Letter on Editorial Page: Library Funding Should be Restored

Library Funding Should be Restored, a letter to the editor by Su Erickson, DLS Board President, is published in today's Daily Herald.

Secretary of State Jesse White Loves Libraries

Sarah Long, Executive Director of North Suburban Library System, talks with Illinois Secretary of State and State Librarian Jesse White about the inestimable value of libraries and his efforts to mitigate severe budget cuts to libraries and library systems by the Illinois General Assembly. They also discuss Secretary White's extensive background as an educator and legislator, and his "Project Next Generation."

Access this podcast at: http://www.librarybeat.org/longshots/play/192 [Length 13:52]. Sarah's podcast, Longshots, explores the world of libraries through interviews with key library figures and commentary on issues that matter to libraries.

DLS Members Participate in "Snapshot: Day in the Life of Your Public Library"

At Monday's DLS Legislative Breakfast, DLS members, legislators, and their aides spoke about libraries and legislative issues, including the need for increased funding for libraries and library systems. An overview of the event, 7th Annual Legislative Breakfast: Stressing Funding for Libraries was written for the DLS Here & Now blog.

DLS and the Library Advocacy Committee debuted the testimonials and statistics gathered from a special project entitled: Snapshot: One Day in the Life of a Public Library. On October 21, 2009, DLS public libraries were asked to capture the impact that they have on their communities in a typical day. Librarians compiled five statistics by tracking visits, Internet use, reference questions, participation by children, and circulation figures. Those statistics were compiled and presented to legislators, aides, and the attendees of the breakfast.  

Denise Zielinski, DLS Director of Informational Services, presented the statistics and testimonials with a "sports fan" theme in this handout entitled Sporting News Extra. In addition to the handout, a PowerPoint presentation was developed to share the heartfelt testimonials that library patrons ("fans") had to say about the value of their libraries, the services they need and utilize, and how grateful they are for their public library. These testimonials were conveyed to the breakfast's audience in this slide presentation (see below).

"I saw a write-up on this idea in American Libraries Direct, the weekly email distributed by American Libraries," Zielinski said after the breakfast. "My first thought was how great it was and my second was that we have to do this here! I presented the idea to the public library administrators and they immediately saw the value. By the next day, I had developed the forms for capturing the information and sent out an email to all of the public library administrators. Nineteen of the libraries were able to participate with their own statistics and comments from the day. For the other nine, I used their annual report information and pared it down to one day statistics."

"This project exceeded my expectations!" Zielinski continued. "I want to do this again, only with all of the system members. Hopefully we'll be able to do that and compile the information in time for Illinois Library Day next spring."

Zielinski and the Library Advocacy Committee thank the libraries and patrons for their participation in this project and hope that the information and testimonials gleaned from the Day in the Life project can be used by the participating libraries as information for their boards, staff, library newsletters, and for other projects that demonstrate the value of libraries.

"Initiating a Day in the Life study can also be of value to special, academic, and school libraries," said Renee Anderson, DLS Marketing Specialist. "Some of our special libraries have had great success in featuring testimonials on the library's home page, selecting a library 'patron of the month,' and utilizing the information they receive from the surveys to gauge the opinions of their patrons and to stress the value of their libraries."  

For more information on initiating a Day in the Life project, contact Denise Zielinski.

Watch the PowerPoint slide show from the Legislative Breakfast:

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

7th Annual Legislative Breakfast: Stressing Funding for Libraries

More than 85 DLS members, legislators, legislative staff members, and students attended the 7th annual DLS Legislative Breakfast on October 26, 2009. Attendees had the opportunity to meet DLS Executive Director Tom Sloan, (who started at DLS on October 1, 2009,) before and after the presentation.

DLS Board President Su Erickson welcomed and thanked everyone, including the board members in attendance. She recognized the DLS Library Advocacy Committee members for their work in putting the program together. Erickson (pictured on right) also presented State Rep. Kay Hatcher with a READ poster (pictured at left).

The presentation included the results of a special project entitled: Snapshot: A Day in the Life of a Public Library. On Wednesday, October 21, 2009, public libraries were asked to capture the impact that they have on their communities in a typical day. Librarians compiled five statistics by tracking visits, Internet use, reference questions, participation by children, and circulation figures. DLS Director of Informational Services Denise Zielinski compiled the statistics, along with testimonials from library users. She cited the statistics gathered and related them to the audience with a "sports fan" twist. A few of the stellar statistics that Zielinski spoke about:

• 25,588 "fans" (patrons) visited DLS libraries on October 21, a number that would almost fill half of Soldier Field
• "fans" checked out more than 47,000 items 
• "fans" asked 4,047 reference questions  

ACT NOW! Contact Your Legislator Today!

State budget cuts have put Illinois libraries in jeopardy just at a time when usage is soaring. Don't Delay! The time to act is NOW, before things get worse!

If you have already contacted your legislator, THANK YOU! But your job isn't over! Please contact him or her again via another method--fax a letter, phone with your message, or visit your legislator! We want each legislator to receive 250 contacts so spread the message!

Go to SaveIllinoisLibraries.com, the Illinois library community's response to the grant funding cuts. Let legislators know that their constituents are passionate about keeping their libraries open and funded. At SaveIllinoisLibraries.com you'll see:

• Links to send email messages to your legislators via CapWiz
• Details of the pledge we're asking our legislators to make to Illinois libraries
• Tips on ways to take action on this issue
• A website badge you can put on your library's homepage to show your support
• Stories about library usage, libraries' needs, and the effect of the cuts -- and a place for you to tell your story, too
• A listing of Illinois legislators noting the "good guys" who have signed the pledge. We only have ONE to date!
• A link to a Facebook site that has 900+ fans! Become a fan and increase the fan base by posting info on your personal and library Facebook accounts.

Visit http://www.saveillinoislibraries.com today! Time is of the essence: the Illinois General Assembly will convene this week on Wednesday, October 14, for the Veto Session. The legislators are focused on the budget and they need to hear from the library community.

Send your message today and be prepared with six (6) other email addresses when you do so. You will be prompted to add in these addresses. We need many advocates to make this campaign effective.

For more information about the campaign to Save Illinois Libraries, here's a blog post.

White Endorses Campaign to Save Illinois Libraries

News From the Illinois Library Association

In response to the recent cuts to system funding and library grants, the Illinois Secretary of State and State Librarian Jesse White endorsed the campaign to secure the future of Illinois libraries today.

At the 2009 ILA Annual Conference in Peoria, White noted that libraries are struggling to cope with unprecedented usage while facing budget cuts. He told the Illinois library community to ask legislators to commit to libraries to take a pledge to oppose any additional cuts to library per capita grants in FY 2010.

Go the ILA website send your message to your elected official.

You can keep up with the campaign and find out what you can do to help by visiting us on Facebook or Twitter, or by going to SaveIllinoisLibraries.com. The campaign is just beginning: be sure to check back regularly for updates!

From ILA e-News, October 8, 2009.

Register for the 7th Annual Legislative Breakfast

Have you registered for the DuPage Library System's seventh annual legislative breakfast?

With the recent cuts to libraries and library system funding, it is more important than ever to attend this event on Monday, October 26, 2009 at DLS headquarters. Organized by the DLS Advocacy Committee, the breakfast is a wonderful opportunity to communicate your message directly to your legislators and their aides.

Each year, more than one hundred DLS members attend the breakfast on behalf of their public, academic, school, and special libraries. The DLS Advocacy Committee encourages you to share this invitation with your colleagues, board members, and friends groups. If there is a special patron that you would like to mingle with your legislators, please extend an invitation on behalf of your library and DLS.

DLS has distributed this invitation to legislators in our area and has received a positive response from elected officials and their aides. 

"It's very important for individual librarians to connect with their legislators," Kate Wolicki, librarian at Americana Intermediate School (Queen Bee School District), told DLS after last year's event. "It made a big difference to me to meet them."

Register for the Legislative Breakfast on the L2 calendar. For more information, contact Denise Zielinski, Director of Informational Services.

Pictured above: Dawn Bussey, director of Glen Ellyn Public Library (right) speaks with State Representative Sandra Pihos prior to last year's Legislative Breakfast at the Bloomingdale Public Library.

Save Illinois Libraries!

In response to the recent cuts to system funding and library grants, the library community is launching a campaign to secure the future of Illinois libraries. The kickoff for this statewide advocacy campaign, Save Illinois Libraries, will take place during the Illinois Library Association conference on Thursday, October 8, with all activities completed by October 23. Secretary of State/State Librarian Jesse White will be on hand to provide remarks and show his support for this event. Entrance to the exhibits is free, providing an excellent opportunity to show your support for Illinois libraries as we work towards regaining our funding.

Here's what you need to do...

Join the Campaign to Save Illinois Libraries

In response to the recent cuts to system funding and library grants, the library community is launching a campaign to secure the future of Illinois libraries. You can keep up with the campaign and find out what you can do to help by visiting us on Facebook, or Twitter, or by going to SaveIllinoisLibraries.com 
The campaign is just beginning: be sure to check back regularly for updates!  DLS will keep you posted as the campaign moves forward.

CPSIA Update for Libraries #3

The ALA Washington Office published a post on their District Dispatch blog regarding the Consumer Product Safety Commission's (CPSC) final rule on childrens products containing lead. According to the blog post, "the CPSC confirmed that libraries have no independent obligation to test library books for lead under the law." The CPSC also announced that it will be releasing a Statement of Policy providing guidance to libraries regarding this matter. The Statement of Policy should be available sometime this fall.

Previous posts from the blog can be found here:

• CPSIA Raises Concerns for Libraries
• CPSIA Implementation Delayed Until February 2010
• CPSIA: An Update
• CPSIA Update #2