Vestal Public Library, May 5, 2000
Rochester Public Library,
April 7, 2000 Additional Comments submitted to the Commission |
The following testimony represents the concerns and questions that were expressed at the May 1, 2000, meeting of the five library directors of Tompkins County. As a result of this discussion the Groton, Newfield and Ulysses Libraries developed the following testimony. Four of the five libraries are represented at this hearing.
The Regents Commission on Library Services has done an excellent job of developing recommendations for the improvement of library services. We thank you for the time and hard work that have gone into developing these recommendations. We especially appreciate your concern with seeing that all New Yorkers have access to outstanding library services.
Included with our testimony is The Tompkins County Public Libraries: An Overview, useful statistical information for comparing and contrasting the individual libraries of Tompkins County. Summarizing some of the most important points, we are one of the four counties in New York State with a central county library and autonomous outlying rural libraries. The Tompkins County Public Library in Ithaca administers reading centers in Caroline and Danby, and serves two towns that do not have local libraries, Enfield and Lansing. Of the four remaining rural towns, three of them have association libraries and one is a school district library. All the libraries are members of the Finger Lakes Library System, and have worked closely with our County Board of Representatives' Library Coordination Committee to envision the future for the county's libraries. The directors of these five libraries, each with its own character, have been meeting several times a year and working cooperatively to accomplish mutually chosen goals, and to share our experiences and to learn from each other. We are all committed to free and equitable access and to providing our communities with excellent service in spite of our minimal budgets. We are aware that the one library which has a public vote on its budget is the best funded. So we would seem to be eager candidates for a Regional Library Collaborative, needs-based formulas and incentive aid. However, we and our boards have many questions and reservations about recommendations 3 and 4.
Recommendation 3: Formation of Public Library Districts, specifically the regional library collaboration.
Recommendation 4: Promotion of equitable library services using a needs-based formula and incentive aid tied to community-based performance measures.
We strongly support recommendations 1 and 5. NOVEL is already starting to provide patrons pertinent reference materials that our libraries could not otherwise afford. Support for library construction is a constant need and not something we can entirely achieve with local funds.
This is just the beginning of a very long process. We do understand recommendations 7 - 12, that yet have to be developed, are the "supporting" recommendations for 1 - 6. They will provide the means that will allow you to achieve your vision, and that hopefully will deal with our questions and concerns. As libraries that are operating at or below the minimum per capita level of support, we have a vested interest in these policy recommendations. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to express our questions and concerns.
Signed,
/s/ Judith Barkee, Director
/s/ Lois Maki, Director
/s/ Susan Robey, Director
/s/ Susan Rosenkoetter, Director
/s/ Janet Steiner, Director
|
TCPL |
DRYDEN |
GROTON |
NEWFIELD |
T-BURG |
DANBY |
CAROLINE |
TOTAL |
|
| Type of Public Library |
Muncipal |
Association |
School District |
Association |
Association |
Reading Center |
Reading Center |
|
| Population of Chartered Service Area* |
94,097 |
1,908 |
5,397 |
692 |
4,906 |
2,858 |
3,044 |
112,902 |
| Population of School District |
67,225 |
12,144 |
5,397 |
5,179 |
7,125 |
N/A |
N/A |
97,070 |
| Populabon by Municipality |
59,688 |
13,251 |
5,483 |
41867 |
4906 |
2,858 |
3,044 |
94097 |
| 1999 Registered Borrowers |
38,153 |
31204 |
3,184 |
11381 |
2,256 |
262 |
124 |
48,564 |
| 1999 Inventory of All Items |
218,535 |
19,068 |
26,857 |
12,840 |
12,177 |
(plus deposit of 1700) 150 |
(plus deposit of 1550) 100 |
289,727 |
| 1999 Circulation of All Items |
792,841 |
28.566 |
39,614 |
23,215 |
|
|
1,500 |
916,622 |
| Circulation at TCPL From Residents of this Municipality |
|
81,056 |
81474 |
24,719 |
40,858 |
NA |
NA |
155,107 |
| 1999 Interlibrary Loans Lent |
9,910 |
- |
777 |
567 |
567 |
|
|
11,821 |
| 1999 Interlibrary Loans Borrowed |
3,895 |
|
783 |
917 |
1,189 |
18 |
4 |
6,806 |
| Interlibrary Loans from TCPL to Residents of this Municipality |
|
- |
337 |
406 |
454 |
18 |
4 |
1,219 |
| 2000 Staffing FTE's (based on 35 hours per week) |
45.40 |
1.69 |
2.64 |
1.06 |
1.90 |
|
|
52.69 |
| 2000 Volunteer Hours Per Week |
75 |
10 |
3 |
20 |
35 |
10 |
10 |
163 |
| 2000 Hours Open Per Week |
62 |
27 |
37 |
20 |
29 |
6 |
8 |
189 |
| 2000 County Support |
1.629,810 |
28,500 |
28,500 |
$ 28,500 |
28,500 |
|
|
1,743,810 |
| 2000 Village Support |
- |
2,500 |
- |
$ - |
5,000 |
|
|
7,500 |
| 2000 Town Support |
- |
4,300 |
- |
$ 9,350 |
6,000 |
$ 1,500 |
$ 300 |
21,450 |
| 2000 School District Aid |
- |
|
**$ 112,303 |
$ 5,000 |
34,000 |
|
|
151,303 |
| 2000 City Support |
7,500 |
|
- |
$ - |
- |
|
|
7,500 |
| 2000 Total Local Tax Support |
1,637,310 |
35,300 |
140,803 |
$ 42,850 |
73,500 |
$ 1,500 |
$ 300 |
1,931,563 |
| Local Tax Support Per Capita |
17.40 |
18.50 |
26.09 |
61 ~92 |
14.98 |
0.52 |
0.10 |
17.11 |
| 1999 Private Support |
211,000 |
6,308 |
721 |
$ 5,014 |
3,743 |
|
|
226,786 |
| 2000 Annual Expenditure Budget |
2,170,104 |
78,369 |
151,855 |
$ 59,600 |
85,710 |
|
|
2,545638 |
| % of Expenditure Budget from Local Tax Support |
75% |
45% |
93% |
72% |
86% |
|
|
-76% |
* Legal chartered service area may not accurately reflect
area being served.
**Groton Budget 7/1/00-6/30/01 includes $23,000 transfer from fund balance.
Thank you for the opportunity to provide input as you seek to improve library services to all types of libraries in New York State. Thank you for the time and interest that you are devoting to this process.
I speak on behalf of the school library media centers in the Broome-Tioga BOCES area. We have been providing support and services to 74 school libraries for almost 21 years through the School Library System. We were a pilot SLS, created as a direct result of a recommendation from a previous Regent's Commission on Libraries. Therefore we had a 5-year head start on life as a School Library System, starting in 1979. I bring a good deal of history as I journey along the path with the continual challenge of satisfying the continually increasing quantity of mandates and expectations from Albany with a pitifully low level of funding.
You, no doubt, have been reminded at prior public forums that School Library Systems and the schools we serve would benefit if there was sufficient funding recommended and allocated at the state level. We are a typical School Library System that receives an annual allocation of less than $105,000 to provide basic services and an additional $10,500 for automation.
Many years ago we found it necessary to request that the school districts contribute annually through a cooperative service agreement (co-ser) to continue to receive services from the School Library System. Fortunately our districts have experienced quality service and do contribute. However, they are frequently in financial crises and do not need this added expense. Some of our school libraries have had these annual contributions taken from what would have been their book budgets. Funding on a basis that would permit large systems to provide the same level of service as a system with fewer buildings should be a continual goal.
Overall, if you look at the present situation mathematically you see that almost 60% of the libraries in this state are in schools, yet only 10.9% of the $56 million in library aid is directed to School Library Systems.
The first recommendation that you are proposing is to create NOVEL, the New York Online Virtual Electronic Library, to deliver digital information with access for all New Yorkers. In theory this sounds ideal. Even with the very limited background that I have in this project, many questions come to mind.
In a School Library System, we must always be cognizant of and provide service to both the education and the library sides of the house. As instructional leaders, it is essential that we be enabled to support both in a balanced way. Funds to bring digital resources that support the NYS Learning Standards and the integration of instructional technology need to flow through School Library Systems to make the most effective use of NOVEL and feed the growing minds of our future citizens.
In Recommendation 2 you propose that it be ensured that New York's public school students are information-literate by providing strong school library media programs that include appropriately certified professional staff, adequate resources, and technology.
First, thank you for including school libraries in this way. Too often our needs are ignored. The scheduling of this hearing and yesterday's regional systems meeting with full knowledge that the statewide conference for school library media specialists had been on the calendar for over a year is a prime example of the fact that our presence is often overlooked at the State level.
Back to the recommendation.
Over the years of School Library System history, we have seen the Bureau of School Library Media Programs dissipated as all subject area bureaus in the State Education Department were reorganized. We fear that the library advocacy in EMSC will be lost completely when the two remaining former Bureau professional staff members retire. Recently we have also lost much support in the Division of Library Development as the person hired to coordinate School Library Systems has been given many other responsibilities and cannot devote full attention to our needs.
Overall, I encourage you to be sensitive to the unique needs of and realities in school library media centers in the state as we move into the future. I truly hope that the result of this Commission's work will be stronger School Library Systems and stronger school library media programs in the public schools of this state. I am putting my trust in this process and in the expectation that you will indeed incorporate input received in these public forums to better the information centers that serve our hope…our future citizens.
It would be a distinct pleasure to say that the Regents Commission on Library Services has produced recommendations that are visionary, fair, and realistic.
Unfortunately, that is not the case. Much of what you commission members have proposed flows out of your belief that "every New Yorker in every community across the state should have equitable access to quality library service". Back a few years, the statement was "All residents of New York State will have access to a full range of library services and resources to meet their information needs".
'Both statements are beliefs, noble concepts, but they are unlegislated, not part of state law. The core concept is unrealistic--one need but compare the library in Elizabethtown, Essex County seat, or that in Aurora, Cayuga County, with those in Liverpool, Rochester, Spring Valley, or dozens of other communities to see the unrealistic and utopian nature of the concept.
But the proposals are not only utopian, they are harmful. Your preliminary policy recommendations include statements such as citing "enabling aid" and "incentive aid" that will be awarded. No mention here, and little elsewhere, of the need for legislative and executive approval of these ideas. Electronic Doorway Funding--the legislative history of that Regents/State Education Department initiative--should be remembered.
Not quite fifty years ago, the administrator of Cortland Free Library arranged for loan of a television set so that area residents could watch the inauguration of Dwight Eisenhower as the nation's thirty-fourth president. Such a gesture was nice then; it would be folly now. It may also be nice to use state dollars to create a New York Online Virtual Electronic Library, complete with a gimmick that provides tenuous ties to public libraries. Many NOVEL users, though, will enter a public library just to get their access card, smile politely, then depart; home computers and inexpensive Internet access are increasingly commonplace, and not just in mansions of the affluent. Perhaps tomorrow a NOVEL will exist, and without reference to library-provided passwords or special cards.
There is a history of annual formulation of Regents "Budget and Legislative Priorit[ies]" that assume legislative and executive adoption of funding levels those proposals require. Librarians, whether on company time or their own, journey to Albany in support of those proposals. Their success--minuscule at best--is well known. This painful dose of reality should be remembered, indeed engraved in stone, as your six major recommendations are given consideration. It is simply unfair to speak of, for example, "a need-based formula to reduce disparities in library funding, and to promote service excellence through enabling and incentive aid tied to community-based performance measures" as if that formula, that aid, indeed is already reality. The concepts may be beautiful, but are they realistic? And, if they are unrealistic, should local libraries act as if indeed those dollars will come their way? Should they be exposed to local governments, smiling as their tax rates drop, letting library trustees devote untold numbers of hours making the case for what will be seen as another tax in a state with taxes already considered too high?
Others can address in greater depth the proposal that School Library Media Program Support Aid be provided to public schools. The wisdom of bestowing those dollars, perhaps unsought, upon boards of education that have their own funding, staff, and program priorities is questionable.
It is true that there is a need for public library construction, expansion, and renovation. Annual issues of Library Journal document New York state communities that have undertaken such projects, often without dollars from the state treasury. Should those libraries that have not seen and met local construction needs, for whatever reason, be rewarded by subsidies? And should noble thoughts such as "the Commission believes that additional funds [and reference is to state dollars] will be necessary to meet the needs of the state's public libraries" be regarded as other than "noble thoughts"?
Heart and soul of this testimony, though, must be the concept of Public Library Districts. Such districts solve nothing; they do not put an end to the problem libraries style 90.3, free direct access. That problem, it must be stressed, is worse than the classic unfunded mandate, for it is a mandate that was not voted upon by the legislature and signed by the governor. It is, instead, a "commissioner's regulation" that has been in existence barely one quarter of the state's history, based upon implied quid pro quos that benefit for the most part small libraries. It also must be stressed that there are not "1.3 million unserved New Yorkers". Those 1.3 million New Yorkers can stride into any library within the library system assigned to their community and demand free borrowing privileges--they are not unserved.
If indeed Public Library Districts are created, and libraries become such districts by choice or otherwise, a massive problem will still exist--that of nonresidents migrating to whatever library within their system attracts their fancy, provides their needs of the moment. Given a choice of using a library of 23,000 books open 23 hours weekly and one of 110,000 books open 60 hours weekly, which one will residents of the first-mentioned library's Public Library District turn to for other than gentle romances, John Grisham novels, a few garden books, or well-used children's books...
Two years ago, trustees of Cortland Free Library stated by resolution that commissioner's regulation 90.3 continues unacceptable because "it makes no allowance for circumstances under which individual libraries consider it necessary to charge individuals or families living within the system service area for library cards. To continue 90.3's prohibition of such charges constitutes continuation of an unfunded mandate, which is grossly unfair to taxpayers of this library's chartered and contractual service areas and thus harmful to the provision of quality library services to residents of those service areas". Those words would still be applicable if our funding areas ceased being one city and two towns and became a district comprising of that city and parts of those two towns. A moderate nonresident fee is reasonable and justifiable; it should not be seen as otherwise. Supporters of the proposed school tax increase for a nearby school system called the increase "less than the cost of a few video rentals". A reasonable nonresident fee, in its entirety, would also be less than the cost of a few video rentals.
Perhaps ours is not a typical association library, for local tax funds pay for all but new books and furniture and fixtures--legacies, gifts, and investments fund new books, the furniture and fixtures. That pattern, which has served us well for 75 years, should continue, notwithstanding the nice populist concept of giving residents "a voice in the governance and funding of libraries through public vote on budgets and trustees". The history of school budget votes, with its folklore of voter choice, and the increasing difficulty of finding school board candidates, brings to mind a concept--"if it ain't broke, don't fix it!". Where present library patterns "ain't broke", they should be left alone.
Cortland Free Library does strive, "always within budgetary considerations, to meet the reasonable informational, recreational, and educational needs of persons within its service area". That concept, local in origin, is relevant much more than noble words framed by unelected Albany-area persons whose intentions are the best, whose ability to fund those intentions are questionable.
Commission members: take your concepts, rewrite them, making clear in every instance that new funding is mentioned, that proposals remain just that--proposals--until they are funded by legislative action, executive approval. Public library systems were created, in most instances, after laws were passed. Money-spending proposals within your six recommendations merit similar treatment.
Thank you for listening to me.
Over the past several months, the Board of Trustees of the Horseheads Free Library has discussed the Preliminary Statewide Policy Recommendations of the Regents Commission on Library Services. As a group we congratulate the commission on its comprehensive, far-reaching and visionary work. We concur with its goals and many of its recommendations for achieving these goals. However, there are a number of issues about which we have concerns.
The first area of concern ties within Recommendation 3 and its proposal for the formation of voluntary Public Library Systems. Both library staff and trustees have reservations about bringing the issues of local library support to the public for a vote. A few years ago, our county officials came out against adding a library tax. Also, recently the Horseheads School District Budget was defeated twice in one mouth, forcing an austerity budget. Last fall we had the unfortunate experience of observing the closing of the Corning Public Library as a result of, among other influencing factors, the negative vote of local residents who were asked to form a Public Library District. These local situations have left those of us in the surrounding area feeling very uneasy about the possibility of a library tax being defeated here.
Our community has supported our association library adequately since 1944 in numerous ways including gifts, attendance at fundraisers and allocations from Chemung County and local municipalities. In the words of one of our Board members, "Don't fix what isn't broken."
An additional concern about Recommendation 3 is the issue of holding public elections for members of the library's Boards of Trustees. The members of the Board of Trustees of the Horseheads Free Library have always served our Board with distinction. Our system of selection has worked extremely well for us, and we do not want the State to tell us to change it. Our present Board is unanimous in its opinion that politicizing member selection will result in a decrease of quality and dedication.
Furthermore, in Recommendation 4, it is stated that the formation of Public Library Districts is to be voluntary, then, three paragraphs later, is the following contradictory statement, "After a period of transition, the 1.3 million unserved New Yorkers would be included in a Public Library District, and all New Yorkers would have a voice in the governance and funding of their library through public vote on budgets and trustees." Which is it, voluntary or not? We are distressed about the possibility of being forced to comply with this policy.
Recommendation 4 also proposes a new formula for allocating state aid to reduce disparities in funding. Does this mean that some libraries will receive less aid so that others can receive more? How do we know which group we are in?
The Horseheads Free Library Board of Trustees shares the Commission's concern for the 1.3 million New Yorkers who are underserved. We do, however, believe that to change all existing systems within the state, including those libraries providing exemplary service to their communities, is inadvisable, an expenditure of funds that could be used more wisely for those underserved areas and an infringement on the autonomy of individual communities.
Thank you for the opportunity to discuss the future of libraries in New York State. Although this Commission's Preliminary Statewide Policy Recommendations to the Board of Regents touches on all aspects of library service in the State, I will focus on recommendations 1 and 2:
Recommendation 1: Create NOVEL, the New York Online Virtual Electronic Library, to deliver high-quality reliable digital information and provide access for all New Yorkers.
I am the director of the Franklin-Essex-Hamilton School Library System located in the North Country. It is geographically the fourth largest School Library System covering 2,499 square miles. It also has the smallest student population of all the School Library Systems in the State. However, our small numbers and large area do not mean our information needs are any less than those of systems located in other parts of the State. Students in the North Country are learning to be citizens of the 21st century. They need equitable access to the information resources, both print and electronic, that are vital to 21st century society. NOVEL will help close the information gap that unfortunately still exists in some parts of our State. Of the 32 libraries in my School Library System, 12 still need high-speed connectivity to the Internet. Policies and funding to make high speed access to the Internet available and affordable for all libraries are vital to closing the information gap. While more and more homes have computers and Internet access, we must be conscious of the students who do not have access to these advantages at home. Internet access is especially important to students in my School Library System because the school library is often the only place they have access to electronic resources.
In addition to providing high-speed connectivity to NOVEL, we must be sure it includes resources needed by the students we serve. To that end, I encourage the inclusion of School Library System representatives in all discussions and decision making about what resources will be 'included in NOVEL. School librarians know first hand what information needs their students have. They are the ones who work with the new Learning Standards every day. They can best determine what resources and databases are necessary to meet the information needs of students in this State.
Furthermore, funding for NOVEL should flow through School Library Systems. This will ensure equity of access for all libraries in the School Library System. Additionally, School Library Systems can train the school library media specialists in how to use the resources available through NOVEL. They, 'in turn, will be able to return to their districts and train their students and staff members.
Recommendation 2: Ensure that all New York's public school students are information-literate by providing strong school library media programs that include appropriately certified professional staff, adequate resources, and technology.
Strong school library media programs are indeed an essential link in the teaching and learning process in our schools. It is in the school library that all students can learn to access and evaluate information, one of the most vital skills for 21st century citizens. Research shows that students in schools with certified school library media specialists and well equipped libraries score higher on standardized tests than other students (see attachment for summary of research).
I believe the best way to implement recommendation 2 and ensure that all students are information-literate is to strengthen School Library Systems. School Library Systems are the bridge between Library Development and Elementary Middle Secondary and Continuing Education. School Library Systems meld what is needed in a 21st century library with the new Learning Standards which are driving education today. School Library Systems help schools evaluate their library programs and move from basic to exemplary programming levels. The American Association of School Librarians has made available a Library Media Programs Assessment Rubric to help districts analyze their library program. A major part of the Member Plan each library in this School Library System completes annually is a similar assessment tool. It always includes both short and long term goals to improve that library's program. The School Library System then works closely with each library to help achieve the stated goals and, thereby, strengthen the library program in each district.
Monies from formula funding which flow through the School Library System could be used to equitably provide the kind of quality training needed by school library media specialists. School Library Systems, through their collection development plans, could also help school libraries provide the resources needed to meet the Learning Standards and develop information-literate students.
The recommendations in this Regents Commission Report definitely address 21st century information needs. I encourage you to do whatever is possible to strengthen School Library Systems and ensure equity of access to information and resources for all the students and staff members who use school library media centers.
Thank you for coming to Vestal today to take testimony from some of us in the field. We applaud your desire to see how the policy recommendations have been received by information providers throughout the state.
Willie Sutton was once asked why he robbed banks. You know what he said; He replied, "That's where the money is." Our state's libraries are metaphorically "where the money is," but as I read the Regents' policy recommendations, I grow alarmed that several large segments of the library community are omitted. I would ask you not to exclude several major places "where the money is" in New York State. Please don't exclude academic, hospital and corporate libraries. Comparable resources are available in few other states. Academic, hospital, and corporate libraries are a seamless part of electronic and print information provision in this state, a resource too good to be forgotten or simply passed over in statewide policy recommendations. Reading the current policy recommendations with academic, hospital and corporate libraries left out is like looking at a puzzle, a map of the United States, with 15 or 16 of the state pieces missing.
Of the first six recommendations, four deal only with public libraries, one only with school libraries, and one with "all libraries." Where are the academic, hospital and corporate libraries that provide so many resources, so much leadership, so much collective memory for the library community and citizens of this state?
As I talk about the recommendations, I will talk about how these libraries are already central to information provision, not just in their institution, but statewide. Please don't take any of my comments to be critical of public libraries and school libraries -- and the people who work tirelessly and well in them. They are doing a wonderful job. Let's just get all the money in the pot, let's get all the state pieces in the puzzle.
Let's talk about the recommendations:
Recommendation #1: Create NOVEL a New York State Virtual Electronic Library. This is a wonderful goal, but big building blocks of such a project are already in place-and weren't acknowledged in the recommendations. SUNY Connect is currently bringing together the state-supported colleges and universities under a common protocol. The nine 3Rs groups (the Reference and Research Library Resources Councils), under the leadership of Jean Currie in Ithaca, have received planning grants from the Institute for Museum and Library Services of the U.S. government for pulling together a statewide catalog of library resources, much of it coming from private higher-education. It's called Empire Cat. Several local 3Rs groups have already pulled together such a catalog for their part of the state. This recommendation does talk of "collaborative efforts with all libraries, library systems, and library consortia to provide a platform for NOVEL," but it hardly recognizes the yeoman work already done by 3Rs groups which consortially represent all libraries, and academic libraries, both public and private.
Although there are a number of great medical universities with their libraries throughout New York State, much of the medical literature is held by hospital libraries. Public libraries and higher education want to have hospitals' documents delivered to them via interlibrary loan. Public libraries and higher education, on the other hand, often do not have much that hospital libraries want. The Regents Commission Recommendations could find a way to pull them together. Much is currently being done by local 3Rs groups to help draw hospital libraries into the larger library community. BUT the Regents Recommendations must include hospital libraries under the big tent. Like academic libraries, they offer the whole state tremendous resources. Include them.
Recommendation #1 also talks about digitizing and sharing information statewide. I can run a scanner, you can run a scanner, all of God's children can run scanners, but who provides initiative and leadership on digitizing? John Dean's conservation and preservation group at Cornell is one of the nationally recognized leaders in the United States. Nancy Kranich's NYU library gets a planning grant to work out how to logically and coherently digitize and share New York State's historical and cultural legacy. I could go on and on about what higher education is doing to provide leadership in the library world -- but higher education seems to be peripherally included at best in Recommendation #1. How have lots of folks in the state learned the finer techniques of scanning and digitizing, and running the related software? Through training programs of 3Rs groups. Public and school libraries are doing excellent work, but you get lots of bang for your buck -- you multiply those bucks -- when you include academic libraries and 3Rs groups in the mix.
Recommendation #2 speaks to ensuring that public school students are trained to become information literate through strong school media programs. I believe in strong school media programs, too, but why not have strong information literacy programs developed that can be used in primary and secondary schools and public libraries. Don't make everyone reinvent the wheel for themselves. It is interesting that one of the nation's leading information literacy gurus is Cerise Oberman at SUNY: Plattsburgh. Once again, higher education with the help of public librarians and school media librarians could be employed to develop cutting edge information literacy programs for all segments of our society, and 3Rs groups could help disseminate that training. I don't get any sense from the Policy Recommendations that these things are known about -- or are valued.
Recommendation #3 speaks of improving library service by creating public library districts. The goals of this recommendation are currently being filled -- not completely but very much so -- by 3Rs groups and library systems -- except for the public vote on the library budget and trustees. Library systems serve the public libraries in their areas and come together with academic libraries, corporate libraries, and schools groups in current 3Rs groups. There's a lot of symbiosis when these disparate kinds of libraries work together. Let's strengthen the current good system, not create a new, somewhat redundant set of library districts.
I can only applaud Recommendation #4's attempt to promote service excellence and performance standards. Last week Barbara Raymond at Niagara Mohawk in Syracuse invited the local 3Rs group leaders and a few academic library leaders in to look at their implementation of the Balanced Scorecard method of outcomes assessment. This is a much more sophisticated means of balancing outcomes against costs, public perception, and so on than is commonly used. Corporate libraries have much to offer the state if they are asked. John Donne said that no man is an island unto himself. The same holds true for libraries. We are diminished when all libraries are not contributing to the common good.
Recommendation #5 calls for public library construction, expansion, and renovation to makes New York State's public libraries accessible to all and to employ the latest in technology to find and access information. A laudable recommendation, certainly. There's a lot of resource sharing and resource multiplying that can be done not just with public libraries but among all the libraries of the state. We should provide public libraries with the resources they need, but at the same time, these groups need to work together. Provide some resources -- a la the old Bundy monies -- to help update academic and special libraries in return for specific and measurable cooperation with public and school libraries. Much has been done, but cooperation has just begun in this arena. The area within a 30-mile radius of Utica was, in the 19th and early 20th century, a place where Welsh immigrants came to settle and where the Welsh set up many printing operations, sending their publications all over the U.S. A public library in our area has an old Welsh newspaper it can't adequately preserve or lend. They are going to give the original newspaper to Utica College. In return for their generosity, we will locate the missing issues, microfilm it, and give a copy of the whole Welsh journal back to the public library. A Welsh University heard of this project and is going to do a good bit to help defray the costs of gathering and microfilming the journal. In return, we will give this university a microfilm copy of the journal it did not hold. Utica College worked this project out on its own, but 3R's groups have a comprehensive idea of the resources in their area and can do much to facilitate this kind of cooperation.
Academic, hospital and corporate libraries and 3Rs groups are not simply complaining about being left out. What are our suggestions? A few things come to mind, but there are many more:
I could go on and on with substantive suggestions, but as a writer about 150 years ago said, the world will little note nor long remember what we say here, but it will remember what we do here -- if we are courageous in attacking our information challenges. But let's don't fight this battle with just part of our state's library resources.
When you go back to Albany, please integrate into the Recommendations the nine library resource councils and the academic, hospital, and corporate libraries into a seamless effort to combine and utilize the leadership, expertise, and resources from all our libraries. Demand their creativity. All libraries should have a place in the Regents Commission Recommendations. As Willie Sutton would say, when all the libraries are working together, that's where the money is.
Good morning. Thank you for coming to Vestal for this hearing. It is a pleasant experience for those of us working in the Southern Tier to avoid another trip to the "Thruway Corridor" for this type of meeting. You have already heard about the value of school library systems and the urgent need for additional funding to meet our goals. I would like to give you some information on my system. In my corner of the state, we serve 15 school districts, nearly 20,000 students and over 40 buildings in an area that covers over 1400 square miles. Our School Library System basic budget is just under $100,000. Salaries and benefits for 1.8 FTE take over $94,000 of the budget. The BOCES gets an indirect cost charge of about $1200, which leaves us with less than $5000 for services, travel and equipment. I am one of the SLS directors with a waiver because I am not full-time in the School Library System. Only 75% of my salary is in this budget. The remaining 25% is in various BOCES budgets. This means that in addition to SLS duties I supervise a media library and staff, an art in education program, and library automation. We could not survive outside of the BOCES, but the need to get additional funding from the BOCES means that I must supervise other services. In the past I have been responsible for bus driver training classes, Department of Motor Vehicle requirements for BOCES bus drivers, SAT Review classes and athletic coaching classes.
Obviously we could serve our library media centers more effectively if we were able to have diversified staff. I have heard the argument that co-sers (BOCES cooperative service agreements) are the answer. They are not. BOCES sells services to school districts. Districts choose the services (co-sers) that they want to buy. This means that there is no equity in co-sers. For example in our BOCES we offer a Cooperative Collection Development co-ser. Although this is something that the SLS is required to do by regulation, there is no money. We have only six districts participating, only 6,500 students benefit from this service. If we could offer it as part of the SLS services, nearly 14,000 more students could benefit. The School Library Systems desperately need additional funding to offer the services that our students and teachers need to meet the NYS Standards.
I would like to concentrate on Recommendation #2. I applaud the vision that all school library media centers will have a trained Library Media Specialist, access to technology and adequate resources. My concern is the expectation that we will be able to have an LMS in every library. The proposed funding is certainly necessary for this to happen but we also need to be training more Library Media Specialists. There are currently two districts in my SLS with no LMS. They couldn't find anybody. A teacher aide staffs one and in the other district a library clerk and an elementary teacher keep the libraries open. We already have posted four openings for September and I think that there will be at least two more with another opening in January. Last summer, one district got no applicants. I fear that we will get money for LMS and they won't be there. The library schools tell us that they have many graduates (some of whom have trouble finding jobs.) One problem is that many of these graduates are adult students who can't move.
There are 3 library schools in upstate NY: SUNY Albany, Syracuse University and the University at Buffalo. These are all located in the infamous "thruway corridor" and are at least a two hour commute from our communities. There needs to be a recognition that adult students can't travel to take courses and they certainly can't move for a year. The courses need to be offered close to home, at a time when they can attend and at a tuition that is affordable. Syracuse University does offer distance-learning courses but the tuition is very high. I would like to thank Judith Robinson and Neil Yerkey at the University at Buffalo for working with us to offer distance courses in Elmira and Fredonia. We have more than fifteen people signed up to begin taking courses this month.
I would propose two things to help alleviate our shortage.
I also think that the certification people at the State Education Department need to consider undergraduate library courses. I know that it is heresy to everyone who says that you need an ALA accredited MLS, but other states are offering LMS certification at their teacher colleges. For example, Mansfield University, just over the border in Pennsylvania, is developing an on-line program that will provide teachers with the courses they need to be certified in Pennsylvania. New York should explore this possibility. There are states that use other accreditation, such as NCATE, for these programs. Back in the old days (the 1960's) when the Federal funding allowed schools to develop library media programs, many teachers who needed to get permanent certification decided to pursue library courses. Most of these people are now over 55 and taking their retirement. There is no one out there to take their place. I propose that if we offered an incentive to teachers and offered courses closer to home, then we would be able to find some who would make excellent library media specialists.
The New York Library Association sponsored a forum in 1990, called "Following Dewey's Path." At least two members of the current Commission are listed in the attendees at Dewey's Path. Its stated purpose was "to formulate recruitment, education and certification strategies to counter New York's shortage of librarians in the '90s." The only change in this new decade is that the problems are worse. In The Bookmark, Fall, 1989, our former State Librarian, Joe Shubert, suggested a series of proposals that included distance learning, the use of technology to deliver staff development programs and non-traditional means of instruction. He also suggested that a special network of education advisors/mentors be developed in library systems. He suggested that SUNYSAT be used to provide core coursework for a library science degree.
We also need to continue to train the LMS that we have. Many schools are not letting LMS attend training opportunities because they can't get substitutes. The district funds for training are going toward helping classroom teachers teach to the Standards and assessments. School Library Systems, if they received additional funding, would be a perfect vehicle for courses for those already in the field.
I have been a professional librarian in this state for twenty-five years. During that time, I have witnessed a number of Commissions, studies and proposals. Some of them have presented ideas that have been adopted and have been very successful, like School Library Systems. Others ideas have been dropped or never implemented. I hope that what comes out of this Commission will be an increased appreciation of the over 5,000 school library media centers in this state and proposals which will help them prosper in the beginning of this 21st century.
As I read the recommendation draft, I was so inspired by your examination of libraries and your vision for innovation and I had a few thoughts to share with you today.
To begin, I would like to add my voice to those of my colleagues who have requested that the needs of preschoolers and the role of the public library in information literacy be added to recommendation #2. Effective lifelong learning, referred to in recommendation #3, of all literacy skills begins long before elementary school. For generations the public library has been a primary partner in preschool and parent education. Its role as a "preschoolers door to learning" is nationally recognized. The value of preschool story hour and programming for babies and toddlers - that which youth Services staff knew intuitively - has now been backed up by science. Sound segmentation and language rhythms, best acquired through repetition of nursery rhymes at an early age, are now considered to be the single most important basis for learning to read. Brain research also shows that windows of learning, opportunities for the brain to more readily absorb and retain information when presented, occur in greatest concentration and intensity during the preschool years.
Exposure to ideas, knowledge, materials, and assorted media fires the spark of desire and determination to master a new skill - familiarity will inspire eagerness and diminish intimidation. This exposure to books, computers and to information literacy is sadly overdue if it is not encountered before elementary school. I know you've heard testimony from Mary Ellen Bolton, a school media specialist who described her efforts each year to introduce kids to books who have had no experience with them - they don't know how they work - which way to turn the pages.
A strong correlation exists between what we know to be effective methods for teaching reading and for information literacy instruction. The methods recommended in this recent pamphlet from the SED apply broadly to teaching information literacy, and the importance of beginning at the beginning is stressed repeatedly.Library experience also contributes to a child's cultural literacy and socialization. Through this experience children are introduced to material that establishes a common ground among young peers. These shared experiences provide a familiar element that they will encounter in the new environment of elementary school, making the transition smoother and fostering a more comfortable setting for learning.
We must provide the resources that will enable librarians to continue and expand these services to their youngest clientele. As with school media centers, youth services in public libraries are often the last funded and the first cut. Youth Services positions are frequently filled with untrained, underpaid staff or volunteers, many of whom are nothing less than heroic in their efforts - but they need support through training, materials and equipment, and adequate funding for personnel.
There is genuine interest among school librarians in reaching out to include preschoolers. I welcome and look forward to this opportunity for expanded cooperation and collaboration. However, school library hours don't accommodate working parents and those libraries are closed in summer. Also, first time parents may not be likely to think of the elementary school as having services appropriate for or open to their child. Public libraries offer year round out-of-school resources and services to maintain and strengthen skills learned in school.
As fellow professional and as a parent of 3 elementary school children I would add my impassioned support to mandating school media specialists at the elementary level. I know you are well aware of recent studies that validate the need for this position. Again, this is something we all knew - but is now supported through research.
The final recommendation I would like to address is # 6.
I worked as a librarian for nearly 15 years in the San Francisco Bay area, and I am keenly aware of the issues surrounding urban libraries. After nearly five years in upstate New York, I am even more concerned over the condition of rural libraries. It has been increasingly difficult for me, personally, to read articles about the new prosperity and the abundance of wealth in this country. These stories may as well be from another country when seen in contrast to the rural communities in this area. As Hillary Clinton informed us in Albany recently, if upstate New York were separated from the downstate region, and considered an independent state, it would rank 49th in job creation for the last ten years. All of the areas in upstate New York have struggled economically, but many rural communities have been devastated. As their economic base erodes, residents lack the support services to assist them with education, job counseling - to say nothing of the cultural amenities to enhance their quality of life.
In many towns and villages the most visible public agency is the library. These are some of the libraries alluded to in section #3. Many began with bequests from a philanthropic member of the community. Though this is a lovely legacy, in reality, many of these libraries do not have the financial support for adequate materials and personnel. On my early tours of small libraries I found collections where the most recent set of encyclopedias was published when Nixon was President - regardless of party affiliation, I don't think anyone wants, or deserves, to be trapped in that era. Another had a set from the Johnson presidency; by that time I was just grateful that it was Lyndon Johnson's administration.
Yet these libraries truly are the treasures of their communities - and they deserve more. They deserve to be the dynamic community centers referred to in your recommendations. There is an unfortunate, though affectionate, tendency to view them in a nostalgic glow, romanticizing their quaintness as they struggle to put forth their best face despite their genteel poverty. This is dangerous and destructive. Libraries are public utilities and require and deserve the same level of support and currency as other services. None of us would choose to go to a quaint hospital for medical treatment, nor would we expect or appreciate the services of a genteel firefighter or paramedic in an emergency. Libraries are in the business of crisis prevention and they have their work cut out for them in the rural countryside of New York State.
The rural population is neither a visible nor outwardly vocal poor, and is not often in the forefront of demanding quality library service - perhaps because many have never experienced the full potential of a modern public library. In his article "In the Shadow of Wealth" for The New York Times Magazine on March 19th of this year, James Fallow observed the "unusual social and imaginative separation between prosperous America and those still left out" is "like simple invisibility, because of increasing geographic, occupational and social barriers that block one group from the other's view…our poor people are like people in Madagascar. We feel sorry for them, but they live somewhere else." I know where some of them live - they live in rural communities in upstate New York. He goes on to quote Frank Raines of Fannie May who points out, "You've got people in very rural areas, Indian reservations, central cities, who have almost no contact with the mainstream society. They don't know what the rules of the game are, how you interview, how you go about seeking a job, what to do if you're late. There's a huge socialization need to bring people into contact with the rest of the world." The public library can be place to start - if it has the means. The library is the perfect agency to bring people into this century so these communities can be self-sufficient. And, with strong libraries as an indication of the educational and cultural health of the community, and the technology to work from a distant geographic location people with assets to substantially contribute to the economic base will be drawn to these villages.
The conditions and needs addressed in recommendation # 6 apply to rural libraries, and are as acute, as they are in urban centers. Two thirds of the specified programs are critical to rural populations, and are compounded by transportation issues and lack of other support services.
I know the commission is well aware of the situation, as recommendation # 4 states that the need for funding is greatest in inner city and isolated rural communities. I would respectfully request that you consider recommending establishment of a rural libraries initiative in addition to the urban libraries initiative included in the draft.
Thank you again for allowing me to speak this morning. I look forward to reading final report - and I would ask that if such a commission is ever convened again I would hope that consideration would be given to including a public youth services professional among your esteemed ranks.
On behalf of the Central New York Library Resources Council, I would like to commend and thank the members of the Regents Commission on Library Services for their hard work, vision, and commitment to the future of libraries and library service in New York State. The Preliminary Statewide Policy Recommendations to the Board of Regents provide an excellent foundation for discussion and action to make that vision a reality. The current series of meetings and open forums will allow this foundation to be strengthened and built upon by librarians, library staff, trustees and members of the general community dedicated to the improvement of New York State's libraries.
I believe that the fundamental basis for the realization of the Commission's vision can be found in Recommendation 1, where you recognize the importance of "collaborative efforts with all libraries, library systems, and library consortia and organizations. "Such collaborative efforts will provide the platform not only for NOVEL, but also for each of the twelve recommendations the Commission has made to Meet the Need and Implement the Vision of quality library service for all New Yorkers.
The importance of collaboration both within and across types of libraries was recognized over thirty years ago with the establishment of New York's nine Reference and Research Library Resources Systems. The 3Rs Councils are the legislatively recognized vehicles for fostering and ensuring collaboration and cooperation among all the libraries (academic, public, school and special) in each region of the state. NYTRO, the organization of 3Rs systems directors, works toward extending these collaborative efforts on a statewide basis. Thus the framework upon which a truly virtual library for New York could be established already exists. Hopefully, the Commission and Regents will recognize this fact in implementing NOVEL and other regional and statewide initiatives.
I would also like to strongly support the Commission's commitment to strengthen the level of information literacy among the students and other citizens of New York State. While it is of great importance to make available, on as wide a basis as possible, a strong array of electronics and other resources, it is of equal importance that our students and the general public be able to make effective use of these resources. As the Recommendations state: "The place to establish the foundations of information literacy is in our schools." Therefore, the call to strengthen school library media programs with adequate resources and certified librarians on all educational levels is an import one. Likewise, it should be acknowledge that, in this age of lifelong learning, distance education, and continually emerging technologies, information literacy is an ongoing process in which our academic and public libraries have an important role to play. Again, collaboration and cooperation among libraries and types of libraries is essential.
If there is a major weakness in the Commission's Preliminary Recommendation, it is the failure to explicitly recognize the enormous quantity and quality of the library resources held by New York's academic, health science and special libraries. These collections are an absolutely essential component of any plan that would ensure the highest level of library service and access to information for all New Yorkers. The explicit recognition of the importance of New York's academics and special libraries in the Commission's Recommendations would immensely strengthen this document.
I believe that the Commission's Recommendations would also be much stronger if recognition were made of the importance of accurate, timely health information resources to the citizens of the state. Health information is one of the most consistently sought after and valued types of information by all members of society. Our medical, hospital and health science libraries are the best sources of current, reliable information.
The Hospital Library Services Program administered by the 3Rs Councils provides grants and services (such as training and interlibrary loan support) to enhance the medical information available to medical professionals and their patients. Many hospitals are promoting consumer health and wellness information initiatives. The Hospital Library Program increases the availability of high-quality medical information and supports knowledgeable librarians and hospital staff that value and use this information. The Hospital Library Services program needs increased funding to improve accessibility and usability of the growing amount of medical and wellness information in libraries and on the web. This program helps New York citizens gain access to quality medical information as they make decisions about their own health care.
Other state-funded programs that are important to making medical information available to the state are support for Health Reference Center and the Medical Information Services Program. The Health Reference Center is currently available on EmpireLink through a federally funded three-year project. Continuing state-funded access to this or similar consumer health information should be a VERY high priority and should be used as an example of the successful start to what will become NOVEL. The other program important to the access to health information is the Medical Information Services Program. This state-funded program, administered by the 3Rs Councils, provides subsidized payments for interlibrary loans of specialized medical research materials obtained by any of New York's libraries. Each 3Rs region has a plan, approved by their board, to make the funding available for use by all types of members as they need it and to pay the lending libraries in a timely manner.
In summing up your vision, the Regents Commission has stated your goal as: "All New Yorkers will have access to high-quality local public library service" and "access to high-quality, reliable digital resources and information in all other formats to meet their information needs." I believe that these are realistic, attainable goals, especially if an adequate level of state funding can be provided, and if the tradition of collaboration and cooperation, which is a hallmark of the New York State library community, can be encouraged and supported. The Central New York Library Resources Council, and its member libraries and library systems, will continue working together with our colleagues at the State Library and across the state to make this vision a reality.
Theodore Pfohl, School Library Media Specialist, Sherburne-Earlville Central School
District
I appreciate the opportunity to present some of my views regarding the future of libraries in New York State.
I have been a librarian in New York State for the last twenty years. For most of the 1980s I was a reference and adult services librarian in the eight branches and central library of the Onondaga County Public Library in Syracuse. Since then I have been a school library media specialist in the Sherburne-Earlville Central School District, a rural district in northern Chenango County.
As you might surmise from my choice of career, I believe that quality libraries are not a luxury but a necessity in a civil society. When I read them, I was impressed by the views expressed in your document Preliminary Statewide Policy Recommendations to the Board of Regents.
I would like to make some remarks about Recommendation 2, to "ensure that all New York's public school students are information-literate by providing strong school library media programs that include appropriately certified professional staff, adequate resources, and technology."
"...appropriately certified professional staff..."
It strikes me that very few people outside of school media specialists understand how many tasks must be done and how much time is required to run a quality school library program. A great deal of work must take place behind-the-scenes, so to speak, but I'm not sure that some very important people realize this. Do administrators and board members understand the importance of the library media center to the overall educational effort? I fear that in many cases they do not, and so support and funding for library programs suffers.
School librarians cannot be expected to persuade and influence administrators and board members alone. And so I ask:
School librarians are expected to maintain adequate collections of materials, teach information skills to students and help them with their reference questions, and work with teachers to ensure that the library is supporting their curriculum needs. It seems obvious to say that a single librarian can only serve just so many students and faculty and do a good job of it.
In 1996 students and faculty at Sherburne Elementary and Earlville Elementary Schools moved out of their old
buildings and into a single new facility in Sherburne. I had been librarian at Earlville Elementary, serving a
student population of about 300 3rd and 4th graders. In the new building I would serve this population and also
about 150 5th graders, who were moved into the new elementary building from the middle school, where they had been
for several years due to space limitations at Earlville Elementary. Despite having more students and faculty to
serve, I was not allowed to work full-time in the new elementary library. For the past four years, apparently because
it is thought that I don't have enough work to do in the elementary library, I
have spent 2-3 periods a day in a small computer lab. which is quite distinct from the library.
I have attached a letter that I recently sent to our administration requesting a full-time assignment to the library.
In recent years school districts around the country have shown that they consider school librarians to be expendable and unnecessary; many positions have been eliminated, because they were not considered essential. If New York is to have adequate numbers of school librarians in the future, then students in schools of library and information science need to be sent the message that school librarianship is a stable and valued career.
In our district, a school library media position became available last July 1st due to retirement. When the position was posted in late spring, there were only two applicants, one of them a teacher already on staff who was just finishing up her library degree. Of course not everyone wants to work in a rural district, but we are only 50 miles from Syracuse University, which has a program in school library media science.
"...adequate resources..."
There is a wealth of material which is being published for kids today, material which is age-appropriate and well-illustrated. Standard guides to such material, such as H. W. Wilson's Children's Catalog and Brodart's Elementary School Library Collection list thousands of quality fiction and nonfiction titles that would serve any school library well. There is a wealth of material available; the problem is finding the money to buy it.
As I understand it, the State presently provides each school district $6 per student to fund library media programs. Without meaning to insult anyone, I must state that it is impossible to run a quality school library media center for this amount. $30 per student and faculty member is a more realistic figure, in my view. I believe that faculty members should be brought into this aid equation as well, because school libraries must serve the needs of teachers as well as students. For example, in a rural district like Sherburne-Earlville we assist new teachers who are working on their Masters degrees and who spend considerable time commuting to courses at Oswego, Cortland, Oneonta, etc., by performing ERIC searches and obtaining study materials through interlibrary loan.
As I explain in a recent letter to our administration, which I have attached, we don't just buy circulating books with our annual funding. We must also buy reference materials, magazines and journals, specialized library supplies, and computer software to support library reference. I failed to mention in my letter at least two other areas in which we buy: professional books to guide teachers in all aspects of education, from making it through the first few years of teaching to understanding ADD students to the teaching of fairy tales, folktales, and tall tales, and books on tape kits, which consist of a story book and an audiocassette of the story, packages which are remarkably popular with students of all ages and reading abilities.
We do have access to interlibrary loan, and we are able to borrow materials we don't own for students and faculty,
but interlibrary loan is no substitute for a strong local collection. We need funding that will enable us to develop
collections that can simultaneously support teaching units in the classroom and stimulate the desire to read in
our students. In view of the State standards, teachers are asking us now for even more material to support their
classroom work. A 5th grade teacher has recently asked me for primary source materials on the Constitution and
Bill of Rights, immigration, and Jim Crow laws. We simply don't have much of this material. There are internet
sources, but I would like to have some of this material on our shelves. These
materials do exist in specially designed packages for teachers from companies like Cobblestone Publishing Company
of New Hampshire, but, again, we need the funding to buy them.
Without guidance from bodies such as the Regents Commission on Library Services and the State Education Department,
many administrators and boards of education don't know what they ought to be spending on school library services.
They may even know of studies which seem to indicate that quality school library programs can contribute mightily
to student academic
achievement, but they don't have the expertise to know what kind of investment they need to make in order to have
quality school library programs.
Should there be a mandate that $30 be spent on library services for each student and faculty member in a school district? Why not? In Sherburne-Earlville, such a mandate would cost about $66,000 out of an annual budget of $12,000,000.
I would like to mention also that kids are really rough on library materials. Some of our books have a relatively
short library life,
because a toddler gets hold of one and marks it all up and then tears pages out of it, because a student drops
a book in a mud puddle (instant death for the book), because a teething puppy gets hold of a book and chews it
to shreds. We are constantly repairing torn pages in books, caused by children who don't know their own strength.
"...technology."
Many school libraries in New York State are either automated or in the process of automating. But in comparison to academic libraries, special libraries, and larger public libraries, the automation accomplishments of school libraries are not impressive. In technological terms, school libraries are just not on a level with these other kinds of libraries. Of course most schools don't have the funding to automate their libraries properly, which might lead an observer to conclude that school libraries must not be as important as these other kinds of libraries and that the work of school libraries must not be as valuable.
At Sherburne-Earlville we have been partially automated for about ten years using the Mandarin system. We have had an Online Public Access Catalog, and we have been able to circulate books and other barcoded materials on the computer system. But there are other important aspects of automation which we have been unable to implement or have not fully implemented.
Only within the last year or so has our access to the internet been relatively reliable and quick. We have never had a dedicated line into and out of the library for this purpose. For several years when we did have access to the internet through a school server the access was limited (the school only had a limited number of lines for everyone to use), the data transfer was quite slow, and your connection was unsure (you could be bumped off the internet without notice).
We have never had access to a source of high-quality, affordable Machine Readable Cataloging, MARC records. Book jobbers and many book publishers who sell through catalogs will now provide MARC records to us, but we don't buy all of our materials from these sources. We purchase some of our materials at local bookstores, faculty members bring us back materials from conferences they attend, and we receive a certain number of gifts. For these items we must hand enter cataloging data into the computer system, a process which is very slow and prone to error. Sometimes we don't even have Cataloging In Publication data to guide us. BOCES cannot afford to provide us with these records, and we cannot afford membership in an organization such as Nylink that could provide us with the records, as well as other services.
In automating our libraries, we have made use of the services of our BOCES, the Delaware-Chenango-Madison-Otsego BOCES located in Norwich, and have taken advantage of the Cooperative Service Agreement or CO-SER which they offer for library automation. Library automation software eligible for BOCES aid under this agreement seems to be limited, however. My understanding is that software that provides access to MARC records for cataloging purposes is not covered by the CO-SER. Also, software for reference purposes doesn't seem to qualify for aid under the library automation CO-SER. A magazine index on CD-ROM, such as Readers' Guide for Young People, a bibliographic guide such as Books in Print on Disc, a reference database such as SIRS Discoverer, none of these qualifies for aid under the library automation CO-SER! Isn't the reference function a legitimate aspect of library automation?
Despite the glamour of the internet, I believe that CD-ROM reference products will be useful to school library media centers for some time yet, and I believe that BOCES CO-SERs and school library automation plans should reflect that likelihood. CD-ROM products have some undeniable advantages over the internet. In our school district, it can be difficult at certain times of the day just to get on the internet; in contrast, CD-ROM products are instantly accessible. On the internet, you have to worry about students wandering and getting into sites that are inappropriate, which cannot happen when students are using CD-ROMs. Data transfer from CD-ROM is usually faster than data transfer on the internet, since it seems unlikely that many schools can afford high-speed internet access.
My own experience with library automation convinces me that library media specialists need a certain amount
of training in automation systems and network maintenance that they may not be getting now. At Sherburne-Earlville,
for example, we have problems too often with our network printers, problems which sometimes take weeks for our
district's computer people to address and resolve. At present we are printing overdue notices on a network printer
which has been removed from the
network and connected directly to a workstation. At present we have no protective software to prevent students
from wandering around at the Windows level and messing up our computer workstations. We have two machines right
now that have "Not Working" signs posted on them, as they wait for a computer technician to figure out
why they won't function.
I have a few suggestions for library automation design and equipment:
New workstations should be bought not with just one CD-ROM drive but with 2 or 3 drives, depending on the number of available bays. Handling CD-ROMs takes time and can lead to damage. The more drives you have in your machines, the greater the variety of software products you can run quickly and easily.
When designing library automation systems, we shouldn't rely so much on network printers and network CD-ROM
towers. Instead of relying on expensive network printers, which don't work if the network is down, perhaps there
should be a network printer combined with 2 or 3 local printers attached to busy workstations. Some CD-ROMs don't
have to be accessible from every workstation, and with network software fees being so high for some products, doesn't
it make sense to run some CD-ROMs on local workstations, making use in some instances, again to increase choice
of software while reducing handling of discs, of CD-ROM changers such as Pioneer's 24-speed, 6-disc changer?
As you begin to consider the budget and personnel placement for next year I would like to request to be relieved of part-time duties in elementary computer lab. 201 and returned to full-time duties in the elementary library.
My present weekly schedule includes:
I would like to point out that many school libraries today have moved away from rigid scheduling of class library
visits to flexible
scheduling. Skills are still taught and research assistance is still given, but they are taught more in the context
of what is happening in the language arts or science or social studies classroom.
I spend most prep. periods and library work periods preparing for language arts class visits, pulling book collections by teacher request, or in some aspect of collection development, such as ordering books, processing books, weeding shelves, or maintaining the computer catalog.
I need more time to advise and train the other elementary librarian, who is new to the field. There are many practical items of information that are not taught in library school regarding the running of a quality school library media center. Unfortunately, my present schedule, split between the library and the computer lab. and involving 19 full class period library visits by language arts classes each week, leaves me little time for conversation with my colleague.
I need more time to provide reference help to individual students and reference help and curriculum support to teachers. At present, I don't get to talk to teachers much about their curriculum needs and research projects. I can hardly remember the last time I attended a grade-level meeting! If I had more time in the library, I could for example schedule a daily reference period, such as 9th period, in order to provide timely reference assistance to students and teachers.
There is much behind-the-scenes work to running a quality school library, work that takes a considerable amount of time. The book collection must be maintained, new books ordered and old books removed. Compiling a book order can take many hours and includes reading book reviews, looking at publishers' catalogs, taking into account student and teacher requests, curriculum support needs, and state standards.
When new books arrive, they need finish processing and entry into the computer catalog. We are supposed to inform BOCES School Library System when books are added or withdrawn from the collection. Aides need to be supervised, trained in new tasks, and kept busy. At present my ability to help the other librarian supervise the two aides is severely limited. Regarding collection maintenance and development, I am presently doing much of this work after school, evenings, weekends, even on vacation time. The work usually gets done but not always in a timely manner.
I would certainly appreciate having the 12 periods I presently spend in the computer lab. available to me to
use for library work.
I would like to advocate, as I did last spring, that our library budget be increased from approximately $15
per student to $30 per student. Our budgets have stayed pretty steady for the past 10 years, but the cost of books
and the demand on our library collection have increased. Many of our books are old and in poor repair, and we are
being asked to improve the breadth and depth of the collection to support new State standards. Many of the fiction
titles our students want to read are not going to
support classroom instruction directly but are important for us to obtain to encourage their reading development.
We don't just buy books to send to classrooms to support teaching units and to issue to students for their own
reading enjoyment. We buy in at least five main areas:
Our library collection is good but it could be better. We would like to provide more recreational reading material for kids than we do now, and we would like to make significant improvements in the nonfiction collection to support classroom work.
I am delighted to be here today to thank you for your interest in library service to New York State residents,
and the initiative the Board of Regents has shown in giving you this charge.
Though not to be self-serving, a few words about me. I have been a member of the Tompkins County Legislature since 1985; Chairman and member of New York State Region 6's Ten County District for the Local Government Records Advisory Committee since 1990, and recently appointed by Commissioner Richard Mills to serve at the state level on the Local Government Records Advisory Council; I was a delegate to Governor Cuomo's 1990 Conference on Libraries and Informational Services, and selected as an alternate to attend the National Council.
As a legislator I have chaired or been a member of our Board's standing committee responsible for libraries and library services in our county, most recently chairing our special Library Coordination Committee which undertook a year-long study of those facilities and their service delivery to our county residents.
Because of my involvement I've been asked to deliver to you our Legislature's resolution supporting your efforts and highlighting three of them. They are included here for your consideration.
Having reported that, I would like to add a few comments of my own particular to Recommendations 1 and 8.
Because technology and the monies to fund it are a concern, attention should be given to train a specific library staff person regarding accessing those monies telephone companies are collecting to offset their costs to provide Internet access, commonly known as the Interconnectivity Charge. Hundreds of thousands of non-tax dollars are being collected by these firms from their customers with the intention of returning them to libraries, schools, and hospitals, having the understanding and time to apply for them. We work with a member of our Finger Lakes Library System staff who provides this help to applicants in order to complete the applications, as both forms and process are cumbersome. Not filing, or an incorrect application, may cost a small library the valuable funding source for technology.
My involvement with archives and records retention makes me keen on recommendation 8, but it does not seem to go far enough. You must ensure the public has access to these documents, simply preserving them falls short.
Concern over the lack of a library presence in four of our nine townships, I initiated our local reading room concept. Two are up and running, a third is close to reality, and the fourth is in the very beginning stages. We are also finding a new Tompkins County Library main building. Our community is fortunate to be "heavy" in education -- Cornell University, Ithaca College, and Tompkins Cortland Community College call Tompkins County home. We recognize the significance of library services, and our citizen volunteers support these services with their time. As a local legislator, I recognize every request cannot be, and perhaps should not be, solved by money, and the State can help by providing simplified access, information support, greater legislative interaction, and some advice on initiatives.
I learned as a library page in New York City, and I continue to witness that kids love libraries -- ask my daughter! Libraries are more than books. They are not only learning centers for our children, but also community centers for our rural residents. Early in life kids can come to respect and appreciate the "hard" physical material, and can develop a sense of responsibility through these institutions. Let's not lose this educational opportunity.
I can say much more, particularly that this commission should not dissolve after this task is completed since we all need the continuous review and contact. Thank you for your effort, interest, and support.
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RESOLUTION NO. 95 - |
COMMENTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING NEW YORK STATE REGENTS COMMISSION PRELIMINARY LIBRARY REPORT |
WHEREAS, the Tompkins County Library Coordination Committee recently completed a year-long study of countywide public library services - specifically dealing with how public library services are delivered, their funding sources, their most immediate challenges, and alternate service-delivery models, and
WHEREAS, the Board of Representatives has been educated and informed through this study about those areas dealing with services and needs within Tompkins County, and
WHEREAS, the County study is consistent with the majority of the twelve recommendations outlined in the March 2000 New York State Board of Regents Preliminary Recommendations Study, and
WHEREAS, the Library Coordination Committee recommended continued increased funding from local municipalities, the County, and the State, and that the State consider as its source of funding an increased base such as the New York State Income Tax, and further that the Committee has reviewed both funding for operations and capital expenditures and finds itself particularly consistent with the Regent's Preliminary Recommendations, numbers 4 and 5:
4. Provide equitable library services for all New Yorkers by using a need-based formula to reduce disparities in library funding, and promote service excellence through enabling and incentive aid tied to community-based performance measures.
5. Provide support for public library construction, expansion and renovation to ensure that New York's libraries are accessible to all library users and can accommodate advances in technology.
and,
WHEREAS, the State make up any shortfall where the average per capita local support falls below the minimum established
by the State, and
WHEREAS, our review also included an examination of the current organizational structure of the five public libraries and two reading centers in Tompkins County, recommending it remain as is, thus finding that currently there is insufficient evidence to support the change the Regents Preliminary Report suggests in recommendation number 3:
3. Ensure the availability of local library service to all New Yorkers to improve local support for public libraries through the voluntary formation of Public Library Districts.
as a change of this magnitude needs further study to show how it will result in delivering better, improved library services to our residents, now therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the Board of Representatives recommends that those public Tompkins County Libraries continue their current system of governance, and method of financing, at this time,
RESOLVED, further, That the Board of Representatives acknowledges and appreciates the contributions Janet Steiner, Tompkins County Library Director, and Sarah Thomas, Cornell University Librarian, have made as members of the Regent's Commission during this process,
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RESOLUTION NO. 95 - |
COMMENTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING NEW YORK STATE REGENTS COMMISSION PRELIMINARY LIBRARY REPORT |
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cc: Administration - via Network
Finance Department
Public Works
Public Library
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STATE OF NEW YORK |
) ) ss: ) |
I hereby certify that the foregoing is a true and correct transcript of a resolution adopted by the Tompkins County Board of Representatives on the 2nd day of May, 2000.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the seal of the said Board at Ithaca, New York, this 3rd day of May, 2000.
/s/ Catherine Covert, Clerk
Tompkins County Board of Representatives
A. What is the appropriate role of library systems and central libraries in the implementation of the first 6 policy initiatives of the Commission?
B. Which components of these initiatives are best accomplished at the state level, the regional level, the systems level, or the local level?
1. NOVEL must be the responsibility of the State Library.
1. Public school libraries are beyond the scope of public library systems or central libraries.
2. Public library systems should be supplied with additional funding to provide guidance and consultant services to encourage their member libraries to form public library districts. This proposal would be problematic unless the minimum standards for the libraries forming those public library districts would be held in abeyance for at least 3 to 5 years.
4. & 5. Equitable library services and support for public library construction are the responsibility of the state library and the library community to propose, but their implementation is strictly in the hands of the governor and legislators.
6. I will leave questions dealing with urban public libraries to urban public librarians. Why is there no concern for rural library services expressed?
C. What are the best methods of establishing and monitoring standards for systems' services and incentives for improved service?
D. How should achievement of systems' objectives be tied to increased state aid?
The only meaningful way to monitor standards for library system services is by annually polling that system's member libraries. The only meaningful incentives are cash. With the inability of the library community to gain increased state aid for libraries and library systems, attempting to tie anything to this failure is at best questionable.
E. What barriers have prevented more effective intersystem cooperation in the past, and how can those barriers be reduced?
The barriers between effective intersystem cooperation come in several guises. First, barriers between public library systems and the 3R's can be found in the early history of the 3R's. When the 3R's were being established during the mid-1960s, they were constituted to serve the academic and special libraries, much as public library systems serve the public libraries. The first attempts at cooperation were rebuffed by the academic community. Feelings of independence and the reality that the academic library is first and foremost a creature of its parent institution prevented the 3R's from gaining the hoped-for traction. During the first 14 years of their existence, they subsisted on continuing resolutions. They did not have statutory existence and they did not gain statutory existence until 1978. In the late 1960s, it was obvious that the 3R's did not have the political clout to continue to exist without the assistance of the public library sector. Most of the then-directors of the 3R's expressed some distaste in having to serve public libraries or deal with public library systems. I was made well aware of this distaste when in 1968 and 1969 I was employed to implement interlibrary loan services to the two local public library systems in addition to the academic and special libraries of the North Country Reference & Research Resources Council. Though it is the general public which provides the lion's share of support for public institutions of higher education, there still remains resistance on their part to move into any real partnership with the public libraries or library systems. I believe these attitudes have done much to prevent meaningful cooperation between many of the 3R's and the public library systems in their areas. I must say at this time that such a lack of cooperation and coordination is not found in the North country where, for the past twenty-some years, cooperation has been the keystone to relationships between our North Country Reference & Research Resources Council and the two public library systems in its service area.
Library systems must submit a form known as the "FS-10" to receive their State aid funds. The adding of an additional sign-off line for the other system director(s) in the 3R's service area might go far in improving cooperation and coordination.
F. What incentives and safeguards will encourage sharing services and seeking greater economies of scale by intersystem cooperation?
G. What incentives should be provided to systems to merge when appropriate? How should these incentives be provided?
The term "incentives" crops up frequently and most prominently. The only meaningful incentive would be real increases in funding. I have spoken to this unfortunate reality under section C.
H. How can all system boards be strengthened and made more relevant?
System boards of trustees can be strengthened and made most relevant through direct contact by system trustees with member library directors and managers. One way this can be accomplished is by having system trustees conduct annual surveys of system services. To be most effective, each trustee might be provided with a questionnaire of open-ended queries which allow representatives of each library to comment on the perceived strengths or weaknesses of system services most relevant to their library. A copy of the survey used by North Country Library System trustees is appended.
TO: Board Presidents and Member Librarians
FROM: Malcolm Starks, President Board of Trustees
DATE: June 8, 2000
RE: System Evaluation 2000
You are requested to complete this evaluation form as soon as possible, so that you will have your responses ready when you are contacted by one of the North Country Library System Board Members. They may also ask other questions.
1. How well has your library been served by NCLS this year?
(a) very well, (B) well, (c) not too well, (d) poorly
Anything specific on your choice?
Suggestions:
2. Tell us a few highlights of your library's relationship with NCLS this year. "Any lowlights?"
3. Are there specific areas of NCLS service that need improving?
If so, please list several here.
Thank you for the work you are doing; for having this round of hearings; and for posting testimony on the Internet. You are bringing much-needed visibility to libraries, and to the challenges of providing excellent, equitable library and information services to all New Yorkers.
Your preliminary recommendations are wide-ranging and comprehensive. As other speakers have pointed out, details will be all-important in ensuring the Commission's vision is carried out. Please continue to work with System Directors in fashioning those details.
I would like to comment on two areas in the recommendations.
I. Chartered service areas and library funding
There are thirty-nine chartered public libraries in the Southern Tier Library System. In 1998 twenty-five received less than $20,000 in local tax support. At least twenty-one libraries already receive funds approved by a public vote. What prevents them from using that vote to request larger increases?
In addition over 61,000 people, 21 % of those living in the Southern Tier Library System area, are outside library chartered service areas. What prevents libraries from expanding their service areas to include these people? Lack of funds to meet higher requirements for number of hours open per week, and to hire a library director with more education.
You have proposed comprehensive aid and incentive programs that will work to resolve these problems.
The voluntary nature of the program is critical. Already library directors and trustees are concerned that libraries will be forced to make decisions that weaken service rather than strengthening it. In addition, existing library charters mean that libraries like Pulteney Free Library chartered to serve a town on the outskirts of two school districts, and the Howard Public Library serving a town on the outskirts of three school districts do not easily fit into the Commission's proposals.
A voluntary incentive program will allow trustees to make decisions that make sense in terms of local politics, funding and service situations. Incentives should provide a framework which would allow local libraries to benefit by working together to resolve problems of overlapping service areas. That framework should be developed by the Division of Library Development in cooperation with library systems.
II. NOVEL, the New York Online Virtual Electronic Library
This concept has the potential to bring tremendous resources to citizens in small libraries throughout the state. The Regents have moved with impressive speed to request funding for this project. Funding for online databases will help every region of the state. In order to make full use of those databases and other digital information, two pieces are crucial:
As a result of your work New Yorkers on the verge of an exciting expansion in library service. Thank you for this opportunity to discuss the details.
Updated 9/15/2000 -- asm