Libraries in the era of Austerity Measures

With companies collapsing, homes foreclosed, massive lay-offs, factories closing, homelessness, divorces, millages failing, tax bases eroding, budget cuts, and so on, the questions now arising are:

(1) how can libraries survive?
(2) how can libraries contribute to the recovery of the economy?
(3) how can libraries help with the retooling, reskilling, and re-education of the society to be able to take advantage of the jobs of the future, especially the green economy?

Libraries will have to rethink how they do business and also, how they raise funds.

First is for libraries to assess their SWOT = strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.

Second, libraries will have to practise opportunity costs whereby they will forgo some services for another and merging of departments that compliments each other. For example, merge your Business & Finance department with your Science & Technology and patent department as one-stop shop for entrepreneurship utilizing your ideas.

Third make a list of what you want, and see as most important, and have your Friends Foundation or any other foundation go after the funds for them.

Fourth, have an amnesty for outstanding fines. Either total clearing of patron/customer's record or make a bargain of reduction of fines owed. Pay what you can afford or cut in half if you return the material.

Fifth, start an Endowment Fund, which will keep growing long after the economy has picked up. Cut your budget to what is most important and look for grants and partnership with the stakeholders.

Libraries may have to encourage early retirements and/or buy-outs, not fill open positions, freeze hiring new employees, promote from within, and close some branches [if you have many of them]. Pay cuts across the board to forestall having to lay off staff.

Libraries can offer classes for the following: computer applications, resume creations, interview techniques, literacy initiative to help those who cannot read or have problem reading, and how to surf the Internet and search for jobs on it.

Retooling and reskilling of layed off workers will involve the above mentioned initiatives and conducting workshops on options for them that would utilize their current skills and learning of new skills to enable them take advantage of emerging markets/economies. Invite some speakers that have some experiences,especially successful entrepreneurs, to come in and speak. Have experts on home foreclosures come in and give advice on how to afford it and how to come out of it.

Libraries can make use of the homeless to patrol the restrooms after training them . This is already being done in Philadelphia. This is done in collaboration with the Homeless Shelters.

Libraries can organize a bunch of how to start your own business with a kit for it - business plans and so on. This can be done in partnership with local Chamber of Commerce and Community colleges.

What say you?

Delivery of Service in the age of Social Networks

With the advent of social networks, libraries are faced with how to deliver services to its patrons/customers who are using these new technologies. These new networks includes, but not limited to, Facebook; Twitter; MySpace, Crush; Text Messages; iPod, MP3, Blogs, cellphones; Wiki, blackberries, etc.

The question is how can libraries take advantage of these and be able to provide reference service, circulation of materials, ready-reference and so on?

With the digital divide, which makes it impossible for most low-income families to have access to the Internet not to talk to these tech gizmo, can the libraries really deliver? With the budget crunch hitting the libraries is this the way to go for the future? Are these helpful to the libraries or are they harmful to the libraries?

Methinks that libraries should be in the forefront of taking advantage of these social network. Already most of our professional associations are present there. Most of us are on it and have used them to either connect or reconnect with former classmate, ex-lovers, former co-workers, family and so on.

Libraries can dedicate a librarian or two to answers question generated from these social networks if/when the library chooses to invest in delivery of service to those networks. Libraries must be ready to invest some money in upgrading their technology, especially bandwidths in order to handle the huge flow of information over the networks.

Libraries can start with wiki and text messages and migrate from there. I know that there would the problem of security but that can be taken care of by the IT Department.

If libraries engage in these service deliveries,would that reduce the amount of traffic to the library itself? To some extent. YES! But to another it is a NO for people will still need to come in to actually check out the books, unless, of course, it is an eBook or eJournal.

What say you?