Library fines and fees going up

Beginning September 1st library overdue fines will go from 25 cents per day to 35 cents. The hold/reserve fee will go from 50 cents to $1. We have kept fines and fees unchanged for 9 years but can no longer hold the line. Costs have increased dramatically in those 9 years while support from the town and the state has eroded. We have lost 8 positions from our staff and as a result library hours have been cut. We have less money to spend on new materials and struggle to pay for basic building maintenance and upkeep. All of this means we are under intense pressure to find ways to generate more revenue and this is one of the few avenues open to us. By New York State education law, basic library service must remain free of charge. We can never charge a resident of our service area a fee to issue a borrower card or lend items from the library collection as some well meaning folks have suggested.

Please understand, library services as you know them are threatened.  If you are inclined to assist us, contact your town board and let them know that library services are important to you and that their importance should be a factor when the budget process is under way. Thank you. Please feel free to contact me or to comment here if you have questions.

You have to bring it back!

Recently, a Rochester couple were both arrested and charged with grand larceny, a felony.  Their crime?  They borrowed materials from public libraries, didn’t return them and it is pretty obvious they never intended to return them.  Does calling the police sound a bit harsh?  Please note the scale of their crime.  They used their cards and the cards issued to their three children and checked out over 300 items worth over $7,000 from libraries large and small all over the county and simply kept them and ignored all attempts to contact them.  They removed all the labels and threw the library packaging in the trash.  When arrested their explanation was that they were poor and couldn’t afford to purchase the things they wanted.

In the simplest view, the public library relies on the honor system.  If a county resident can provide some basic identification, a library will issue a borrower card that entitles the holder to borrow library materials from any public library in the county.  The library’s mission is, in a large part, about easy and equal access to information and cultural materials.  Making it much more difficult to borrow would defeat our purpose.  We trust the borrower to eventually return the materials so others can then borrow them.  We send reminder notices and eventually may use a collection agency when items are not returned.  Anybody can forget or misplace an item or two.  We can almost always work something out with them.  In extreme cases like the one above we will get tough if we have to.  Theft on this level doesn’t come along very often but when it does we involve law enforcement because people like this are stealing from all of us.

The library is an institution dedicated to sharing among a community’s entire population.  We all pay for the library materials and we all have a right to use them, to share them.  For librarians, the most depressing fact involved in this particular case is the explanation given when arrested.   One of the reasons the library exists is help people.  One of the ways we help them is to lend them the things that entertain their families and enrich their lives when they can’t afford to buy them.  All they have to do is bring those things back after a while.  Stealing them from the library, especially on this scale, means everybody loses.

What do you think?  As a library customer, are we too tough, too easy or doing things about right?

You Are Invited!

Walk With Our Friends This Saturday

Please consider participating in the fund raising walk sponsored by the Friends of the Library this Saturday. The Friends need your help to raise money that will help offset the cuts to our budget that have a regular event over the last decade. Please visit the Friends web site for more information and to register. We need your support and this will be a fun way to do it. It will not rain during the walk. I guarantee it!

Library Snapshot Day

Last month both our branches participated in a statewide public relations campaign sponsored by NYLA the New York Library Association called Library Snapshot Day.  Each participating library picks a day and tracks how busy they were that day and asks customers to fill out a comment sheet.  The sheet asks them to briefly write down why libraries are important to them.  We also ask them to include their age and gender.  We share the information with local elected officials and then send it to NYLA.  They collate it and review it with legislators in Albany when lobbying for libraries.  We have a lot of fun on that day as we have snacks and activities for visitors and get to communicate a lot with out customers as they fill out their comment sheets.  I thought it might be illuminating to occasionally share some of the customer comments with you.  Below are the first few comments that came in and I’ll be sharing more in the coming weeks.  As always, your comments are welcome!

Illiteracy is a growing problem. We came from generations of people not able to read because of circumstances or never having been taught. We may be in for the same problem if we cannot keep books near to the people who need and want them no matter their financial situation may be. Many families are on strict budgets and rely on the library for their entertainment and fun. (Female, age 48)

Libraries are most important to me because they serve as wonderful resources. Since retirement, I’ve been heavily involved in many activities that often require presentations for group agencies. I got much of my material from the library which helps to document my texts in my speeches. I am also a children’s storyteller and receive books and ideas on how to tell stories effectively and how to keep my audience entertained. It helps to create a love for language and creativity. I also use the library for computer use. (Female, age 60)

Great local history section. I’m tracking down a 7 part art series on the Genesee Valley I never heard of before. I found 5 so far! Without internet at home, the library access is valuable to me! (Male, age 52)

Libraries are important to me because I get good movies and books. (Male, age 9)

It’s a fun place to hang out. (Male, age 12)

I’ve been coming to the library most afternoons since my family moved to Irondequoit when I was in first grade. Now I’m a junior in high school, and I can’t imagine what I would do without it.  It has one of the friendliest and most helpful staffs I’ve ever met, and the DVD and book collections are awesome. The library is one of the best things going for this town; theirs is the last budget that should be cut. (Female, age 16)

I like this library because the people here are very helpful and nice. Also, I can usually always find the books I’m looking for. (Female, age 14)

I’m a stay-at-home mom, and my kids love coming to story time and getting new books each week. Plus it gives me a chance to get out of the house without emptying our bank account. (Female, age 28)

The library allows me to find books I need for school that otherwise are not in my school library. It also helps me broaden my music genres and the librarians help with all my book finding problems. (Male, age 17)

Since retirement, our local library has provided me a valuable source of books, tapes and information. I typically visit 2-3 times a week. Please keep their valuable resources funded. (Male, age 59)

We use the library very often. We don’t watch TV with our son (3 ½) so books are very important. Also, it’s totally not affordable to buy all of the books and magazines we need. We borrow books on how to do everything. And we can try before we buy. The library is VERY important to our family. (Female, age 34)

I’m a senior and retired.  Libraries are a God send for us.  It keeps our minds active and gives us somewhere to go!  (Female, age 80)

Check us out!

Important Meeting

Please come to the Broderick Room at Town Hall on Wednesday, March 2 at 7 PM. You’ll hear a presentation from the library consultant Libby Post and the IPL Board of Trustees. They’ll be talking about what was learned from the focus groups with our customers, what the library needs to survive and how we might improve our funding to keep the doors open. You’ll also see our new logo and tagline and hear a discussion about improving the marketing of the library. If you care about the library this is a meeting you need to attend!

Learn More About Cell Towers!

Looking for reliable information on cellular communications towers and the issues surrounding their placement in communities?  Let us help.

Whenever you seek information, especially about something that has a technical aspect or is controversial in nature, the public library is a great place to get help finding sources that are reliable.

Below you will find links to web sites, and a list of books or magazine and journal articles that may help you gain a better understanding of the cell tower placement situation in other communities.  Disputes over cell towers are literally worldwide.  If you perform an internet search you will mostly find links to news articles covering cell tower disputes.  These stories can help with understanding what has happened elsewhere.  Try some of the links below to gain a better understanding of the issues involved when cell tower installations become controversial.

1. Read an article from a professional journal for municipal government administrators that outlines the cellular tower situation.  Issues from other cell tower controversies in other communities throughout the country are discussed and the various resolutions and compromises reached are reviewed.

http://americancityandcounty.com/mag/government_solving_problem_cell/

2.  Many people cite possible health effects as a reason for disputing the placement of a cellular tower in their area.  Click below to read an overview on the health effects of cell towers from The American Cancer Society.

http://www.cancer.org/Cancer/CancerCauses/OtherCarcinogens/AtHome/cellular-phone-towers?sitearea=PED

3.  Want more medical related information?  Search for the latest articles and research results from medical journals using the same tool medical professionals use, MedlinePlus at

http://www.cliconhealth.org/

4.  Take a look at a web site and newsletter for a company that is independent of the telecommunications carriers.  They specialize in helping communities plan for wireless coverage and the placement of towers, antennas and other telecommunications infrastructure.  They also help communities work through telecommunications related issues and controversies including strategies for blocking or supporting tower placements.

http://planwireless.com/index.htm

5.  Here is an extensive source for information about how cell towers affect communities and to what extent communities can regulate them.  From an organization that promotes more control of all things by local officials as a means of insuring that government regulations put the interests of communities first.

http://www.newrules.org/environment/rules/cell-communication-towers

Good luck and remember you can always contact the Irondequoit Public Library for more information about this or ANY subject!

A Tribute To Carla Robbins

When somebody retires we traditionally thank them with a dinner and some gifts along with some mementos of their work place, their colleagues and the times we all shared.  We did this recently when Carla Robbins, the manager of the Evans Branch on Cooper Rd retired after more than 20 years of service to her community.  If you visited the Evans Branch in the last couple of decades or so and were pleased with the experience this was a direct result of the efforts of Carla Robbins.  A consummate professional, Carla directed the efforts of the library staff in making the needs of the customers paramount.  Under her guidance and by her example, new customers were welcomed and regulars were treated as old friends.  Never one to let her distress over budget setbacks or building problems affect service, Carla went about her mission of making the Evans Branch as good as it could be with aplomb.  She always looked for opportunities to help her fellow citizens of Irondequoit improve their lives through access to library services.  How do you adequately thank somebody who without fanfare or pretense devoted their professional career to improving the quality life in their community?  We’ve had the dinner, the gifts and the farewells.  Now we carry on with our work and follow Carla’s example of dedication and professionalism while trying to emulate her great sense of humor as well.  We will do our best, of course, but Carla, you set the bar so high!

Can We Chat?

Question.  What do Nordstrom’s, L.L. Bean, Lands End, the New York Public Library and the Irondequoit Public Library have in common?

Answer?  They all connect with customers via online chat.  That is correct.  You can now talk to us, ask us questions and conduct library business by chat.  Just go to our home page and click in the “Contact Us” box and start typing.  A librarian will respond with the same excellent service you are accustomed to and unlike much of the information that can be retrieved with a computer these days, it will be accurate!  We are pleased to offer you another avenue for obtaining information and library services.  Try it today!