Money Issues

I just received an appeal from Paul LeClerc, President of the New York Public Library. Attached was a video clip below showing how the Library once helped President Barack Obama find a job and "how our Library is continuing to help thousands of New Yorkers find new jobs in this tough economy".

Please excuse duplication. Please forward to interested colleagues and other listservs. The Bottom Line: Managing Library Finances will be publishing a special issue(s) on the effect of the current global economic recession on libraries. The editor is looking for articles from all types of libraries: public, academic, private, special, corporate, etc. Articles that deal with managing layoffs, permanent cuts to staffing and collections, innovative collaborative and cooperative arrangements between and among libraries and/or other organizations because of budget cuts (including shared print, cataloging, collection building, etc.), and organizational change and/or strategic planning in a time of dramatic budget cuts are especially encouraged. Articles can be of any length, and figures and screen shots are encouraged. If you are interested in contributing, please send the editor your name, a short proposal of the topic, and a tentative title for the article. Deadline for proposals is March 1, 2009. Articles would be due to the editor by July 1, 2009. Any questions can be directed to the editor. Thank you. Dr. Brad Eden Editor, The Bottom Line: Managing Library Finances Associate University Librarian for Technical Services and Scholarly Communication University of California, Santa Barbara [email protected]

Sara Nelson, the editor in chief of Publishers Weekly, the main trade magazine for the book industry, has been laid off in a restructuring by the publication’s parent company, Reed Business Information.

According to a statement from Reed, which operates a broad range of trade publications, the layoffs affect about 7 percent of the staff (including executive editor Daisy Maryles, bookselling editor Kevin Howell, children's reviews editor Elizabeth Devereaux and director of business development Rachel Dicker ...Shelf-Awareness) .

As a result of the restructuring, Brian Kenney, editor in chief of School Library Journal, will now be editorial director of three magazines: Publishers Weekly, School Library Journal and Library Journal. NYTimes.

Money is scarce, but hopefully humor is in good supply.

When the well-heeled patrons of New York's venerable Morgan Library wander through its new exhibition of cartoons about money, there may be some hollow laughter as they ponder their own hard times.

The exhibit of 70 years of New Yorker magazine cartoons titled "On the Money" was planned over a year ago, before the full scale of the financial crisis that has plunged the United States and much of the world into recession became apparent.

Here's the story from Reuters with two cartoons included.

Don't miss A Look at Recessions and their Impact on Librarianship:
Given the constant flood of reports comparing our current economic recession with past major recession events including the Great Depression, Hilary Davis explores the historical patterns of employment rates and salaries for librarians at times of recession and the role of libraries during recession events.

SANTA CRUZ -- Library leaders on Monday will consider slashing the new book budget, closing all branches on Fridays and raising some fines as they grapple with a $625,000 deficit on the system's $13 million budget.

"Its not like there's any fat in our current budget, so something's got to give somewhere," said library board member and Santa Cruz City Councilman Mike Rotkin. "What's being proposed is the least painful of a number of alternatives."

Unless the General Assembly drastically changes its tune toward higher-education funding, one of the state’s most cutting-edge — and crucial, officials say — online educational resources will be gutted to the point of irrelevancy once the state budget is passed.

The Partnership Among South Carolina Academic Libraries (PASCAL) was established in 2004 as an online resource for higher education students and faculty with an annual appropriation of $2 million. It was designed as a strategic initiative to improve information access for South Carolina’s college students and was launched by cooperation from public and private academic libraries

Ward 2 Ald. Gail Simpson is proposing that some crimes that now lead to the Sangamon County Jail would instead result in a ticket and a fine — a fine that could help keep Springfield’s two remaining Lincoln Library branches open.

Simpson, whose ward includes the southeast library branch, said she’s been looking at ways to keep the facilities open. Mayor Tim Davlin’s proposed budget calls for closing the west and southeast branches to save the city $370,000 a year.

All city libraries will face cuts in their hours of operation unless a judge reconsiders an order forbidding the closing of 11 branches, Mayor Nutter said yesterday.

Staff members at the libraries that Nutter planned to close this year had already been laid off or transferred when the judge ruled that the branches must stay open. That order is forcing the city to operate with fewer employees and causing the city to bleed money by the day, Nutter said.

An inspirational story for the New Year.

Stirred by Mayor Nutter's proposal to close 11 branch libraries, the opponents came tumbling off the shelves of Philadelphia society - rich, poor, black, white, homeschoolers from the Northeast, young anarchists from West Philly.

With President-elect Barack Obama's campaign as both inspiration and field guide, they organized, demonstrated and sued, then packed the courtroom for hearings and showered the mayor with boos at his own news conference.

Then, astoundingly, they won. More from the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Philadelphia Inquirer - Library advocates on Monday asked a judge to prevent the city from shuttering 11 branches at year's end, closures they contend are illegal and endanger some communities.

"Libraries are no longer just depositories of book and magazines and other media," plaintiffs' attorney Irv Ackelsberg told the court. "(They are) sanctuaries of learning and safety for our children within the streets that hold many dangers for them."

Mayor Michael Nutter plans to close the libraries beginning Thursday to help narrow an estimated $1 billion budget deficit over the next five years.

But Ackelsberg cited a 1988 ordinance that states "no city-owned facility shall be closed" without the approval of City Council. He asked the judge to prohibit the mayor from closing the branches unless council approves.

The San Jose Mercury News posted a story originating from the Daily Sparks Tribune. Sparks is connected to Reno as Henderson is connected to Las Vegas. Reno and Sparks are located in Washoe County while Las Vegas and Henderson are located in Clark County.

The county library director in Washoe County is getting ready to take cuts to the county commission. Current estimates peg the cuts at $846,000. There currently is a hiring freeze with four unfilled positions and public access computers that break down will reportedly not be replaced or repaired.

The Washoe County Library System website can be found at http://libwww.washoecounty.us/.

Julian Shortland posted to the NZ-Libs list in New Zealand about a virtual gift shop he created. Such is geared towards people connected to libraries who want to make charitable donations. The shop can be found by way of TEAR Australia's gift site.

The Las Vegas Sun reports today that residents said goodbye to Green Valley Library. As a result of a boundary realignment control of the facility is shifting from Las Vegas-Clark County Library District to Henderson District Public Library.

While Henderson District Public Library is facing financial worries, the most recent episode of the LISNews Podcast mentioned at the start one step the local friends group is taking to help.

And speaking of Friends of the Library...

A Holiday Home Decoration Fair that replaced the Friends of the Rochester Hills Library's holiday home tour was a big hit.

A silent auction of four-foot trees, wreaths and table centerpieces was held in the library Nov. 27 through Dec. 7. It raised $1,500.

"In previous years we sponsored a popular holiday home tour, but it was becoming more and more difficult to find homeowners willing to open their homes," said library director Christine Lind Hage. "It was also a difficult time of the year to get enough volunteers to staff the event." This year, local businesses and individuals donated the items that were auctioned. Hometown Life reports.

The Norwalk Public Library Foundation has taken a $100,000 hit from the economic downturn. Unlike with other losses stemming from the Wall Street crisis, the library's board of directors hopes to recover the money.

Here’s a letter that Roy Blount Jr., a wonderful author (all football fans should read his Steelers classic About Three Bricks Shy …) and president of the Authors Guild, recently sent to Guild members:

I’ve been talking to booksellers lately who report that times are hard. And local booksellers aren’t known for vast reserves of capital, so a serious dip in sales can be devastating. Booksellers don’t lose enough money, however, to receive congressional attention. A government bailout isn’t in the cards.

We don’t want bookstores to die. Authors need them, and so do neighborhoods. So let’s mount a book-buying splurge. Get your friends together, go to your local bookstore and have a book-buying party. Buy the rest of your Christmas presents, but that’s just for starters. Clear out the mysteries, wrap up the histories, beam up the science fiction! Round up the westerns, go crazy for self-help, say yes to the university press books! Get a load of those coffee-table books, fatten up on slim volumes of verse, and take a chance on romance!

There will be birthdays in the next twelve months; books keep well; more from the NYTimes.

Ann Arbor (MI) District Library Director Josie Parker may have a pleasant Southern accent and good manners, but don't question her toughness.

On Sunday, Parker pursued a thief after he grabbed a collection box of money donated for the library's Family Book Club. In the process, she fractured a tibia and the thief got away - but not with any money. Go Josie!

The incident took place Sunday about 9:35 p.m. at the Borders store in the Arborland shopping area in east Ann Arbor. Parker was volunteering with a gift-wrapping program that benefits the book club. While Parker was wrapping gifts, a man in his 20s approached and stole the donation box, and Parker instinctively went after him.

"He tripped in front of her and she shoved him to keep from falling into him, and twisted her knee trying to recover,'' said Prue Rosenthal, a library board member.

"He went flat down, crushing the box containing the money and then he scrambled up and ran away,'' Rosenthal said in an e-mail account of the incident. MLive story.

Another story on the determined Philadelphians who want Mayor Nutter to assure them that they'll have libraries in their neighborhood.

MyFoxPhilly: They marched the two blocks from Genesis II Montessori School to 34th and Haverford, arriving just as the Charles L. Durham library was opening for the day. "It's fun, reading, and it's fun telling stories," one boy said.

"Listen for the consequences of closing libraries today," said Katrina Clark, their teacher, reading a book to the participants. They called the event a "Read-In" in the spirit of civil disobedience.

Clark read aloud a book about a town that closes a place just like the Durham branch. "'That's where the library used to be,' she said. 'What's a library?'" she read. [Anyone know the title of the book?]

Later, the kids bundled up again and trekked the more than 2.5 miles roundtrip to the library at 40th and Walnut just to make a point.