Elisabeth Leonard on Libraries

From Awareness to Funding: A study of library support in America

http://www.oclc.org/reports/funding/
From Awareness to Funding: A study of library support in America [OCLC]

It's now published! Over 200 pages of detail, breaking down the results by type of voter, the report looks to be a treasure trove of insight into how voters perceive of the library and what goes into their voting preferences.
As soon as I can read it, I'll write my response(s).

Fundraising and public libraries

OCLC at ALA presented on the results of their research into why voters support (or don't support) library levvys. I had hoped that their report would be available by now, but until it is, you'll have to make do with my notes.

Among the findings from the report, From Awareness to Funding: A Study of Library Support in America, (which will be posted eventually at http://www.oclc.org/reports/funding/default.htm):

• The library's most committed funding supporters are not the heaviest library users
• There is no correlation between use of the library and liklihood to support the library
• Voters who see the library as 'transformational' as opposed to 'informational' are more likely to increase taxes in its support
• Transformational messages should be about the individual (ROI for me) AND about the community.  The presentation at ALA used the following quote to illustrate this point: "People who've been exposed to libraries realize that there a lot of other cultures and things out there...The library is literally a window to the world."
• These messages can be about libraries increasing the beauty in life, helping you create who you are, and that libraries help you seek the truth
• Perceptions of librarians are an important predictor of library funding support.  Passionate librarians who are committed to advocacy for their library and the library's role in the community can increase support for the library.
• Increasing support for libraries may not necessarily mean a trade-off with financial support for other public services
• People are aware of traditional library services, but much less aware of newer services like teen and senior programming.  People aren't aware of how much money goes to supporting e-resources.

Later this week, I'll post the demographic breakdowns, but for now, let me just highlight how important it is that support for the library is not tied to use of the library and that means that all our campaigns that are geared to increasing use are not having an impact on support for library.  We may need to hae 2 seperate campaigns: one for increasing use (we do still want that!) an another for increasing awareness of our power to transform a community and its individuals.  I know I have seen videos on YouTube where people talk about what the library has meant to them, that may be the type of campaign we need more of!

Business librarians and advanced degrees

I was invited to speak at SLA last month to talk about the advantages and disadvantages of an advanced subject degree for business librarians (like an MBA).  While there is some controversy about the need for any subject librarian to have any degree in their subject, I must say that I found it to be very useful when I was a business librarian!  Not only did I understand the subject in a way that helped my patrons, I also understood their experience, which I believe helped me relate to them AND helped them feel comfortable with me. 

Before you look at the presentation, let me be clear, I am not advocating that every librarian gets an advanced degree in their subject.  I was lucky -- I have an enduring interest in business and my MBA was free (well, I didn't pay tuition anyway). 

So, with that caveat, you can either download the pdf or below is the slideshow.

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Liaison responsibilties

Last week, the CODES Liaison with Users committee presented the results of the national survey on liaison responsibilties in public and academic libraries, with Ridie Ghezzi rounding up the tak with information on the liaison workshop at Dartmouth.

My part of the panel was to present the results of the academic library survey.  In case y'all are interested, here it is!  For me, the most interesting results are that there is no real difference in what liaisons in public and academic libraries do and that everyone in the library is now involved as a liaison, regardless of department.  I wish I had asked if everyone has an MLS so I could present data that illustrates that as well (I know in some libraries that support staff with advanced degrees serve as liaisons, but have never seen research showing how common/uncommon that is).

The slideshow is available below, but you can also download the pdf.

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