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A plea from the north
A retired Alaska librarian hears of our plight, and reaches out to our mayor (she emailed a copy to me):
Dear Mayor Bunkers,
I was saddened and dismayed to hear that the 2010 budget for the City of Ocean Shores covers only basic utilities for the library.
After more than 30 years of working in libraries, nearly 20 of them in a public library deluged with tourists in the summer, I can tell you that the public library is a favorite for travelers of all ages wanting to catch up with email and to upload photos of their trips from their digital cameras. Judging from conversations with my colleagues across the country in similar situations, this demand from visitors on the local public library is universal and a selling point for tourism bureaus.
Any community hoping to sell itself as “tourist friendly” must make its public library available for internet access.
In these times of economic stress, every branch of city government is trying to pinch pennies with its budget. Surely, however, closing the library is a false economy. The budget includes only enough money to pay the utility bills, but not enough to pay someone to monitor the building and collections for problems like mold or mildew. It also does not address what happens to the nearly 70 magazine and newspaper subscriptions currently among the library’s acquisitions that will continue to arrive, and arrive, and arrive with no one to check them in or manage them.
Libraries represent a major capital asset, and they need to be monitored and professionally managed to preserve their value.
I have read the citizen comments in the North Coast News about the library closure, and many of them discussed whether or not the high school/junior high school has a functioning library. While I enjoyed my visit to your public library, I have not seen the schools in person. But I can say that I could not find either a staff member or place linked to “library” in any of the school district web sites. As a result, I tend to doubt that there is an actual library available to the students that would provide anything approaching adequate support for either junior or senior high school students.
Having a “bunch of books” in a room does not make that room a library.
In a time when more and more citizens turn to the library for help with finding jobs, preparing current resumes, and supporting their children with their homework, the City Council members have decided to shutter the public library. According to the budget (online) as of Dec. 6, 2009, the library is targeted to take the largest fiscal hit by percent of any department in the city, a decrease of 96.5% in a single year.
At the same time, the golf course is slated to receive an increase of more than 100%, an incomprehensible disparity in priorities.
I urge the City Council to support a budget that will maintain the community library.
The library is about the only branch of local government that citizens actually like to use, is open year-round to help children retain their reading skills over the summer, and helps families and individuals save money by making resources available for free.
Aside from these practical considerations, the library represents the heart of a community’s cultural endeavors and the place best able to preserve its history. The library is also recognized by government as the place designated for the receipt of information, a function necessary for democracy to survive and thrive. According to James Madison, “A popular government, without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a prologue to a farce or a tragedy; or perhaps both.” (Letter to W.T. Barry, Aug. 4, 1782)
Thank you for your consideration, and please do not hesitate to contact me if I may answer any questions you have.
June Pinnell-Stephens
Former Executive Board member, American Library Association
Past President, Freedom to Read Foundation
Past President, Pacific NorthwestLibrary Association
Past President, AlaskaLibrary Association
Former Vice-President, WashingtonLibrary Association
Fairbanks, Alaska 99709
As a fairly new “part-timer” and soon to be permanent resident of OS I am sad to hear that there may no longer be a library to visit. When my husband and I bought a house in OS we considered the public library to be part of the package…the thought of having to drive into Aberdeen to check out books does not please us. Please do not close the library, it is an asset to us all.
It is a huge disservice to our City to have the Library closed when certain directors of certain departments can mismanage city funds to the tune of millions …. and still be employed by the city. The mistakes that they have made would fund the library for several years to come.
Whatever portion of our tax dollars are specifically designated to the operation of the library – I would hope that they are refunded to the tax payers through reduced property taxes.
The first thing I did when we moved here in July, was to get a library card.
I have a four yr old daughter. Every Tuesday we go to the library and pick out 14 books, 2 stories every night before bed…she knows this and asks constantly how many days left until Tuesday. It’s the highlight of her week and in her little world it’s a HUGE deal.
I get a great big lump in my throat thinking about the day when my little girl looks up at me with her big blue eyes and her curly pig tails and asks me why we can’t go to the library anymore.
I find it so hard to believe they can’t find a way…
Well, I am not sure yet of the folks I will be voting for during the next election, but if any of our current council members or mayor is on the list, I will be voting for someone else. Perhaps the community club will allow us to donate half of our community club tax to the library. I NEVER use the cc, but I always use the library. Some ’stuff’ just doesn’t make sense.
http://www.degreetutor.com/library/adult-continued-education/librarians-needed
Seconding the thank you to Randy.
In addition to the hardware (books, computers, etc.), it’s probably important to keep in mind the function of most public libraries as a quite space for do home work.
That’s the way it used to be, at least, “back in the day” . . .
Regarding the Library budget and its future survival: Thank you to resident Randy Peck for his involvement in researching practical solutions to issues that impact quality of life in Ocean Shores. Amazing that the best ideas seem to come from people that have no vested monetary interest in these types of decisions.
It seems a pretty hopeless situation in a resort area where the full-time residents and property owners might get the suspicion that we are all financing unusually high salaries paid to certain elected and hired officials … Let us not forget to talk about consulting services for this and that, and the “public improvement” projects that carry exhorbitant price tags.
Then, when it is time to balance the budget, services as important as a viable public library get squeezed out.
Of course someone might tell me that if we do not like what we have in town, then one can go and live some place else. Well, it is not that easy for many who have lived in this area to “abandon the mothership.”
In a nutshell,the library may not bring revenues as high as golf courses and the like, but it surely contributes to the intellectual enrichment of a community.
It doesn’t matter how many letters we write or how many pleas we make on any subject…The mayor and council will do what they want when they want, no matter what the cost…literally!
I did take the time Monday to visit the OS Elementary School, Middle and High School libraries and computer facilities. My counts could be off by one or two computers, but the following is what I observed. I observed that they had just gotten a new crop of state surplus computers to replace the old ones. They all had flat screens running XP Professional. That program is still used by many government and corporate entities around the country. I asked what was being taught at each level.
In the elementary school they are teaching typing and keyboard skills. I was shown a schedule where students get to go to the library and computer area twice a week. One half is spent on computers and the other half with the library books. There appear to be a good number of books on the shelves. They also had a book sale for parents this week. It looked like Scolastic Books came to do that.
My reaction to just keyboard training was that I was hoping for more. Maybe there is. However, in the past I worked for a company that sold computers to parents on payment plans that had software that complemented the software used in the school. The program basically sold the software to the school at a reduced price to generate the program. Reader Rabbit, and other programs were used based upon the grade level. It was a long tiem ago, but those programs still exist.
In the middle and high school they have a library that is used by both groups. There is a research area of computers. Again, like above, they have flat screen computers running XP Professional. There is also a computer room that is considered vocational training along with personal finance. They do have a curriculum that teaches basic office skills. Things like memos, and letters. They learn basic Word, Excel, and other programs like photoshop and digital camera use. Here I would expect more indepth training on computer programs. Stronger use of the programs. The computer skills needed today seem beyond what is being provided.
The middle and high school do offer another room that had an array of different computers. Most looked like older ones. However, these were for independent study or situational needs of certain students. They did have the option of taking french instead of spanish in the core course offering.
The middle and senior high also had a video conferencing system that had a T-1 from the state to support it. it is basically the distance training driver’s education program. More could be done with this equipment to expand the available courses.
In general, there appears to be equipment and media that would meet basic needs of the students. Yes, there could be more. The current system of providing 100 books per year on a rotational basis seems too little. What that means is that one year the elementary schools (2) get 50 books each. Then the second year the middle school gets 100 books. The third year the high school gets 100 books. That means that there is an additional 33 books per year on average per education level.
Below are the computer counts that I did. A few computers were marked as not working, but that would be expected in any computer lab. As a side note, the teachers are the only IT they appear to have. I do not know if the community could donate time to resolve some of the network design issues they have, but I think it should be done. I know we do have some experts out there. I know they have knowledge beyond mine in this field.
Elementary School 14 computers
Middle/High School Research area 22 computers
Middle/High School Computer Lab 30 computers
Middle/High School Independent Study Area 10 computers.
If students could tell us more, because they are enrolled in the classes and use the current equipment, it would be an additional asset in reviewing the situation.
Networking seems to be the big issue. When the power goes out, it causes major problems for the network. There could also be congestion or design issues too. I am sure that they are having network collisions because of the design. I saw mainly hubs being used.
I know they want to move to a server based system to allow better instructor interaction and oversight of the students.
I know they want to ask the community for a Technology Levy to improve upon what they have. However, without the proper design and implementation, this may not get them as far as they desire.
The primary issue for many students is that the schools operate from 8 to 3 Monday to Friday. After hours access is not available.
This makes our library important to the students. Again, how that is funded is an issue for Ocean Shores. This is the North Beach School District. We are just Ocean Shores. Maybe some compensation from Timberland or the County for supporting their constituents should be requested. Maybe a program using students to help manage the after school hours use of our library should be established. It could be an extra credit project, Explorer program or something that would enrich them.
If a levy is proposed for Ocean Shores, then we need to address those that do not pay the levy and still use the facility. The law says that you can not charge people for using a public library. However, you can charge non-property tax payers to check out books. It may not be popular, but it is a necessary evil.
If the school district asks for a levy, one has to realize that Ocean Shores pays 80% of the levy based on property values.
Maybe a review of assessor practices is needed to make the values outside of the city reflect their true value. Maybe a wider scope of property values would include Ocean Shores in their valuations.
Then they would either rise or our’s would go down. However, Ocean Front, Water Front and inland valuations should be similar.
The Whole North Beach should be considered as a single unit for valuation. Then services would be funded for schools, fire, police and public works would be properly supported by the property taxes.
If the city went to Timberland, there would have to be some negotiations that maybe keeps our current cost as an offset for us providing the building and assets for the whole North Beach. In essence the portion they collect for the North Beach is assigned to the Ocean Shores library. It would be a district within a regional library. Then Ocean Shores taxpayers get what they contribute without being the golden goose for the system.
The letter was very well written, but the problem is that no one at city hall is listening. Their priorities are obviously not the priorities of the voters and residents, for have you heard a single resident say that closing the library was in the best interest of the city? So much for our last mayoral campaign, where our chosen candidate told us that he would represent the best interests and wishes of the citizens of this community.
What a wonderful letter to the Mayor and I’m so glad it was made public. I am a voracious reader, have been all of my life and while I have not used a public library in many years, I think they are one of those vital parts of public life. Just as important as our ems, fire department and police department. As necessary as our hospitals, doctors and nurses, schools and teachers. While we may not need or use these services directly for years at a time, we must recognize that many do, and even if we never have the need, almost all do at some point in time. So we, as good citizens, must continue to provide the support necessary for them to continue to function. That does not mean that government does not have to control it’s budget, just as we do. It simply means that we cut costs across the board and eliminate luxuries for the time being. A public library is NOT a luxury. It’s all very interesting to watch this being played out in a city where we have property, but no voice yet, until we build and retire there. Yes, we are two of those ‘people’.
Thank you for putting so eloquently in words how most of us feel.