Help Build Some Great Maine Libraries

The history of public library funding in Maine has been overwhelmingly reliant on local funds.   Except for an occasional state bond referendum providing limited funds, there is no money for public library construction and there is no money to assist public libraries in their operations.  Past support, such as a .10 per capita state support, have long since disappeared so that library funding is provided by a combination of  local taxpayer  and private funds.   I suppose, given the tremendous use and affection for public libraries in this state, you could describe the situation as either perplexing or shameful.

That might be about to change.  The Maine Library Commission gained permission to include the Maine’s public libraries as a check off option on state tax returns.  All funds will be dedicated to the Maine Public Library Fund.  So hopefully the hundreds of thousands of Mainers who use their public libraries might take a moment and contribute and then reap the benefits of their generosity. 

For more information, please check out the Maine State Library's web-site at http://www.maine.gov/msl/tax/index.shtml 

Back to Blog Land

It is time to come back to Blog Land. The last few months have been a little exhausting on this end and in fact there has been too much to say but unfortunately it was matched by my lack of posting discipline. So here we go with a new start.

You may have caught a report or two on the recent grant award received by the Maine State Library for $1.36 million. The funds came from the federal Broadband Technology Opportunity Program (BTOP) and it specifically funds a project called the Maine Public Library Information Commons Project.

The Maine Public Library Information Commons Project establishes or enhances public computer centers in more than 100 public libraries in Maine. The centers will serve as access points to free high speed Internet service, and will provide assistance to vulnerable populations both in the use of technology and in finding and using needed information in the areas of employment, civil law, health, government services, small business information, and workforce development. This project also establishes 11 additional video conferencing regional hubs to enhance training for patrons and librarians.

PPL is both one of the 100 public libraries and one of the video conferencing centers. We are also hoping to receive a mobile computer lab at some point. It is also worth noting that we have recently received significant upgrades to our bandwidth that should allow us to take full advantage of our participation in the program. The subject areas targeted by the grant are of enormous interest to us as we are already focusing some of our efforts already in these areas through our External Work Groups (Business and Government; Science, Technology and Health) and potential community partnerships that we will talk about over the next few weeks.

Hardware Summary

6 desk top computers
10 lap tops
Video conferencing unit

Partners in the project include the Maine State Library, Maine InfoNet, the Department of Labor's Center for Workforce Research and Information, Access to Justice and Project Compass, and Maine InfoNet.

The full executive summary may be found at: http://www.maine.gov/msl/recovery/

As we have more information we will try to provide regular updates.

This is a very exciting development.

The Library on Elm Street

Today the “Library on Elm Street” opens at Monument Square. While Phase I of our renovation unfolds we will be operating essentially a large branch at the site. The staff have culled as many items as possible that have a high probability of being borrowed by those visiting the space. Otherwise we are counting on being able to efficiently (and as quickly as possible) deliver items that you request, either in person at any of our 6 locations, or on-line via the web catalog.

It is an exciting day for us as we look forward to a huge improvement in the aesthetics and functioning of our main location. This phase of the renovation is scheduled to last at least 10 months but we are hopeful it might be a little longer reflecting our success as we concurrently pursue funds for items that are scheduled for Phase II.



We have done our best to work with the space we have available but it is not by a long shot perfect. There are not enough seats, not enough computers, etc. but hopefully the staff will be able to help you get what you need during your visit. Let us know what we might improve in the space and we will do our best.

As the highway signs say: “Temporary Inconvenience for Permanent Improvement.”

Budgets & Civility

This is budget season in the world of municipal finance. It is never comfortable even during times when the money is flowing. Flowing is a very relative term believe me but 2% increases sure look good about now.

Yesterday, the Library had a conversation with the Finance Committee of the City of Portland. It was civil and, to the extent possible during difficult times, supportive of what we do. It strikes me that there are a lot of good people in the world trying to do good things while doing their duty. It may not be possible to do both right now. You can't control the external factors but you can control your attitude and level of civility. I was grateful for the presence of those qualities last night in speaking with people with a hard job to do.

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PPL Executive Director Comments RE FY 10 Budget

City Council Finance Committee

Thursday, March 26, 2009 – 4:00 PM

Chairman Mavodones, members of the Finance Committee and City Manager Gray. Before beginning, I’d like to acknowledge my colleagues from the Library who are with me today: Morris Fisher, President of the Board of Trustees, Nathan Smith, First Vice President, Shelley Carvel, Treasurer, Clare Hannan, Director of Finance & Operations and Heather Tiffany, Director of Development and Programming for the Library.

For the second consecutive year, we, collectively as a City, find ourselves in extremely difficult fiscal conditions that merit the most thoughtful consideration, response and understanding and maybe most importantly, collective good will.

We recognize – and in fact have experienced both this year and last - the severe distress that this Committee and the Manager face through this process. There is much at risk: people’s livelihoods, our City’s quality of life, how we will nurture economic development; the list is endless. For our business this afternoon, Portland Public Library is part of the question of whether certain City services will continue to exist, and if so, how to address the challenges to effectively delivering those services to the greatest number given that every agency or department –including the Library - has been terribly compromised.

The budget proposal that you have before you has a very simple goal which is to maintain our current schedule of hours and by extension our existing level of personnel. This budget incorporates the drastic cuts made last year in the Library system in the form of a 10% reduction in system staff which played out in an 18% loss in hours at the Main Library – our busiest location. I don’t think I need to repeat or parrot the endless media coverage that we all have been subjected to concerning the demand and importance of public libraries at this moment. However the demand is very real and it makes last year’s cuts and any potential cuts next FY very painful to real people trying to hold their lives together.

This year’s budget contains some startling expressions that reflect the broad economic turmoil including a reduction in the collections budget of $117,000 due to the falling value of our endowment. Clearly we have our own “revenue problem”. Further, losing one full day per week at our busiest and largest location has affected our ability to rent rooms and lessened our overdue fees due to falling lending numbers. For this next FY, the situation is further exacerbated due to the renovation of Monument Sq which has compromised some of our earning possibilities by limiting room rentals.

The collections and programs of the Library are paid for primarily by Library funds including fees, fundraising, endowment earnings and grant support. In the past three years alone the Library has brought in approximately $3,000,000 to support Portland Public Library activity. Of that amount close to $1,500,000 has gone directly to support the operations of the Library while the remainder $1,500,000 is helping to renovate the main library. The funding from the City is of course vital in that it supports the staff salaries, electricity, heating, etc. – our infrastructure as it were.

We continue to raise funds for operations, have finished a case statement for endowment growth and are devoting more time to grant writing. An additional bright spot is the formal creation of the Friends of PPL which is now getting off the ground and from which we expect financial and program support once it is firmly established.

While we appreciate and understand the stress and challenge of your work, it is our duty to communicate clearly the impact of a flat funding scenario for the second straight year. Last year we worked with a set of budget principles that we communicated to the Council and posted on our website for public review. We have to some degree used those principles again but have also incorporated the “Observations” gleaned from the neighborhood meetings. Those observations, along with all materials from our 6 fall meetings, have been posted on our website for the past 6 months. We also shared at those meetings new “budget statements” that were intended to leave no doubt as to what we heard last spring and what our preliminary consensus was in the approach to the FY 10 budget. (Copies of these documents are part of your packet and will be reposted on our website as part of our budget packet)

It is worth noting that over the past three years we have hosted or participated in over 30 neighborhood meetings –including the Fall 08 series - discussing all kinds of library issues. The feedback from these many meetings, as well as two major citizen surveys, have informed our on-going planning and thinking around this year’s budget.

At our Fall meetings we promised publicly to submit a budget to cover costs to maintain all of our current operating hours and locations;

We stated that, if the necessary funds were not forthcoming, reductions would have to come from neighborhood locations.

The attendees at the meetings understood these two features clearly and asked that we keep them informed along the way of our budget submissions. We have done that to this point except for the details of this evening, out of courtesy to this Committee. The community also stated clearly that they favored a “share the pain” approach if funds were not available to maintain the system at FY 09 levels.

With that context in mind, an appropriation equal to last year’s will lead to the following steps:

All locations – except the Main Library will be reduced by 10 hours per week.

Peaks Island, Reiche and Riverton will be open 10 hours per week beginning this July 1.

Burbank will be open 30 hours per week.

East End Community School (or PPL Children’s Library) will be open 30 hours and then be reduced to 10 hours by the end of FY 10 after the Youth Services staff returns to the renovated Monument Sq facility.

With the loss of 50 hours per week and 2.5 FTEs for the next Fiscal Year, we will have compared to two years ago 15% less staff and a reduction of system hours of 23%.

In closing, we all have to make very tough choices. Portland Public Library has, indisputably, demonstrated a record of engagement with our users, planning, openness and a willingness to thoughtfully consider the options to deliver the best library service possible. As you all are painfully aware, we are in the second year of a continuum of fiscal uncertainty – and there may be more ahead - and we need to reorient ourselves to a new reality and force ourselves to transcend narrow agendas. It is clear that the Portland Public Library system is not the same institution of two years ago in terms of financial capability and no amount of wishing or posturing can alter that fact. There is a way forward – no doubt the road will look different - and we invite the Council to participate in a constructive, energetic and objective exchange with us as we continue to grapple with the challenges ahead

Monument Square Renovation Begins!

The renovation of the Monument Square location of Portland Public Library has begun. For a project that has been going on in some manner - planning, fundraising, community meetings, etc - for ten years, it is exciting to finally begin work that can be immediately seen by our members and staff.


A significant amount of our collections on the lower level have been moved including Government Documents, older magazines and newspapers and we will begin to move tens of thousands of items more in the next three weeks. All of these items are going to the Brown Annex. The collections that will be stored in the annex will be available through our catalog and can be requested and delivered to any of our 6 locations.

Beginning March 16, we will be closed for two weeks as we finish the moving of our materials. The Branches will all be open their normal hours.

For much more about the closing and the details of the project please see our FAQ.

NEIGHBORHOOD CONVERSATIONS

Next Tuesday, September 16 on Peaks Island, the Planning Committee of the Portland Public Library begins a series of 6 public meetings (see schedule) to both inform and be informed by the public in connection to the future of the library system. These meetings are augmenting the ongoing Library planning and are also in response to a City Council request that we seek community input as we go forward in responding to any future financial stress.

One of the difficulties in generating useful and quality public discourse is the lack of historical memory by the people participating. We often underestimate the value of the documents or statements that were previously produced during crisis moments but possess a clarity that is born of necessity of the moment. We plan to hand out some material at these meetings but the “Response to FY 08-09 City Funding Reduction” located on our website since last May continues to describe our framework as we struggled to reduce expenditures by $225,000. Our goals, principles and steps are there for all to see and hopefully inform as to what our universe looked like at that point. The general thinking is as valid now as it was in May.

After two record setting years in a row, we have begun this new fiscal year with a 20% reduction in hours at Monument Square. Maine’s largest public library facility and the backbone of our library system now operates on a 5 day per week schedule after a loss of over 10% of its staff. The main library supports the work of our other 5 locations in addition to serving users directly. Interlibrary loan, the acquisition and cataloging of materials, the technology resources, outreach services – many, many things are done at Monument Square that make the branches better able to serve the neighborhoods.

The Library is full of hope that many people will attend one or more of these meetings and engage in a constructive and civil conversation about how we can create a great Library system and what that might look like. That will require a transcendence of narrow neighborhood interests and a genuine appreciation of what the mission and responsibility is of a library system to the entire city. Regardless of that vision outcome the financial commitment of the City of Portland must remain strong in supporting the Library’s infrastructure while the Library raises funds for programs, collections and services.