The Central Minnesota Libraries Exchange (CMLE) is one of seven regional multitype library systems established to meet the needs of and share the resources of all types of libraries.
We love libraries, and are here to support them!
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Welcome to Your Voice, a column that shares Quick Question Poll (QQP) results from libraries/school media centers in the twelve-county, CMLE region. Whether a statistical response or textual response to open ended questions, your voice matters. Invitations to engage in the polls arrive in your email; please participate! Most poll results will be shared in aggregate form unless stated otherwise in the poll or through additional approval arrangements.
Part 1 of this post happened last week. If you want to catch last weeks’ column, feel free to read it first!
In answer to one of our recent poll questions: Which two or three things are going especially well for you in your library, school district or media center, we share the following quotes…..
Many donations to keep the library up to date on newer books, very few lost books through the school year.
Library remodel. Collection development.
Circulation remains strong. Our district is supporting a movement toward a 1:1 laptop program. Our program continues to receive strong district support.
We are extremely busy and the numbers for library use of all kinds look great and are rising. We are getting additional space when we move over to the new building the college has purchased to house the library. Our administration is very supportive of our library.
The “library without walls” environment continues to be amazing—with all of the e-resources available to our students and staff, we can enhance learning in ways we dreamed of!
Personal goal of using more technology in my lessons and student options for technology use. Implemented iPod touches.
Good things are happening…..it’s easy to focus on what is wrong or not getting done, but reflecting on what is right can enrich your work life. If you would like the full story on any poll results we share, let us know and maybe we can arrange to get more detail for a future blog post!
If you have suggestions for new polls, or have questions about existing polls, please feel free to contact me at papost@stcloudstate.edu or 320-308-4779.
Image by Bogeskov. Retrieved from Flickr. Used under Creative Common’s licensing.
A few weeks ago, we had a spirited conversation after a fire drill about risk, and how far an employee should be expected to go when a college student will not vacate the university library during a fire drill. And what about if there had been a real fire? Should library staff be expected to risk their lives for patrons who will not comply with announcements to vacate the building? Needless to say, there were feelings expressed, and some with passion too! Let me tell you a story about risk and passion…..
I read a story about a children’s librarian in Queens (Miss Susan) who made a promise for her summer reading program. If at least 300 children registered and read at least 4,000 books over the summer, she would read a story to a live alligator! In past years she has made other outrageous promises too, made good on all of them, but this one topped the previous ones! Well, you guessed it, Miss Susan read “There’s an Alligator Under My Bed” by Mercer Mayer to Wally, a female alligator. Read the full story and please be aware that after hearing the story, Wally had no comment!
Welcome to Your Voice, a column that shares Quick Question Poll (QQP) results from libraries/school media centers in the twelve-county, CMLE region. Whether a statistical response or textual response to open ended questions, your voice matters. Invitations to engage in the polls arrive in your email; please participate! Most poll results will be shared in aggregate form unless stated otherwise in the poll or through additional approval arrangements.
Image by pictureorpictures. Retrieved from Flickr. Used under Creative Common’s licensing.
Last year, we did a number of very short online Quick Question Polls, to gather input from the region. The last one we did was titled Year in Review. In that QQP we asked you to reflect on the academic year, and share the high points and/or struggles too. We were delighted that a dedicated group of people still possessed enough energy to engage in the poll! Eighty-two percent of respondents were from K-12 school media centers in Central Minnesota, which isn’t a huge surprise; it is the largest member group that CMLE serves. So, drum roll please……on to the positivity!
In answer to one of the questions: Which two or three things are going especially well for you in your library, school district or media center?Given the gift of time, I would categorize all responses. Lacking that at the moment, I thought it might be refreshing to hear a smattering of positivity from peers in the region. A few colleague responses were…
I have two good media assistants that help me run two libraries. We are getting some Chromebooks for our students to use because our labs are tied up so often with testing.
Adult book discussions are popular and going well as is story time for preschoolers.
Rearranged collection to a more “store” model rather than using the traditional library arrangement. Also redecorated the media center to remove the 90’s look and to create a more inviting teen reading environment. Also worked with grade level teams in our Phase 1 of the DC Digital Learning Initiative.
Connecting with students and helping them connect with books.
Supportive Administration—A very busy Media Center!
Every building has a full time media specialist in the district and our process for making tech decisions is fluid which means we’ve made a lot of progress regarding technology this year (keep in mind we don’t have a technology administrator OR a district tech integrationists). I’m pretty proud of my fiction collection in my library as well!
The way we have classes scheduled to come into the library. We use shelf markers with their names on them and that helps when they are looking for a book because they put the shelf marker in the bookshelf where they take the book out. Then, if they look at it and decide it isn’t the book for them, they know where it should go back. It also helps for checking out materials as the barcode is on the shelf markers. All barcode numbers are the same as their lunch numbers.
Technology is moving forward at a good pace. I’ve been able to reach most of my students with research skills, and am part of the Digital Citizenship class (grade 9).
I like to think of the contents of this post as a spoonful of positivity in Central Minnesota! At a time of the year when energy could have been low, I found creativity, value, and optimism in all responses. Everyone felt positive about some aspect of their work! Taking the time to review and reflect on accomplishments and lessons learned, can enrich our practice and improve satisfaction levels in our jobs too. Stay tuned for more results soon.
If you have suggestions for new polls, or have questions about existing polls, please feel free to contact me at papost@stcloudstate.edu or 320-308-4779.
Last year respondents to the QQP’s were entered into a drawing for a $50 Amazon gift ! Who won? It was Kyle Breitkreutz, media specialist at Sartell Middle School. According to Kyle, he never wins anything, so we are glad we could break that trend for him! Watch your email for Quick Question Polls again this year! And remember, your voice matters!
Image by MLibrary. Retrieved from Flickr. Used under Creative Common’s licensing.
A recent post on the Education Week blog caught my eye, and captured the true dilemma many librarians and media specialists face as they ponder the future of libraries. The post is most specific to K-12, yet there are parallels for other library types too. Author Matthew Lynch proposes that to keep up with student needs, school libraries need to embrace a blend of traditional and contemporary philosophical needs (then takes the time to list them out). It is not hard to understand that remote access to the school catalog is a huge deal to students, yet so many schools in our region do not provide such access. In some districts, individual schools cannot even see each other’s catalogs. Why is that? Is it only a money thing, or do some believe our power remains in forcing people to physically visit the library or in asking the media person to do a search for them? Students want instant, remote access to school catalogs for books and other objects too. The post concluded with a rousing conclusion about Libraries of the Future and our own Minnesota school media leader Doug Johnson provided a great quote in this section. Johnson says “that all libraries have three primary responsibilities in the coming decade: providing high touch environments in a high tech world; offering virtual services; and standing ground as uber information hubs.” If decision makers are willing to break out of the traditional rut, school libraries (all libraries) will remain relevant and viable. Take five minutes to read the complete post, including quotes from other thought leaders on this subject!
Patricia Post, Director
Central MN Libraries Exchange (CMLE) A Minnesota Multitype Library System
St. Cloud State University, Miller Center 130-D
720 4th Ave. So.
St. Cloud, MN 56301-4498
Image by bambibabe48. Retrieved from Flickr. Used under Creative Common’s licensing.
Are you starting to think about the upcoming legislative session and what that will mean for libraries and schools? No? Well, that is probably OK since the next session does not begin until February 25, 2014! This year will be a bonding yearrather than a funding year, which usually provides relief from some of the extreme highs and lows that libraries and schools experience around budget issues. For your convenience, here is a recap of the last session written by Elaine Keefe, our MLA/MEMO lobbyist representing our library and school media issues at the State Capitol.
Elaine writes…..below is a summary of the 2013 legislative session. Most of this information has appeared in previous reports.
State Budget Overview: The Legislature and Governor Dayton agreed on a budget for the 2014-15 biennium that erases a projected $627 million deficit and provides additional funding for education and local governments. In order to raise the revenue to accomplish this, income taxes were increased on the top 2% of income tax filers, cigarette taxes were increased by $1.60 per pack and the sales tax was broadened to include some business services. With DFL majorities in both the House and Senate and a DFL governor, the budget negotiations were far less contentious than they were two years ago when most of state government was shut down for 20 days because Governor Dayton and the Republican-controlled Legislature were unable to agree on a budget.
Here is a summary of legislative action affecting libraries:
Education Payment Shift: Repayment of the shift has proceeded much more rapidly than many had expected. Under current law, whenever a state economic forecast projects a budget surplus, the surplus must first be used to replenish the state budget reserve (if necessary) and any remaining surplus must be used to repay the shift until a 90% /10% payment schedule is achieved. Although the November 2012 and February 2013 forecasts both projected a deficit for the 2014-15 biennium, those forecasts also projected surpluses at the close of the current biennium, which ends on June 30. Hence, the shift was reduced by $1.3 billion after the November forecast and by another $290 million after the February forecast, resulting in a current payment schedule of 86.4% / 13.6%. Under the budget deal reached by the Governor and Legislature, if there is a surplus after the close of the current biennium, that amount will be used to repay the shift without waiting for the November forecast. The current estimate is that this will be another $300 million. This should be sufficient to reach a 90/10 payment schedule.
Library Appropriations in the K-12 Budget: Current funding was maintained for Regional Library Basic System Support, Regional Library Telecommunications Aid, Multi-types, ELM and Telecommunications Equity Aid. We also succeeded in getting an amendment included in the omnibus education bill changing the terminology for RLBSS and multi-type funding from “grant” to “aid” to better reflect how these programs are administered.
Homework Help: Our bill to fund an online Homework Help service statewide was introduced in both bodies but did not receive a hearing. There was heavy emphasis this year on providing additional funding for large existing programs, leaving little room in the budget for new initiatives. Our bill was introduced in the Senate by Senator John Hoffman (DFL – Champlin) and in the House by Rep. Kathy Brynaert (DFL – Mankato).
General Education Formula: The general education formula (which is the main source of funding for school media centers) will increase by 1.5% in each year of the biennium. It will rise from the current $5,224 per pupil to $5,302 in FY 2014 and to $5,806 in FY 2015.
Total Operating Capital: MDE included language in its omnibus policy bill that would have prohibited schools from using total operating capital to pay for annual licensing fees for software. I raised a concern about that language on behalf of MEMO. After much negotiation, MDE agreed to amend the language to specifically allow the use of total operating capital for software and annual licensing fees. This passed in the omnibus education bill.
Minitex and MnLINK: Funding for Minitex and MnLINK was increased by $300,000 per year. It is the first increase for Minitex and MnLINK since the 2007 session. Our authors were Senator Kent Eken (DFL – Twin Valley) and Rep. Ryan Winkler (DFL – Golden Valley).
Higher Ed Systems: MnSCU funding was increased by $102 million and the University of Minnesota by $79 million. Most of these funds are earmarked for freezing undergraduate tuition.
Legacy Funding for Regional Public Libraries: Regional Public Library Systems received $3 million per year to provide arts and historical programs. This is the same level of funding provided during the current biennium. The funds will be distributed via a revised formula that replaces the equalization factor with a “qualifying system entities” factor. We had to fight hard to retain this level of funding after the Senate bill proposed to reduce it to $1 million per year in an effort to maximize the funding for the State Arts Board. Many thanks to everyone who contacted their senators and the members of the Legacy conference committee to urge them to maintain the current funding level for regional public libraries. You were definitely heard!
Legacy Funding for the Minnesota Digital Library: The Minnesota Digital Library received $300,000 per year. This is an increase over the current $250,000 per year appropriation. As in the past, this funding is appropriated to the Minnesota Historical Society with a directive to cooperate with Minitex and jointly share the appropriation.
Legacy Percentage to the State Arts Board: The Senate Legacy bill added a provision in statute requiring that 50% of all future appropriations from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund would be allocated to the State Arts Board. Senator Cohen insisted that this was the intent when the Legacy Amendment was passed. The final bill requires that 47% go to the State Arts board in the future.
Data Privacy: Our bill to extend current data privacy protection for public library patron records to electronic data stored by a vendor was introduced by Senator Kari Dziedzic (DFL – Minneapolis) and Rep. Steve Simon (DFL – St. Louis Park). It was heard in both bodies and passed out of the House Data Practices Subcommittee before we learned that other provisions in current law already afforded this protection to such data. Our bill became the vehicle for the omnibus data practices bill, but our provision was deleted after we learned it was unnecessary.
Library Accessibility and Improvement Grants: Although it was not a traditional bonding year, the Governor and the House were eager to see a large bonding bill pass. We were encouraged to get a bill introduced to fund Library Accessibility and Improvement Grants, and so a bill to provide $3 million was introduced by Rep. Mary Murphy (DFL – Hermantown) and Senator Alice Johnson (DFL – Spring Lake Park). The House included $1.5 million in the final version of its bonding bill, but the bill failed to get the required supermajority on the House floor. It needed 81 votes and only got 76 votes. The Senate never did produce a major bonding bill. In the end, a very small $176 million bill passed, with most of the funds allocated for renovation of the Capitol. A major bonding bill will be on the agenda for 2014.
Aid to Cities and Counties: Aid to cities was increased by $80 million and aid to counties was increased by $40 million. The trade-off is that levy limits will be in place for 2014. The limits are relatively generous — the city or county’s aid plus levy for either 2012 or 2013, whichever is greater, plus 3%.
Sales Tax on City and County Purchases: Cities and counties will no longer have to pay sales tax on their purchases beginning January 1. The sales tax was imposed on local units of government (except for school districts) in 1992 as a way to solve a budget deficit. There have been repeated attempts to repeal the tax since then, and despite broad agreement that the tax was bad policy, it was difficult to repeal it because of the loss of revenue to the state. This is a great win for cities and counties. Public libraries were partially taxed and partially exempted in 1992 when the tax was first passed. We won a full exemption a few years later, so this will not have a direct effect on public libraries.
Elaine Keefe
Capitol Hill Associates
525 Park Street, Suite 310
St. Paul, MN 55103
office 651-293-0229
fax 651-293-1709
cell 612-590-1244 elaine@capitolhillassoc.com
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