Trust in Your Trustees
By Will Manley
Tue, 10/30/2012 - 10:51
Politicians prefer your board’s views on library needs over yours
PrintIt frustrates me profoundly to have someone in the library profession approach me at a conference to challenge my credibility as a speaker—usually in view of the fact that I’m retired, out of touch, and behind the times. In other words, I’m no longer actively involved in library matters.
My defense is immediate. I explain that while I may be retired from the administrative wars, I now play an even more important library position: I am a trustee. Inevitably the response is both derisive and dismissive: “Trustees aren’t really a part of our profession, are they?”
While that rejoinder really bugs me, I have to grudgingly admit that it does carry a certain element of truth. Quite frankly, trustees do not belong to the library “tribe.” But that is precisely why they are the most important players in the public library arena.
Here’s a quiz: What are the three main duties of a library board of trustees? If you answered (a) hire and fire the director, (b) make library policy, and (c) secure library funding, you are correct. Everything else they do, from attending meetings to approving minutes, is strictly secondary.
Of their three main duties, securing funding is by far the most critical. Trustees can be much more effective fundraisers than librarians, precisely because they are outside the library tribe. They don’t know the secret library handshake, the litany of obscure library acronyms, or the meaning of the terms “autoregressive bibliographical interface,” “triangulated title access,” or “multipolycentric reference control.” Heck, most of them haven’t a clue what OCLC stands for.
Does that make them aliens from outer space? No, that puts them on the same level as the local politicians who control the library purse strings. Point one: Local politicians hate to be talked down to by professionals. It doesn’t matter if it’s the police chief, city engineer, or library director. Every profession has its mumbo jumbo jargon that makes laypeople feel stupid and out of the loop—something local politicians hate to feel. Point two: When library directors go hat in hand to the city council to ask for departmental budget hikes, what do council members see? They see special interest professionals who want to feather their tribal nests.
But when library trustees do it, councilpeople see constituents: bankers, salesmen, nurses, plumbers, and homemakers. They see their next door neighbor, their child’s soccer coach, a congregant from their church, a high school classmate. They see registered voters—the folks who will determine whether they get reelected. And don’t kid yourself: Getting reelected is job one for every politician.
Many years ago, I became director of a good-sized library, filling a months-long vacancy. Before I was hired, the board was forced to get very involved in the library budget process, and my first week as director happened to be budget week. The entire board of trustees appeared before the city council to plead for three new librarian positions. The next week was election week. The board was unsuccessful in getting the three positions—the council granted it five.
After the meeting, the police chief came up to me and asked, “How do I get one of those boards of trustees?”
WILL MANLEY has furnished provocative commentary on librarianship for over 30 years and in nine books on the lighter side of library science. Contact him at wmanley7[at]att.net.
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Comments
and then there are...
And then there are advisory boards……
Will Unwound
Dear Will,
(I hope you read these comments.)
I tried to visit Will Unwound at willmanley.com for the first time in several months today, and Wordpress says the site has been made private by the owner. What happened to the Unwinders Tavern? Is it ever coming back?
I hope so! Your blog was my favorite place to bask in the wisdom and camaraderie of funny, smart, talented librarians and library lovers.
Sincerely,
iheartlibraries
Will Unwound Blog Question Too
Ditto that!
I greatly enjoyed participating in the great discussions that occurred in the Will Unwound blog – Unwinder’s Tavern and I too miss that and wonder if the blog has been permanently retired or if it might be back in some form – say a weekly blog instead of a daily one – at some point in time.
And I agree that library trustees are very important and don’t usually get the credit they deserve…
me too
I can’t get to Will Unwound either. It is marked as private.
Trustees are priceless allies!
On receiving the November/December issue of American Libraries I immediately turned to the last page, as always, to see what Will Manley had to say. This excellent reminder of our most dedicated allies is quite timely for me. Last week I was asked to give a professional reference for a colleague who is ready, in my not so humble opinion, for leadership in our profession. The caller was a Trustee/Search Committee member. While pointing out that his younger (than me) professional had proven himself in the ranks and leading at the departmental level, I am confident that his readiness to take the helm is enhanced by his years of service as a Trustee in the community where he lives. During the conversation I remarked how I have been saddened by the comments of some Library Directors who seem to see their Trustees as some enemy force, gathered to undercut them. For all the reasons Will Manley states, Trustees have a different kind of credibility in the eyes of municipal and other leaders than we purveyors of “mumbo jumbo jargon.” I have a similar respect for those from whom we must seek our funding, and this makes it easier for them to be a receptive audience to my pitch, but there is no denying that I have a vested interest in “my turf.” When I say “the community needs the Library,” they may see me as self-serving. When dedicated volunteer advocates say the same thing, it adds to my credibility and our success. Thank you Will Manley! Thank you Trustees!
Library Advisory Boards Matter!
Thank you for addressing this relevant topic, especially at election time. While working in a specialized library, I have seen that the Program Advisory Boards at the local and corporate levels provide relevant feedback about the library collections and curriculum offerings. As a librarian, I have learned how important it is to consider their needs because those board members hire our graduates in my case of career education.
Similarly, let us remember that the elderly population in all types of libraries, public and academic, as well. Although the elderly may be only one group of the overall population, they have a strong voice to exercise at election time! Depending upon their opinions of the libraries in their communities, members of that population are part of the voting process; therefore let us ensure they are the greatest supporter of our libraries. The officials for whom the elderly vote, in turn, may be the greatest supporters for more funding for libraries!
Thank you again for sharing the instance where the Board of Trustees advocated for new librarian positions and received more than asked (American Libraries, 10/31/2012).
Will, Thanks for your
Will,
Thanks for your comments on the value of trustees. We choose to work on behalf of our public libraries because we believe in their value to our communities. It’s not just about the books.
Will, “many years ago” was,
Will, “many years ago” was, well “many years ago”. What you said happened would not happen today. If you don’t realize that, then you are definitely out of touch.
Current evidence
I’m the director of a small-to-medium sized library. We’ve had growth in services, use and, yeah, budget over the past five years. This is because our Council has provided the funding necessary to support solid service. This year, the folks in civic administration put the library in the crosshairs. There was a Town Hall type meeting on the budget this week. Seven of nine Board members were there and five (including one of the Councillors on the Board) spoke. We’re nothing like out of the woods, but I like our odds. And I like them a lot better than I would have if it had been a civil servant vs. civil servant fight. Having citizens (trustees) talking to citizens (councillors) is the right path. And if non-official citizens (Friends or ‘just plain customers’) join in, it’s a blueprint for victory.
Trustees are committed,
Trustees are committed, invaluable servants of the public. We do not look for personal glorification. We serve because we realize libraries are important to the community.
Trustee credibility with politicians
Will is absolutely correct. Libraries and othe non profits often misunderstand and misplace the credibility and power that “constituents” carry with political bodies. I can affirm his comments because I have been on both sides of that aisle as a trustee of the library and othe public sector/private sector groups and as president of the political body of a mid sized city.
Well stated.
Dr. Ruth Scott