It’s important to go into each budget season prepared.  Prepare to explain every penny. Prepare the details of why something deserves an increase or to be created. Most importantly prepare all the answers for the questions you hope you don’t get asked.

I’m new to Library Management, as I’ve been a director only about four years, and I’m reminded how new I am during each budget cycle, as I continue to improve in my process and preparation. I’ve learned to treat it like painting, it’s never as easy as you think, and always takes more time than you expect. Preparation is key.

In my community, the next year’s budget is due about 6 months before it will begin, and we go through 5-6 rounds of review with the community administration, financial team, capital committee, town governance, and then a final vote by the annual town meeting (about 300 citizens). They all have different angles and approaches, with questions and needs for explanation, but ultimately the same endgame exists for each: What’s the bottom line?

With a new political climate in our country, and an economy that still hasn’t fully recovered from the crash in 2008, it’s safe to say that many of you building budgets will hear the phrase “based on a level fund scenario” (or something to that effect) when you are beginning your budget seasons. If you are new to budgeting, it’s important to realize what the folks saying this to you realize already that a “balanced budget” is really a cut.

Non-salary item costs will rise each year whether it’s convenient or not. It’s important to pay attention to these things like materials, supplies, maintenance contracts (both building, and smaller machinery like copiers, printers, security gates) and go into the creation of the budget knowing what could be done to make sure you have everything you need. If you overspent your budget for building maintenance or library materials, but returned half of the budget for utilities costs, that’s an opportunity for next year.

Those groups we spoke about earlier will certainly notice these things, so it’s important you do too. Perhaps you can utilize unused funds in the current year by asking for less in the forthcoming year, transferring that fund request to a spot where it could really help you, keeping the bottom line unchanged. Asking these questions will show you care about the overall community budget, not just your budget at the library, and that will earn you some points you need later when the rubber hits the road, or if the possibility of fulfilling “wants” exists.

You’ll need to think of other creative ways to shuffle around amounts between line items from one year to the next, as you will usually have less to work with than you prefer.
It’s needs versus wants, and sometimes that’s a difficult pill to swallow. You may think you “need” that extra position, because of all the things you could be doing but aren’t, but it just might not be a need in the eyes of the brass. Needs should only be what you require to perform as strongly next year as you did this year. That’s it. Your team of librarians will continue to push the bar creatively when building your collection and program offerings, but you need to keep it all in perspective. Every yes has a cost associated with it, and it will be you alone explaining this to those who hold the purse strings at budget time.

The post It’s Never Too Early to Start the Budget first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

In general, I believe a library should always be looking for alternative solutions even when not faced with a budget cut.  It may make sense to keep an ongoing file.  Perhaps being a part of a consortium like WorldCat isn’t necessary when you look at the statistics and discover that it isn’t utilized enough to validate the cost of having it available.  Perhaps every library in the state doesn’t need to subscribe to every newspaper/magazine/online database.  Libraries should be monitoring their statistics of how often these items are being used and adjust accordingly.  It may make sense to carry a subscription to a fishing magazine like Bassmaster  in an area that is around a body of water, but it may not be necessary in a more urban area.  It may make sense to provide Hi-Fructose in an area with a large college population and a thriving art community, but it may not make sense to also carry it in a smaller rural community with no art galleries.

A library I used to work at faced job cuts and we had to restructure our work after two positions were eliminated.  Ultimately we decided to look at the statistics of when we were the busiest, and adjust the hours of operation accordingly.  We found that hardly anyone was using the facility on Sundays or after 8 on Monday through Thursdays, so we closed Sundays and closed at 8 during the week.  This allowed us not to more easily cover the shifts with our reduced staff.

In Connecticut, they are being presented with a possible $3.5 million cut to the State Library System.  The time is now for Connecticut libraries to get creative about their cost savings.  It has been suggested that they may need to look into depending more and more on foundation support to cover what local and state money may no longer be able to provide.[1]

It’s an unfortunate situation, but one that can be improved with a little thought, examination, and ingenuity.  Often once a community realizes just what has been lost they will rally with the next election to support their local libraries and all of the many, many, many services that we provide.

[1]. http://www.westhartfordnews.com/articles/2015/10/28/news/doc563148be46646259700799.txt?viewmode=fullstory

Further Reading
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/library-budget-cuts/

The post Budgets Cuts Require Tough Choices first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

The E-Rate program is built to “help libraries gain affordable, high capacity broadband. . . ; boost library participation in the program; and increase the efficiency of the application and review process” for eligible libraries. Furthermore, the “Got E-Rate?” page lists information about the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) reforms of the E-Rate programs and what this means to libraries, particularly public libraries. The page has a lot of information that may or may not be difficult for you to decipher, so I recommend taking a look at “Library Leaders: E-Rate Opportunities Take Center Stage” by Marijke Visser.

Visser breaks down the main take-aways of the E-Rate program with these points:

1. About $1.5 billion has been added to the funding for the E-Rate program
2. The American Library Association, Public Library Association, state library agencies, and other organizations will produce E-rate resources that are aimed to provide libraries that are interested in applying for E-rate funding with “communications, education, practical tools, and technical support.”
3. Increasing broadband capacity is not simply for rural libraries, but also applies to suburban and urban libraries that may need to expand their services.

After reading both of these articles, I had a few initial thoughts:

1. As a librarian, I am (typically) aware and/or reminded of the digital divide in communities. Connecting and working with librarians throughout the state and nation has exposed me to the different resources available (or unavailable) to public libraries and the disparities between communities. However…
2. …as an individual, I tend to forget about things like the “digital divide.” This is easy to do when I’m in my own little world, streaming music from my iPhone on my way to work, and watching Netflix on Apple TV at home. But…
3. ..the digital divide is real. Just take a look at the statistics, “How Americans Go Online” published by Pew Research Center’s Internet and American Library Project. The graph shows the correlation between lower income and education levels with lower access to Internet usage at home and in general. Race and geographic location affect the result.

The Internet is a necessity for not just checking email or research, but also for applying for jobs, learning new technological skills, and gaining confidence. If a person is unable to have broadband access at home, it is all the more imperative that their local library have sufficient access to not only bridge the gap in the digital divide, but also in digital literacy. What are your experiences with broadband access in your community?

Sources

“Got E-rate?” Got E-rate? Web. 22 Feb. 2015. http://www.ala.org/advocacy/goterate

“Library Leaders: E-rate Opportunities Take Center Stage.” District Dispatch. 28 Jan. 2015. Web. 1 Mar. 2015. http://www.districtdispatch.org/2015/01/library-leaders-e-rate-opportunities-take-center-stage

“How Americans Go Online.” Pew Research Centers Internet American Life Project RSS. 24 Sept. 2013. Web. 24 Feb. 2015. <http://www.pewinternet.org/2013/09/25/how-americans-go-online/>.

The post Got E-Rate? Bridging the Broadband Divide with the E-Rate Program first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

Writing strong and effective technology proposals is something that we, as educators and library professionals, should be able to do and be able to do well. Odds are, if we’re going to implement innovative and creative technology in our libraries, we’ll probably have to make a strong case for it to appear in the budget. Let’s face it, innovative technologies like 3D printers, vinyl cutters and professional recording studios don’t exactly fall into the “essential needs of the library” budget line, nor do the latest and greatest computers for that matter. While Macs are cool, they aren’t that cool.

Unless you happen to work for one of those five-star-Library-Journal-endless-budget-how-do-they-keep-doing-it-libraries, you need to accept the fact that you’ll have to put in some extra effort if you want your library to be able to keep up with what’s hot.

The following steps are a framework for creating proposals that will get people to listen:

1. What do you want? How much does it cost? Who cares?
The most important part of any proposal is identifying the thing that you actually want and how much it costs. This is simple and needs little explanation. What is not simple, however, is pinpointing who will actually care or truly benefit from the things we purchase. The best way I’ve found to begin this process is to first propose my idea (and cost) to some of my very close non-library friends. The ones who will tell it like it is. If their response is, “Why would the library waste money on that?” or the rhetorical “Who cares?” and I cannot convince them to respond otherwise, I probably have some more thinking to do.  For further information on this, see step 3, “Purpose.”

2. Know your audience: Think about who are you proposing to and tailor it towards them. The Library Board? Management? The Director? Friends of the Library?

If you’re proposing that the library should purchase a 3D printer, find out what would interest those who are you proposing to. Is the Board President an avid Star Trek fan? Of course she can print a replica of the Starship Enterprise with the new 3D printer.

Want to learn the rest of the steps? Head over to DigitalLearn.org.

Jason Pinshower is the Information Services Librarian and the Technology Trainer at the Fox River Valley Public Library District in Illinois where he creates and teaches technology courses, develops the eBook collection and manages the 3D printer among many other things. You can contact him at jpinshower@frvpld.info.

The post Getting Your Proposals Passed: How to Create Strong Technology Proposals first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

When the make-up of our Library Board changed, personalities shifted and perspectives clashed. Suddenly there were new situations in which it appeared that many of us, as well as the library itself, were vulnerable. It was then that I learned of Directors’ and Officers’ Liability Insurance (often called D&O). This insurance, purchased by the organization, reimburses the organization’s leadership for losses or advancement of defense costs of legal actions coming about from alleged wrongful acts in their capacity as leadership of the institution. Policies vary by the amount of coverage, but are offered by almost all of the major insurance companies. Costs are based on not only the amount of coverage, but the size of the board and institution.

At the time that I began to look into this insurance, my library was facing two possible legal actions. One stemmed from a communication problem over a fundraising event. The other involved the personality clashes of two significant individuals involved with the management of the library. It was a situation that six months earlier would have been inconceivable for all of us.

For our institution the cost increased our insurance line by approximately five hundred dollars annually. It was not an easy sell. However, the cost of one lawsuit would be far greater.

In the end, our fundraising event went off, but not without some very problematic hitches. The human conflict was a bit rougher to deal with, but fortunately it also did not end up in litigation. We were lucky that the Library Board had purchased D&O insurance. For me, it was all a little too close for comfort.

The need for such insurance—as well as the coverage—varies, and must certainly be analyzed on a per library basis. Certainly, one’s needs can be greatly affected by circumstance. Municipal libraries may be covered under town insurance policies, but might not be. What I do know definitively, is that is far better to research and discuss the options before there is a potential need. Based on our experience, I’d advise this is one of those situations where it’s better to be prepared.

The post The Importance of Library Insurance: Investigate It Before You Need It first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

New approaches, like priority-based and outcome-based budgeting, could help align a library budget with its services and dollars received. These methods can provide enhanced accountability and transparency to the budgeting process. They both have the potential to better communicate the goals and intended outcomes of new and existing programs. Outcomes, outputs, inputs, strategies, and performance are aligned and regularly evaluated. Governmental units, like libraries, can align more strongly with their city’s or county’s priorities.

A priority-driven budget is in some ways the opposite of a traditional line-item budget approach. The budget process begins with a review of the organization’s priorities rather than the dollars spent on activities the previous year. Each program or activity is evaluated based on predetermined performance indicators. The focus moves from dollars spent to effectiveness of programs and services in relation to the value of those services.

Creating priorities prior to funding considerations helps to focus on the mission and role of the organization. The process can also help to weight the value of one program over another. In cases where a program may be ranked at a lower value for results achieved, stakeholders and program participants have the opportunity to take on more responsibility for the success or support of the service. San Jose, Calif., is an example of how a city has applied this process.

Outcome-based budgeting is a specific form of priority-based budgeting. It is an approach that government entities have successfully implemented and is now moving to the non-profit sector.  It is interesting to see how some government agencies have used this method to incorporate their strategic plan initiatives directly into their budget process. An example is Newton, Massachusetts, a city that has used an outcome-based approach throughout their city, including their library budget.

The four principles of outcome-based budgeting include:

1. Establishing outcomes
2. Developing approaches to achieve outcomes
3. Developing a budget with approaches to achieve outcomes
4. Evaluating performance and making adjustments

These four principles allow the organization to align its budget tightly with its strategic plan.

Traditional library metrics and performance indicators need a tune-up. This is an opportunity for library leaders to adjust indicators to demonstrate long-term strategic priorities. By aligning them with the budgeting process, libraries will be in a better position to communicate value to financial stakeholders.

Resources

Stanz, C., Backes, S., Fokerts, N. “Budgeting for Results: Outcomes Based Budgeting.” Presentation of Nonprofit Financial Roundtable Series, Waite Park, MN, August 26, 2014. Powerpoint slides from the presentation.

Kavanagh, S.C., Johnson, J., Fabian, C. Anatomy of a Priority-Driven Budget Process, Government Finance Officers Association, 2011.

Outcomes Based Budget Overview,  City of Newton, Mass., 2014.

The post New Budget Processes for the “New Normal” first appeared on Public Libraries Online.