," according to Rudy Tucci, vice-president of the 12 person board of directors, "was formed from an amalgamation of libraries in the communities of Cicero, Brewerton and North Syracuse."

In the summer of 1999, the three villages celebrated the grand opening of their three new library buildings. Today, NOPL is among the 50 largest libraries in New York State. Along the way the voters in the region approved a $4.25 million construction bond issue, became a special district library through an act of the legislature, witnessed a 50% circulation increase, greater use of all of the library's facilities and offered increased operating hours for the residents of the three communities served by the libraries.

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Janice Allen, Director of the Paine Memorial Free Library, Willsboro for the past 30 years, has been named winner of the 1999 Velma Moore Award. She was presented with a specially designed plaque commemorating the award and a check for $750.00 to donate to the library or library service of her choice. NYSALB Board President Parry Teasdale made the presentation at the Inaugural Banquet and Awards Ceremony at the NYLA/NYSALB conference, October 30.

Janice, who has a long time interest in children's education, will be retiring from her position in the spring of 2000. Her three decade library career has been filled with her efforts to develop a wide range of programs for children of all ages and a determined effort at building up her library for the entire community.

Honorable mention went to Herbert Lerner, Valley Cottage Library, Valley Cottage and Kathryn W. Bahler, Irondequoit Public Library, Rochester.

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The 1999 NYLA/NYSALB conference in Buffalo (October 27-31) has successfully concluded. Two of the program offerings were NYSALB structured and sponsored. In addition, NYSALB was a participant in the Inaugural Banquet and Awards Ceremony presenting its Velma Moore Award as part of the evening's program. Norman Jacknis, NYSALB trustee, chaired and developed the programs presented by the organization.

The initial NYSALB program was an open discussion between library trustees and librarians. The presenters -- Mable Robertson, Brooklyn Public Library and NYSALB trustee; Deborah Coover, Pioneer Library System; Audrey Smith, Bell Memorial Library and NYSALB trustee; Sam Patton, MHLS and program presider Norman Jacknis -- put forth their views of the roles played in library operation by the two entities. The presenters detailed the conflicts that can arise and offered potential resolutions for successful trustee-librarian relationships and library governance. A question and answer period followed the presentations.

Serving Non-English Speaking Residents was the next NYSALB forum presented at the conference. The speakers -- Robin Osborne, Westchester Library System; Marina Ayzenberg, Brooklyn Public Library; and program presider Norman Jacknis -- discussed various practical methods for reaching a growing population for whom English is not their first language. Among the questions the panel dealt with were: "How do these residents become library patrons?", "What are the services libraries can offer these individuals?" and "How best can a library reach this constituency?" A question and answer period from a very interested audience followed the presentation.

After conducting a regular meeting of the NYSALB board, the New York State Association of Library Boards concluded its official activities at the 1999 conference.

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In order to work towards our goal of increasing visibility for libraries around the state, the Assembly Committee on Libraries and Education Technology plans to hold a hearing to focus attention on the need for increased state support for New York's libraries. The hearing is designed to provide a forum for New York's writers to talk about the vital role of libraries in our state's cultural life. We hope to bring together novelists, essayists, playwrights, poets and others to speak about libraries and the need for improved funding from the State.

As you are well aware, libraries play a vital role in the educational, cultural and economic life of our state. For many New Yorkers, the library is the primary contact with the literary world, an open door for children, students of all ages, immigrants, job seekers and business owners. It provides the opportunity to gain access through the Internet to information from around the world. Who better to illustrate the need to strengthen our libraries than the writers of New York State?

The hearing will be held at the Brooklyn Heights Branch of the Brooklyn Public Library at 1 p.m., Thursday January 27, 2000. Our hope is that by emphasizing the importance of public libraries in the life of our communities we can attract the attention of the media and the Governor.

I hope you will join our efforts. If you know of any other writers who would be willing to join us and speak about libraries, please call me. As the hearing is by invitation only, I will need to contact each writer personally. If you have any questions, please call me or my staff at (518) 455-5397. We will make every effort to assist you.

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"A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds..." Ralph Waldo Emerson

A hallmark of libraries in New York is the absence of consistency, foolish or otherwise. After twenty years as Chair of the Senate Sub-committee on Libraries, I still run across interesting permutations in governance, policy and philosophy.

This is a strength. Given our state's remarkable diversity, the diversity of library services enabled by strong traditions of local control and financing serves the specific needs of the people of each community. The emotional attachment of many people to "their" library is remarkable.

It is also a weakness. Absent a cohesive agenda, the library community will get left behind when statewide resources are allocated. Policymakers are reluctant to expand beyond platitudes, knowing that someone in the library community can always be found to criticize any specific action.

Can we maintain the strength of diversity while creating a new strength of unified purpose? Yes! Successful advocates build a strong three-legged stool. First, agree upon action proposals which are realistic and do the most good for the most libraries. Second, after agreeing, take the slightly modified advice of President Reagan and, "speak no ill of a fellow library advocate." Third, persist and persevere. Good things take time and effort.

What could be the foundation of successful legislation? Speaking personally from a lifetime of teaching and advocating for life long learning...

I'd like to see active library community support for rejuvenation of the State Library, both the Research Library and Library Development. The State Library is a keystone, holding together statewide services. The State Library has been slowly starved and it is in everyone's interest to restore the jewel.

I'd like to see opportunities for citizens to directly support their libraries. The incredible case of Corning aside, most evidence shows greatest community support when citizens can vote directly on library issues. Among public libraries, a ten percent increase in local funding -- a viable goal -- is the same as doubling state aid -- a worthy ambition, but unlikely in the short term.

I'd like to see flexibility in the use of state aid. We need minimums, along with the incentives to achieve excellence. Beyond this, funding should be flexible to meet the diversity of needs of different libraries. We are seeing a de facto flexibility as unrestricted legislative "member items" for individual libraries proliferate. The 1999-2000 budget includes over 100 "member items" for public libraries.

Finally, I'd like to see some way to ensure full, free library services for every school child and every citizen in the state. I know that opens up huge fiscal and emotional issues, especially involving elementary school libraries in New York City and public libraries dealing with adjacent unserved areas. But, as we once said about seemingly insurmountable barriers, "If we can put a man on the moon, we ought to be able to ...", in this case, guarantee library services for all New Yorkers.

That's a consistency which is not foolish.

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Vol. XI, No. 1, January 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 #1, 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, njacknis@ix.netcom.com

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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