The Information Professional
91
Librarians and Archivists in a fast-changing digital lanscape
Curated by Karen du Toit
Follow
Scooped by Karen du Toit onto The Information Professional
Scoop.it!

How to kill a library, By Kitty Pope

How to kill a library, By Kitty Pope | The Information Professional | Scoop.it

"[...]there are more than a few ways to kill a library.

For example:

√ Stop believing in the libraries mission. Do we really believe in the freedom to read, learn and discover?

√ Spend less time with the board. The ideal public library board would meet 4 times per year and agrees with everything the CEO recommended.

√ Stop talking to your customers. What do they know any way? And on the same topic, stop consulting staff. It is a huge time waster.

√ Don’t worry about the future and how you will get there. Sustainability is not an issue with which libraries need to be concerned. After all, we’ve have survived for hundreds of years.

√ Stop telling the library story. Everyone has heard our story.

√ Accept that the library building is old and you don’t need to keep renovating, painting, and updating it. It is what it is.

√ Accept that just like instant coffee killed the coffee bean, the e-book will kill the printed book.

√ Stop promoting the product; everyone knows about literacy and lifelong learning.

√ Stop empowering staff, and stop training them. They should come to us fully trained.

√ Stop all this talk about innovation. It just makes for more work.

√ And, for heaven’s sake, stop changing the rules and our traditions. It’s annoying!"

No comment yet.
Your new post is loading...
Scooped by Karen du Toit
Scoop.it!

Fundraising key to Regina libraries' revival

Fundraising key to Regina libraries' revival | The Information Professional | Scoop.it
Eight years after financial hardship nearly closed three public library branches and cut 27 jobs, the Regina Public Library Board is now experiencing budget surpluses and working on its infrastructure and maintenance needs.

"Mayor Pat Fiacco, a member of the library board in 2003, originally supported the proposed cuts. He said the library system is in “far better shape” today because of alternative sources of revenue, namely the library’s Home Lottery.

According to the library board’s 2011 budget, an operating surplus of $364,700 was expected, a decrease from 2010 when the surplus was $455,700. The 2011 budget also has an operating revenue of $18.6 million. A large portion of the revenue $14.9 million is from the city’s tax levy."

Read more: http://www.leaderpost.com/news/Fundraising+Regina+libraries+revival/5928477/story.html#ixzz1iDGG8D1D

No comment yet.