Let’s start with raising money. The first set of chapters in 40+ New Revenue Sources for Libraries and Nonprofits, by Edmund A. Rossman III, lays the foundation for specific discussions about sources. Rossman covers why libraries might need more than what their traditional funding bases offer, which for public libraries is 85%–90% local, and how … Continue reading Developing New Skills
We also can’t leave out areas such as competitiveness within organizations for appointments and time, the question of whether one can make a difference in the profession through an association, and the need for one’s values and ethics to be in sync with those of the association. And then there is the inevitable query: Is … Continue reading Helping ALA Cruise to Success
The amount of requested funding ranged from a $22 million bond for two new libraries and renovations in Spokane Valley, Washington, to a no-cost advisory referendum in Colfax, Wisconsin, to assess voter preferences for its library facility. The Spokane Valley bond failed narrowly, with 57% of the 60% required voters saying yes. Colfax voters preferred … Continue reading Referenda Roundup
Staff members launched a crowdfunding campaign in 2013 through the website Indiegogo to raise $30,000 to buy a statue of the Incredible Hulk, a stack of new graphic novels, and new technology, including a 3D printer and an iMac with a drawing pad. Did the library hit its funding goal with a legendary Hulk smash? … Continue reading Libraries Find Success in Crowdfunding
But don’t just take Joe’s word for it. OCLC’s surveys on the “library brand” regularly turn up the same result. In fact, in Perceptions of Libraries 2010, OCLC found that in the previous five years libraries have become even “more strongly associated with books than they were before”—69% in 2005 vs. 75% in 2010. Or … Continue reading How Low Can Our Book Budgets Go?
