Federation of Friends

Due to the cancellation of the October meeting and the scheduled date of the November meeting, the Federation of Friends has rescheduled their November meeting to Wednesday, November 15, 2006 at 6:00 pm in Room 443 at the MLKJr Memorial Library.

The meeting will include a presentation from the DCPL Literature department as part of their request for funds to support their 2007 Poetry Month Activities.

Testimony on the District of Columbia Public Library FY2007 Operating Budget
April 6, 2006
To the DC Council Committee on Education, Libraries and recreation
By Richard Huffine, President, Federation of Friends of the DC Public Library

Councilmember Patterson, members of the Committee, esteemed guests, and fellow members of the general public; I am here today as a Ward One resident, a library user and volunteer at my neighborhood branch library. I have reviewed the Mayor’s Proposed FY2007 Budget so that I could be both an informed resident and so that I could share information with the hundreds of residents that are currently active in supporting their public library through a Friends of the Library Organization.

My comments today focus on the structure and substance of the Mayor’s proposed operating budget for the District of Columbia Public Library System for the fiscal year beginning on October 1, 2006. The budget as proposed would provide the Public Library System with a 22.3% increase over fiscal year 2006, providing an additional $7.7 million dollars in operating funds. These funds include some $4 million dollars in one-time funds to purchase library collections and fund furniture, computers, and equipment that is intended to demonstrate a commitment to revitalizing our libraries over the next six years. There is also an addition of 8 staff positions funded to increase service hours in neighborhood libraries.

As in past years, I find this budget to lack any real vision for the ways in which strategic investments can be made to produce the necessary changes residents are seeking from their public libraries today. By example:

Despite a substantial increase in funds for library collections, this budget does not commit to a roll-out of DVD media for every neighborhood library. Despite the increase in funding for furniture and computers, there is no commitment to double the number of functional computers in our libraries. In fact, there is no commitment to hiring additional technical staff necessary to deploy or maintain such an investment. Despite the anticipated expenditure of over $40 million dollars in capital dollars, there are no positions targeted for project management of capital projects. It is estimated that the DC Public Library system will have at least 14 capital projects underway in FY2007 and they currently have a staff of two for capital construction.
What is most egregious in these oversights however, is the lack of commitment to the safety and maintenance of library facilities. Despite continuing issues of security in both branches and the main library, this budget fails to increase the security force that protects the users of our libraries and it ignores the lack of surveillance technology in almost every library facility. These oversights are not merely unfortunate. They violate the fundamental principle of caring about the safety and comfort of the residents that would like to use their public library.

I am most disappointed that in his administrations’ last budget proposal, Mayor Williams has done nothing to ensure the long-term capacity of the Public Library System to provide safe, functional, and comfortable facilities for library services in the District of Columbia. Just as the Capital Budget as proposed would defer over $25 million dollars to FY2008 in order to restore full library services to four communities that have been without a library since January 2005, this operating budget does nothing to address the foundational need to fund the maintenance of library facilities. The Council could go a long way to changing this outcome if they make the Mayor’s proposed one-time funding requested permanent enhancements to the base operating budget for library collections and facilities maintenance.

Another reflection of the lack of vision displayed in the budget before you today is the apparent reduction of “Lifetime of Learning” services. This budget recommends a 27% decrease in expenditures for these programs and a reduction of 18 staff. These cuts are recommended even when the performance measures for that activity are expected to increase in line or above prior years. Some of the performance measures that are supposed to be funded from the “Lifetime of Learning” function include outreach to schools and day care centers, the Summer Quest reading program, and library activities that address adult literacy. If the goal of the Public Library is to become a vital and integral part of community life, these activities are vital to making that goal a reality.

A visionary budget for the District of Columbia Public Library System would not have to be a lot higher then the numbers you are presented with today. It would simply have to demonstrate how the investments requested would begin to turn the tide of public sentiment toward embracing the library in the public lives of residents. My idea of a visionary budget for the District of Columbia Public Libraries would include at least some, if not all of the following:

A commitment to facilities maintenance that reflects documented industry standards and the reality of deferred maintenance over the last decade or more. A vision for the patron experience that could ultimately drive the revitalization of the entire Public Library System. To date, no work has been done to define the patron experience. The Blue Ribbon Task Force Report offered a vision of ideals, not one of experiences. A vision for the strategic planning work mandated in legislation passed in January, 2006. A visionary budget would not only mention the LEAD Task Force, but allocate the resources it will need to conduct its work. A technology benchmark for all branches that the Library System can work with the communities to achieve. Not knowing how many computers a branch should have keeps us all from working together to get that number and then begin to envision the next level as well.

A commitment to rolling out literacy services, Homework Help, computer labs, and DVD collections in all branches. Again, unless standards are established, communities cannot advocate or support the changes necessary to make the public library an integral part of community life A commitment to either hire or contract for capital project management with no more than three projects assigned per staff person.

In closing, let me say that the Federation of Friends of the DC Public Library and the individual Friends of the Library organizations across the District are ready to work with the District officials to revitalize the District of Columbia Public Library System. Despite continued disappointments in planning and execution, we continue to rally behind the Mayor, the Board of Library Trustees and the Systems administration when a vision for the future is discussed. We are delighted with the efforts that have been made by the DC Council both through this committee and in legislative proposals from the Council as a whole.

It is my firm belief that because Public Libraries are integral to our communities, we will continue to strive for excellence even in these times of limited vision, accountability, and productivity. Despite the structural shortcomings of the budget you are considering today, I believe that we can accomplish some of the visionary goals we have for our public libraries in the year to come. Hopefully in FY2007 a new Director, an active Board of Library Trustees, and a willing DC Council will address the weaknesses of this budget. It is my sincere hope that a proposed FY2008 Library budget will be informed by all these parties and will look nothing like FY2007 does today.