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Introduction

Welcome back to Season Three of Linking Our Libraries! We are Central Minnesota Libraries Exchange, and we are here to share information with all types of libraries, archives, and other nonprofits working to build their skills. This season we are working through the tools you can use to be a better manager and leader.

This week we discuss Budgeting.

Joining us are our Guest Hosts Karen Pundsack and Aron Murphy from Great River Regional Library System here in Minnesota.

 

The Basics

It is a scary word, and a scary concept, for some. To make it worse, too many people come in with idea that it’s not polite to talk about money or to ask about it; so they do not even want to get started. We never have enough of it, it’s tough to figure out where it comes from, and it flows right out the door really quickly. But we know we need to understand it and to handle it – and the pressure can be immense.

For many libraries, our traditional sources of money – tuition, property taxes, grants etc. – may be less certain or actually drying up. Working out some strategies for bringing in other money may be a nice thing; or it may be vital for your continued existence. Listen to our episode from last season on Grant Writing for more ideas there. Just remember that money can come from all kinds of sources; if you do not have enough – it’s time to go hunting for more.

It may be easier to remember that budgets are planning documents. You already know about planning – we discussed it last week. Budgets are plans with dollars.

 

The basics are pretty clear. Money comes in. You write that down as revenue. Money flows back out. You write that down as expenses. From your planned total numbers in the budget document, you can add the first and subtract the second. Try to hit the end of your timeframe without running out of money. And pretty much, that’s it! (See? Not so scary!)

• First: make a plan. What do you want to accomplish over the next few months? What will you need to get there? Let’s say you want to double the circulation of your Spanish-language young adult books in the next year. You need more books and you need some marketing. So let’s add in a line in the budget for Spanish-language YA books, and we can add another line for Spanish-language marketing materials. Maybe add in a line for Spanish-language databases or other online resources, if that’s something you want.
• How much do you think you want to spend? Do you have a budget amount from your director, or a grant? That makes your number planning easier – put that down. If not, then think about what you want to provide. Would an additional 50 books be helpful? Or are you thinking about 500 books?
• What would an average book costs? This is where people bog down, and ask how they are supposed to know these amounts. It’s pretty straightforward: you look at a website or a catalog, or you talk to vendors, or to colleagues about your needs. Write that number down. Will you hit that number exactly? Probably not. Aim at it as a goal, and don’t get shaken if you are a little off.
• And there you have it: a budget! Bask in your success.
• Keep checking in on the budget to see how closely you are to your planned spending. You definitely want to know if your snowplow budget is going to be double your plan for it, or if money you were expecting will not actually materialize.

Even when things are tight, and the budget is tough, you will be a better leader when you really know about the flow of money in and out of your library.

So, that’s the theory behind budgeting. Let’s get some ideas about how it REALLY works in libraries!

 

Guest Hosts

• Give us a quick overview of your budgeting process
• Talk about the ways you communicate with staff and stakeholders during your budgeting
• You have a large, multi-faceted, library organization; creating budgets takes more time and thought as you go around to all the different stakeholders. Who are some of them?
• Do you have tips for people who have to advocate for money from their parent organization?

 

Books Read

Warcross by Marie Lu “For the millions who log in every day, Warcross isn’t just a game—it’s a way of life. The obsession started ten years ago and its fan base now spans the globe, some eager to escape from reality and others hoping to make a profit. Struggling to make ends meet, teenage hacker Emika Chen works as a bounty hunter, tracking down Warcross players who bet on the game illegally. But the bounty-hunting world is a competitive one, and survival has not been easy. To make some quick cash, Emika takes a risk and hacks into the opening game of the international Warcross Championships—only to accidentally glitch herself into the action and become an overnight sensation.

Convinced she’s going to be arrested, Emika is shocked when instead she gets a call from the game’s creator, the elusive young billionaire Hideo Tanaka, with an irresistible offer. He needs a spy on the inside of this year’s tournament in order to uncover a security problem . . . and he wants Emika for the job. With no time to lose, Emika’s whisked off to Tokyo and thrust into a world of fame and fortune that she’s only dreamed of. But soon her investigation uncovers a sinister plot, with major consequences for the entire Warcross empire.”

 

Preston’s New Gloves (Packrat Series #1) “Your children will fall in love with Preston Packrat as he takes a nostalgic trip down memory lane with his grandfather. The beautifully illustrated early reader displays a number of nostalgic toys from parents’ days when they were kids. From Rock’em Sock’em robots to a Polaroid camera, Preston learns that all your things don’t have to be new to be fun! This fun illustrated children’s book is a great easy reader designed to generate questions between generations. For children who are trying to learn to read, this book can be both fun and educational.”

 

The Book of Joy “Two spiritual giants. Five days. One timeless question.  Nobel Peace Prize Laureates His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu have survived more than fifty years of exile and the soul-crushing violence of oppression. Despite their hardships—or, as they would say, because of them—they are two of the most joyful people on the planet.

In April 2015, Archbishop Tutu traveled to the Dalai Lama’s home in Dharamsala, India, to celebrate His Holiness’s eightieth birthday and to create what they hoped would be a gift for others. They looked back on their long lives to answer a single burning question: How do we find joy in the face of life’s inevitable suffering?

They traded intimate stories, teased each other continually, and shared their spiritual practices. By the end of a week filled with laughter and punctuated with tears, these two global heroes had stared into the abyss and despair of our time and revealed how to live a life brimming with joy.

This book offers us a rare opportunity to experience their astonishing and unprecendented week together, from the first embrace to the final good-bye.

We get to listen as they explore the Nature of True Joy and confront each of the Obstacles of Joy—from fear, stress, and anger to grief, illness, and death. They then offer us the Eight Pillars of Joy, which provide the foundation for lasting happiness. Throughout, they include stories, wisdom, and science. Finally, they share their daily Joy Practices that anchor their own emotional and spiritual lives.

The Archbishop has never claimed sainthood, and the Dalai Lama considers himself a simple monk. In this unique collaboration, they offer us the reflection of real lives filled with pain and turmoil in the midst of which they have been able to discover a level of peace, of courage, and of joy to which we can all aspire in our own lives.”

 

Spontaneous, by Aaron Starmer ”

With all the perfectly lovely young adult novels out there, you decided to check this one out? It’s got spontaneously combusting teenagers in it, dude. Not the slow burning type either. We’re talking the randomly exploding variety. Seniors in high school just walking along, heading to class, whistling Beyoncé, when—WA-BAM!— they’re suddenly dripping off the lockers.

Is that really something you’re into?

Confession: I’m actually kinda into that too. So, now that we’ve established we’re both thoroughly weird and, I assume, thoroughly open-minded, we can give it shot, right? Let’s at least read the opening chapters of this bad-boy and see if it features some of the more intriguing elements such as . . .

– Exploding teenagers (obviously).
– Hallucinogenic mushrooms.
– Pyromaniacal boyfriends.
– Triplet toddlers in powder blue suits.
– Amur leopards and doomsday preppers.
– A foul-mouthed female POTUS.
– Ashtanga yoga.
– ­Youtube sensations.
– Self-driving Priuses.
– Rogue FBI agents.
– Mad scientists.
– Homecoming.
– Spring break.
– Prom.
– And . . . Jennifer Lawrence.

Notice how I put Jennifer Lawrence last. She’s in the book, so it’s not cheating. And hey, if it takes America’s most beloved movie star to sell this thing, then that’s what it takes.

So, in closing: Jennifer Lawrence.”

 

 

Conclusion

This was a very fast overview of a complicated subject. Money is important, but budgeting is planning and making those plans reality. So as you prepare your budget, look back at our episode from last week talking about planning, and think about the plans you want for your library, and put some numbers to those ideas. Just follow it along, make changes as needed, and bask in your success.

It does not matter how big or small your budget is; working with it to make your library a success is important to help you build your skills as a leader.

Thanks to our Guest Hosts Karen and Aaron! And check back in with us next week to discuss Building Organizational Culture.