WaPo editorial criticizes Fairfax libraries for skimping on books.

This is found in the middle of today's Washington Post editorial on the need for books AND e-books in libraries:

. . .In Fairfax, library officials seem more concerned about their shrinking collection, but not because they think buying in print and buying electronically are mutually exclusive. Instead, Fairfax libraries simply lack the funds to maintain robust collections.

The difference between the District and Fairfax is simple. D.C. libraries have enjoyed generous government support over the past decade, Fairfax’s less so.  With enough money, they can build new infrastructure for new times, boosting e-book collections without cutting print sources people still need. When budgets are tight, however, any e-book comes at the cost of a printed volume. . . .

Here's the full editorial.

The Seattle Public Library Central Library: Economic Benefits Assessment, July 2005

This comprehensive study of the economic impact of the newly constructed Central Library in Seattle highlights the diverse and substantial economic and other benefits of the new library just a year after it was completed.  As a "central library," it most closely resembles the role that "regional libraries" should play in Fairfax County, including the one to be built in Reston's Town Center North.

Unlike the analyses of the economic impact of public libraries by other cities either hoping to preserve their role in the community or to show the benefits of prospective new libraries, this analysis reports the actual results of one year's operation of a major new public library.  We expect that these impacts have only grown over the last decade.  The following are the "key findings" of the report:

For a county that sees itself to be a center of creativity, high technology, entrepreneurship, and economic growth--all of which Seattle truly represents--there are important lessons in this study for Fairfax County to learn and adapt in its consideration of the construction of the new Reston Regional Library.

The full text of the assessment is provided below.

   Seattle Central Public Library Economic Impacts

Statement by Fairfax Library Advocates Chairman Dennis Hays to the Board of Supervisors on the FY2016 Library Budget Proposal

The following is a transcript of the statement given to the Board of Supervisors April 9, 2015, by the Chairman of the Fairfax Library Advocates Dennis Hays.  Ambassador Hays is also a member of the Reston Citizens Association Board of Directors.  It is reprinted here in its entirety from a posting on the Fairfax Library Advocates blog. 

Madam Chairman and members of the board:

I appreciate this opportunity to speak before you.  I am the current chairman of the Fairfax Library Advocates.  I do want to say first off that I very much respect and admire the stamina and the force of will all of you have demonstrated.  I have had a chance over the past two days to listen to 30 or 40 of the different approaches and appeals for different programs, and like Kristin before me I am overwhelmed by the sheer breadth of the services this county provides and I am proud to be a member of this community and all the work you can do.  So thank you for that.  

I will say I am here speaking for the libraries though, and I will note that each of the speakers before me has dealt with a specific issue that was of great concern to them and to others.  I am here to speak about an issue I think concerns all of us.  The libraries, as you know, are one of the institutions in this county that deals with literally every person in the county.  It doesn’t matter if you’re rich or poor, black or white, young or old, new arrival to this country or a long time citizen, the library is there to serve you.   I know I am one of the very last speakers, so I am going to step through a couple of issues quickly, specifically an absolute, a comparative, a managerial, and perhaps a philosophic to end.

On the absolute, I am going to jump forward and say there has been a lot of review and discussion over recent years as to the role of libraries in communities.  States as varied as Minnesota, Florida, Colorado, Great Britain, Korea and other nations have done extensive study in this and all of them have come to one conclusion:  The library is an economic engine.  The library returns on investment multiples of what is invested into them anywhere from $3.5 to $1 to $10 to $1 for what is put into different libraries.  So when I hear our colleagues from the Chamber and other areas, I look and see this is an opportunity for Fairfax to continue to be a leader both in this community and in this nation.

The second part I mentioned is comparative and here I will express a little concern.   I am sure that all of you are aware that Fairfax County on a per capita basis is at the very bottom of our region in terms of our contributions to the library.  We have something along the lines of $24 per person.   Loudon, I think, is at $38, Arlington and Alexandria are in the $40s and the district is up to $60 per person.  Again, this is a contribution to the future and not just for the children and the other people who we educate, but also as a community to attract business and to be an important part of our community.  

On that issue is a random note that in Minnesota a study was done on housing values and it was determined that the proximity to the library directly increases the values of housing.  

On managerial, and here I think is a specific issue I am concerned about.  A year ago, all of you met and approved a budget.  Part of that budget was of course, was for the library.  And I have to assume that when you did that, you assumed the budget you put forward would cause certain actions to take place and that there would be a product at the end of that time.  Specifically, at the moment now we are faced with a situation where we have over 60 vacancies in the library system. This places an unfair burden on the remaining employees who are forced to work massive amounts of overtime, to forgo vacation and other leave, and it also affects the services that we are able to give to our citizens.   At the moment, I think you have before you a proposal before you to take out 14 full time equivalent positions.   I keep seeing that these are vacant positions.  I want to emphasize that they are not vacant positions, they are positions which have not been filled and there is a very big difference between those two. 

So I hope that in going back to last year and going forward that you encourage Library Administration to actually fill the positions so that we can, in fact, deliver what we have promised to our citizens.  

Lastly, and this isn’t quite a budget issue, but it is one central to everything we are doing in in the philosophic area, that in recent days there has been a change in policy where there is, in effect, a censorship on the flows of information that the members of the library are able to use to communicate with each other.  This is something that is very much not in keeping with this county and the things we believe in, and I hope someone would take a look at it and see what we can do along those lines.

Lastly, I will say that as an Advocate my expectation is that I will work collaboratively and closely with all people who are interested in the library.  In the past we have found ourselves not always on the same page.  This is not something we wish to have.   We wish to work closely with you.  We think this is important, important for our future and our society.  I do want to thank all of you.  I have had a chance to speak to a couple of you individually and I know you care about libraries as much as I do and the others.  I look forward to working with you in the future.  Thank you.

Fairfax Libraries Suffer Almost 1/3 of All Net Staff Cuts in Proposed Budget

This is a re-post from the Fairfax Library Advocates blog.  

Statement from Fairfax County resident:
 

Even though Fairfax County Public Libraries consume barely seven tenths of ONE percent of the County budget they are being asked to sustain nearly ONE THIRD of the net staff cuts throughout the entire County (14 FTE out of a County-wide net total of 45) in the current proposed budget.
   

This is deeply unfair and extremely short-sighted.

Study after study has shown that public libraries give back far more value both to economic development and the overall community than the funds invested in them by local governments - $4 - $10 for every dollar invested.

Yet Fairfax County Public Library's budget has been cut almost relentlessly over the last several years. The library's materials budget has been cut and cut and cut at a time when the cost of books and periodical subscriptions has risen dramatically and need to provide BOTH print and digital resources has placed additional demands on ever more limited funds.

The number of magazine and newspaper subscriptions available in library branches has had to be mercilessly slashed.

Funds have been insufficient to afford replacing all of the worn or outdated items which must be weeded with fresh new and up-to-date editions.

Patron complaints about the lack of books on the shelves and long waiting lists for popular titles are commonplace. During the public meetings following the collapse of the Beta plan such complaints were a constant theme.

Some popular services have had to be eliminated.

Some technological enhancements and upgrades have had to be delayed.

Library Friends have tried to bridge the gap - paying for library programs, furniture, training, magazine and newspaper subscriptions, popular books, volunteer recognition, landscaping, and much more.  But our libraries are steadily losing ground.

Fairfax libraries are at the bottom of funding in the Washington area and falling further year after year.

Claims that Fairfax libraries are somehow more efficient so we don't actually need the same funding as neighboring library systems and that despite being starved for funds Fairfax libraries still match the finest public libraries in the area and the nation are the ultimate in wishful thinking.

Hundreds of staff positions have been cut from Fairfax County Public Libraries since 2008  - including half of all library pages,  all the special Sunday staff and exempt staff, all the administrative assistants, all the regional adult information managers, assistance circulation managers in community branches, and assistant page managers. 

The libraries have a skeleton info staff on Sundays and the branches cannot answer the phone that day. Fairfax libraries have stopped proctoring tests in spite of frequent patron requests for this service.  The focus has become self-service and do it yourself.

In some cases branches have had to close service desks or even close the branch early due to insufficient staffing.

Appeals for overtime help are constant and have increased dramatically in the last year.

Remaining library staff have made truly extraordinary efforts to fill the gaps and still deliver quality service to the public - night and day, seven days a week. But those heroic efforts in no way justify Fairfax County's failure to provide appropriate funding to realistically support quality public libraries.

Yet after all this,  the plan is to cut 21 more staff positions from the library - 14 full time equivalents out of the total of 45 net full time positions being cut throughout the County in the current proposed budget.

To repeat, even though Fairfax County libraries consume barely seven tenths of ONE percent of the County budget they are being asked to sustain nearly ONE THIRD of all the net staff cuts throughout the entire County.

These are permanent cuts at a time we should not be taking any permanent actions regarding Fairfax libraries.

There will be a new Library Director in about a year from now.  A community survey is currently being conducted as part of the process for finding the new Director.

There is also a much larger community survey concerning the library which will occur in the next year - an outgrowth of the numerous public meetings held in the wake of the Beta plan train wreck.

To permanently eliminate nearly two dozen more library positions before the results of the survey are known and before the new library Director has had an opportunity to weigh in on the cuts is extremely short-sighted and ill-advised. Hopefully the new Director will seek restored library hours as the economy continues to improve. Permanent elimination of staff needed for restored hours will make restoring hours all but impossible.

Our libraries and library users deserve much better in one of the wealthiest jurisdictions in the nation.

Please reverse these destructive cuts of additional library staff and instead work toward restoring library funding to a level at least on a par with other Washington area jurisdictions.

The Fairfax County Library System Crisis, The Inside Scoop, February 2, 2015

FCPLEA President Jennifer McCullough ,  Tysons Friends President John Ball,  Tysons Friends Board member and Fairfax Federation Library Committee Chair Kathy Kaplan, Ambassador Dennis Hays of the Fairfax Library Advocates, and SEIU VA 512 President David Broder were interviewed regarding the challenges facing FCPL and their hopes for the future of Fairfax County Public Libraries.

The Public Library as Economic Engine: Florida taxpayers receive more than $10 in total benefits for every dollar they invest.

The State of Florida has studied the return on investment (ROI) in its public libraries three times in the past decade, the latest in 2013.   In its latest report, Taxpayer Return on Investment in Florida Public Libraries--2013, it identifies $10.18 in benefits for every one dollar invested as shown in this table.  

 

Here is how the Executive Summary describes the latest official Florida state report:

Florida’s public libraries are a vital asset in supporting educational, recreational and business needs  across the state. The state’s 555 public library outlets promote lifelong learning, including emergent literacy support for children, parents and caregivers, as well as provide public service hours dedicated to technological instruction. They are a hub for those researching entrepreneurship or evaluating  commercial goods and services.

Additionally, many people enjoy the library’s relaxing atmosphere, recreational materials, events for the  public, or help obtaining information for their personal or family needs.  The study that follows assesses the taxpayer return on investment in Florida public libraries. It is an update to a previous study conducted in 2004 and updated in 2008. Table 1 provides a comparison of the return on investment findings from each of the three studies. As the table indicates, Florida public libraries have provided increasing returns on taxpayer investment over the last nine years. Between 2004 and 2013, Florida public libraries have generated an additional $3.64 in economic return for every $1 of public funds invested. More importantly, the Total Net Benefits to Users, the value library patrons believe library services provide them relative to what it costs to use those services, has nearly doubled from $2.33 billion in 2004 to over $4.51 billion in 2013.  

In order to determine this value, this year’s update utilizes comparable methods as the previous studies to assess the economic and social value library patrons place on Florida public libraries. The study utilizes an analytic approach known as contingent valuation, which provides a means of valuating  non-market goods and services through both quantitative and qualitative methods. At the core of the study, Haas Center researchers administered multiple surveys throughout the state to collect a variety of data regarding public library use. These data are used to provide economic estimates for User Investment, Cost to Use Alternatives, Total Net Benefit To Users, Community Economic Benefits, Lost Use Benefits and, ultimately, Return on Investment. 

Furthermore, the study measures the social value library patrons place on public libraries along several dimensions. For instance, library patrons are asked to consider the different ways they use the library, such as with children, to meet personal or family needs, job or work-related needs as well as for educational needs.  Additionally, several questions were designed to explore perceptions of the library and its value within the community.

The following study presents key findings, including the Return on Investment, economic impact and survey results conveying the social value of public library services. Overall, the Florida taxpayer’s return is calculated to be $10.18 for every $1.00 invested during 2013. In other words, taxpayers invested $496 million but received approximately $5.55 billion in economic benefits.  

As the summary suggests, the study utilized multiple telephone and internet surveys reaching more than 4,000 respondents across the state of Florida.  One of the more important results from those surveys is how Floridians use their public libraries.  As showing below, the key uses are checking out a book, reading materials in the library, and searching the online catalog.

 

An even more important result of this study is the importance people put on using their public library.  Here is how the report puts it:

The Importance of Library Services. Though the patrons survey was designed to measure the significance of library services to the greater community, one question in particular asked respondents to rate how important libraries were in meeting their needs. In Figure 9, a combined 84% of Internet  respondents said that the information provided by the library was either important or absolutely essential in meeting their personal needs. A similar pattern was found in the household telephone survey, in which 76% reported that library services were important or absolutely essential in meeting their personal needs. Additionally, nearly half of all respondents (both Internet and telephone) felt that utilizing public library services helped save them either time or money. 

 

Even after a decade of major slippage due to cuts in budget, staff, and holdings, the number of FCPL cardholders was an estimated 457,661 in FY 2014--41% of the County's population.   And those cardholders and others visited FCPL regional and branch libraries more than five million times during the year.  We can reasonably expect that at least three-quarters of these cardholders and other users think the public library is an important part their lives, but so far that has not deterred shortsighted budget cutters on the Board or the County staff. 
More importantly, this study (like others in this series) indicates  the failure to grow investment in our County library system at the same rate other County spending has grown continues to cost the County economically.  Assuming the spend types of economic benefits would would apply in spending on the Fairfax County Public Library System, we can evaluate how the County's decision to undermine its libraries has hurt its economy.   Specifically, in FY 2004, the County disbursed $26.5 million from its total $2.6 billion in General Fund expenditures on our public libraries.  In FY 2014 the County estimates indicate it spent the same amount on its libraries while its overall General Fund disbursements increased by more than 42% to $3.7 billion. 

• If FCPL spending had increased at the same rate as overall County spending, FCPL would have spent $37.7 million on its libraries last fiscal year.  
• Spending $37.7 million on FCPL would have generated $383.8 million in economic benefits for the County.
• Instead, the County spent $26.5 million, generating $269.8 million in economic benefits.

As a result, the County lost some $144 million in County economic benefits in FY 2014--and quite possibly more than a half-billion dollars in taxpayer economic benefits over the last decade--by not maintaining FCPL's share in the County budget, much less increasing it. 

The Florida report's conclusion reaches a similar conclusion and, more importantly, notes the cost of diverting public library funds to other uses:

The 2013 Taxpayer Return on Investment in Florida Public Libraries study has demonstrated that  Florida’s public libraries contribute substantially to the economic vitality of the state.  Florida taxpayers  receive a significant return for their investment: for $1 of taxpayer money invested, public libraries provide $10.18 in economic benefits throughout the state. Moreover, the results of the REMI model simulation demonstrated the long-term economic impact of reallocating FY 2012 public library funds across other government sectors.  In this scenario, it is estimated that Florida’s economy would lose $6.57 billion in Gross Regional Product and nearly 193,000 jobs.

In short, it suggests that Fairfax County has been pursuing an economically--and potentially politically--unsound policy by not investing more in the Fairfax County Public Library system for a decade.  Fairfax County can no longer afford to waste its increasingly scarce tax dollars.  We need to invest in our libraries now for the sake of our County economy.