Mary Wegner, State Librarian, and Bonnie McKewon of the Northwest Iowa Library Service Area were asked by Dale Vande Haar to come up with a list of names to constitute this committee. These three people chose representatives crossing many “lines” of library service – public, academic, school, LSA, state library. A fuller explanation is available at the ILA website. The final group consisted of the following individuals:
- Nathan Clark, Ruthven / Emmetsburg Public Library size B
- Sandy Long, Whittemore Public Library size B
- Nancy Trask, Winterset Public Library size D
- Lorraine Borowski, Decorah Public Library size E
- Susan Kling, Marion Public Library size G
- LaWanda Roudebush, Davenport Public Library size H
- Bonnie McKewon, Northwest LSA (LSA Admin )
- Ann Coulter, Southwestern Community College (LSA Trustee )
- Mary Wegner, State Library (State Librarian/Admin )
- Monica Gohlinghorst , Iowa Commission of Libraries
- Dale Vande Haar, Des Moines Public Schools (ILA President )
This reorganization committee is based on what has been called a "legislative mandate." But there are several legislators who deny such a mandate exists. In other words, this open and transparent process has been built on a foundation of misrepresentations.
ReplyDeleteThe legislature will not accept this plan as it is for several reasons, the primary one is that it will not provide the service to which we are accustomed, despite its promise to do so. And they will not be impressed the whopping $22,000 savings this plan provides.
Leave the LSA system as it is--it works, despite draconian budget cuts the past few years. If good, proven, library service at a bargain is the goal, the LSAs are the answer. Turning these services over to the State Library guarantees fewer services, at viturally no savings.
Do it now. Ask the tough questions. Then, at the ILA Conference in Coralville next month, vote against this plan so we can all get back to work.
Jeffrey Pilz
NCLSA Vice-President
ILA Executive Board
ILTA Vice-President
This plan does not 'turn service over to the State Library' as has been erroneously stated or as the 1990 plan would have done. This plan for the first time proposes a revision of both the LSAs and the State Library structure to create one new agency with local service and local input around the State. It reduces the multiple layers of governance and consolidates accounting procedures so that there is more efficiency in those procedures and staff time is saved.
ReplyDeleteWhether or not legislators support it will depend on what they hear from their constituents in libraries and it appears likely it will be strongly supported by most ILA members and most of the non-members in all except the north central area of the State.
Cost savings did not appear to be the highest priority of legislators with regard to the LSAs last Session, especially given the fact that the 'draconian' cuts were not just made one year. Governance, the fact that the LSAs are funded with State tax dollars, but are not really a part of State government and the separateness of the LSAs and State Library appear to be more of an issue with legislators than just cost savings.
There is no perfect system, but the system we have is inferior to the proposed new system and it is painfully naive to think that even if we all wanted to we could just tell legislators to just leave things as they are now, but give us more money ASAP and all will be well.
Legislators know local library service is important and they don't want to harm State funded library support services anymore than we do, but they also have to be accountable and look for ways to improve State service.
Ten years ago when I served on the 2000 Task Force on State Funded Services and discussions focused on asking the LSAs to form multi-type library groups in their areas and changing trustee elections so that they were held only in the library community, but librarians were added to the LSA Boards there were similar objections from a few members of the library community, especially Regional Library/LSA trustees. We were told the LSAs would not be able to serve as well and LSA staff wouldn't know what the needs were in their areas and the school librarians wouldn't want to meet with the public librarians, etc., etc. None of the fears came to pass.
If this plan only proposed changes to the LSAs I would not be in favor of it, but the State Library has made significant concessions; something that the plan's opponents do not seem to understand.
When it comes to change the LSAs and before it the Regional Libaries have always been catalysts for change for the libraries they serve. I know of no agencies that have been more on the cutting edge of change when it comes to promoting innovation and training local librarians in new ways of doing things.
That said, I find it sadly ironic that some people would take an ostrich approach to this new plan and the opportunities it presents for better State funded services to local libraries.
And I find it especially ironic that in 1990 the North Central Regional Library System supported proposed legislation to eliminate the Regional Libraries and have the State Library take over their duties. NCLS petitioned ILA to change its position on that legislation to support the elimination of the Regional Libraries. ILA did not change its position; the proposed legislation was easily defeated. ILA understood the importance of the services to local libraries and the services continued. I can think of no entity better suited to study statewide library services and develop a better plan for State funded services than ILA.
Vicki Hibbert
Clive Public Library