Kristin LaLonde

Budget Assignment
Public Library
3/25/2010

In order to reduce the 2010-2011 operating budget for my Public Library, I had to make several managerial decisions about

how our money was best spent. While the majority of changes can be seen as a positive step toward more efficient Library operations,

some of the budgetary decisions had to be made at the expense of the Library’s equipment and personnel. In these particular cases, I

can only hope and expect that these budget cuts are temporary but if the new polices emphasizing efficiency in operations are

successful then we can continue to apply them even if our budgetary constraints are lifted in the future. Cutting the fat where

necessary will not only reduces wasteful spending but it will allow the library to funnel the money elsewhere, particularly towards

professional development, special collection development and capital items.

One strategy for my Public Library budget that I implemented was the change of some of the Library policies in order to make

the most out of the resources we had and were going to be paying for. Taking the example from other budget strapped public libraries,

I decided to reduce the checkout time of materials. The idea behind this move is to reduce the need to buy multiple copies of the same

item, particularly the best sellers, by allowing circulation to more people with the same items. I figured that by making this policy

change across the board in my library, it could reduce the collection development budget by approximately 20%. Another decision I

made, with regards to the collection development budget, was not to make a straight 20% cut to all collections but to evaluate our

priorities and needs and base the cut on that evaluation. I made less cuts to Young Adult Fiction and Non-Fiction because that
demographic is the demographic that my library has been trying to attract and retain in the Library. I felt that too much money taken

away from the YA budget would negate the effort that the Library has already put in to cultivate the YA relationship. Non-Fiction

overall took a larger hit than the Fiction due to the changes in research trends with both Adults and Young Adults going more towards

the electronic resources. Many of our Adult patrons still rely on the paper resources, which is why I did not cut the Adult Non-Fiction

by any more than I did but many YA patrons use more electronic than paper for research purposes.

Certain special collections, like Reference, Genealogy and Government Documents were cut drastically due to my perceived

need for these resources. While Reference resources are invaluable to the Public Library, many reference resources are being provided

through electronic databases or on CD-ROM for cheaper or they are already accounted for in our Electronic databases budget. Many

reference materials and genealogy resources are available to libraries through the Michigan eLibrary (MeL) for free, which would

make the purchase of many additional paper resources redundant. If I were a managing director of a Library (which I am for this

assignment) I would try to stray away from paper reference material because I prefer electronic encyclopedias to the paper ones due to

their currency, multimedia capabilities, multi-user platforms and more space for information. Since I prefer electronic encyclopedias

and consider them to be a better resource for patrons, I will lean towards cutting down the paper resources and rely on our electronic

database resources.

Even though I am relying on our electronic database resources for many of our research and reference resources, this does not

mean that the electronic subscriptions should not be cut. In order to be more efficient in our electronic database access, I propose to do

a survey of our current subscriptions and contrast that with the needs of our patrons and their real-time usage of these resources. This
survey will determine what is actually being used by the patrons and what is being unutilized or deemed unnecessary, so we can stop

paying for unused databases. We can also evaluate the needs of the patrons in order to maintain the important databases while

eliminating ones we don’t need. We will also cross-reference the database needs and our current subscriptions with those available for

free through MeL, similar to our evaluation of the reference and genealogy material, in order to take advantage of the free resources

available to us.

The Public Library will also complete a survey of our magazine and newspaper subscriptions, in order to determine what is

being used and what is not. While subscriptions for newspapers and magazines are relatively cheap, it would be a shame to waste any

amount of money on unread material while we are cutting the budgets of other, more needed resources. We need to cross reference

what is read with the perceived needs of the community, as well as what editions are available online. Some newspapers and

magazines are best served as online editions, due to their use as research or education purposes. The more popular entertainment or

local publications should remain in print for the convienience of the patrons. This weeding should make better use of our electronic

databases, cut the subscription budget and perhaps create more shelf space.

Multimedia, such as DVDs, CDs, Video Games and VHS, are an important aspect of the modern public library and it should

not be completely cut. While many librarians argue about the purpose and need for entertainment in the Library, it cannot be ignored

that Multimedia is a very popular collection for checkout. In order to save money, this collection must also be evaluated for use and

demand. For my public library, we will only be picking up the more popular titles and educational material to correspond with the

community’s needs; any sort of special Multimedia collection will need to be put on hiatus in order to cut the budget. The purchase of
outmoded formats like VHS and cassette tape will be halted and Video Games will not be purchased, despite our desire to attract

Young Adults. In order to curtail theft of these popular items, all of the DVDs and CDs will be moved behind the checkout desk, this

will cut down the need for the purchase of multiple copies. Another anti-theft precaution will be the increase of overdue, damage and

lost fines by 10 cents a day. By increasing the fine level, the library hopes to deter damage and lost claims, which will then cut down

on the budget required for replacement items.

A large number of the operating cost saving policies that will be put into place will be placed on the Library Staff’s shoulders.

One large policy will be the energy saving campaign, which should reduce the utilities budget of the Library by 40%. Tenets of this

plan will include conserving energy by requiring staff to be on the floor, periodically checking that lights are off in unused portions of

the Library. Air Conditioning will be used minimally, focusing mostly on the computer labs. Heat and Air being used will be utilized

more by closing an extra day a week and extending the hours for the rest of the days. The ambient heat or AC from the day will make

the building comfortable for a couple extra hours a day, which is much cheaper than having to reheat or recool an entire building for

an extra opening day. The staff will also take advantage of energy-saving freeware that will power down all computers that are not

currently in use, saving energy as well as keeping the library cooler in the summer, lessening the need for AC.

Another requirement of staff will be to conserve office supplies, including paper, printer ink and other disposable supplies;

only items that need to be printed should be sent to print, all other documents like e-mail and in-house documents should be kept

digital. If an item does need to be printed but does not need to be sent out (promotional, legal, etc) then it should be printed on

recycled or scrap paper. The reference desk will need to curtail the printing that they do for reference questions, eliminating prints for
directions, call numbers and other items. Other office supplies like paperclips, envelopes and pens will no longer be given out to

patrons but disposable and cheap pencils can be provided for reference. These provisions should reduce our office supply needs

drastically, while at the same time cutting down on waste and environmental abuse.

The promotional budget will be cut, which will put pressure on the Library Staff to create their own in-house promotions and

pursue grant opportunities for events. Library staff will have to be creative in finding funding sources for their events, which may

include donations from local businesses or just in-house creations. In order to keep up with this budget cut, the staff will be required to

look into free promotional services, particularly those provided by Web 2.0 applications like Twitter, Facebook, blogs and wikis.

Other computer related duties will include simple upkeep with the computer equipment and software. By having staff members take

care of some small equipment issues, it should reduce the cost of computer maintenance by a small amount. This will put more duties

on the staff, which may or may not be what they are paid to do and could rile some staff members. While this is not an ideal situation,

I feel that it is not unreasonable to have staff pursue these avenues, if not only for cost saving measures but also to keep up with

immerging trends.

Unfortunately for the Staff Members, while the Library will start asking them to take on more duties we will also be cutting the

professional development budget by almost two thirds. Previously, we provided a stipend for all staff members to attend professional

development training and conferences but we no longer have the budget to do so. Instead of completely cutting the budget, the stipend

will be reduced and the number of staff members allowed to attend will be reduced. Training will be on a needs-only basis and

conference attendance will only be supplemented if the staff member is presenting at the conference. This will be very unpopular with
the staff and will halt skill development among our employees but reducing the professional development budget is better than

eliminating it all together, which many public libraries are doing. Though the staff will be disappointed, I expect that it will not come

to a surprise.

Some aspects of this budget, I was very reluctant to cut due to the perceived necessity of the service. One of these items was

the Computer Software resources budget where I only took a nominal cut. While it would be very cost saving to use only freeware,

like Koha or OpenOffice on all of our equipment, the usability and upkeep of this freeware would be too much to ask for our staff to

maintain. It would also be asking a lot of the patrons to completely switch from Microsoft based productivity software to OpenOffice.

However, it would be beneficial for the library to experiment with the freeware on a few machines in order to gauge the reception of

the software. This small experiment would also save the library a small amount in licensing fees.

Some areas of the budget I did not touch because I felt that the service was too important to make cuts to, these areas include

the Legal budget for auditing, the Insurance budget to protect the library, inter-library loan for resource sharing and the miscellaneous

budget for emergencies. These items, particularly insurance, legal and miscellaneous were too important to make a cut because I felt

that we’d be gambling the safety of the library, its staff and patrons if I did so. The inter-library loan fees I felt were important because

they supplemented resources that we did not have, which helped to keep our collection development budget down. Overall I felt it was

important to keep these budgets where they were and I did not request any cuts made for them.

Overall, I feel that many of the cuts made to my Public Library budget will have a positive effect on the operations of the

library and its ability to operate efficiently. In some cases, like the utilities and office supply campaigns, the library is becoming more
environmentally responsible as well as saving money on their budget. While cutting collection development money from the books

budget in most areas is not ideal, it does give the library a chance to re-evaluate the needs of the patrons and utilize resources that we

are already paying for or free resources like those available through MeL. The cuts made to the staff development budget and the

additional tasks that I am requiring of them (outside of the energy saving and office supply conservation campaigns) are a detriment to

the library, since less of their time will be spent with patrons or they will just be overworked with foreign duties. The pressure to find

grants, while a fine skill to hone, is a little high stakes for many people which could result in less events for the library. Though policy

changes are generally never met with positive reactions, I feel that the policy changes that I am requesting are not unreasonable and

are generally mild so it would not completely disrupt the organic flow of the library and its relationships with patrons and staff.
 Public Library

Operating Budget

Item # Description Amount 09/10 total 10/11 Request

Materials
Processing supplies - laminate or
1 mylar, RFID tags, book pockets, etc 4.50 - 5.50 per item $45,000.00 $30,000.00

2 Office Supplies $300/month $3,600.00 $2,400.00

3 Programs and promotional materials Varies $25,000.00 $15,000.00

4 Postage $1.50/material $7,500.00 $7,500.00

5 Book Club Kits $6/each $5,000.00 $5,000.00

Materials Total $86,100.00 $59,900.00

6 Library Books $10 - $30/book

Adult Services - Fiction $ 40,000.00 $34,000.00
Adult Services - Non-Fiction $ 22,000.00 $15,000.00
Children's Services - Fiction $ 21,000.00 $17,000.00
Children's Services - Non-Fiction $ 12,000.00 $7,000.00
Young Adult Services - Fiction $ 26,000.00 $23,000.00
Young Adult Services - Non-Fiction $ 12,000.00 $9,000.00
Replacement $ 18,000.00 $15,000.00
Reference $ 41,000.00 $20,000.00
Government Documents, Genealogy
collection $ 10,500.00 $8,000.00
$202,500.00 $148,000.00
 7 Multimedia (DVDs, videos, CDs) $15-$20 $75,000.00 $55,000.00

8 Library subscriptions Varies $15,000.00 $10,000.00

9 Electronic subscriptions Varies $95,000.00 $75,000.00

10 Inter-Library Loan $3/order $2,500.00 $2,500.00

11 Internet service $60,000.00 $60,000.00

12 Software maintenance/support $24000/year $24,000.00 $24,000.00

13 Equipment Maintenance and support $115,000.00 $90,000.00

14 Utilities $199,000.00 $120,000.00

15 Legal Fees and Audit $25,000.00 $25,000.00

16 Computer software resources $5,900.00 $5,600.00

17 Professional Development $1000/each $30,000.00 $10,000.00

18 Insurance $60,000.00 $60,000.00

19 Miscellaneous $5,000.00 $5,000.00

Operating Budget Total $1,000,000.00 $750,000.00

Capital Budget
Priority Description and Justification
1 Self-Check Station / 3M SelfCheck
System Model 6412 Solid Top Surface
Scanner
Amount
$20,299.99 The public library is requesting funds to increase efficiency and customer
satisfaction with circulation services. Circulation is very high in our public
library, over 3,500 unique patrons per month served in December 2009, an
increase of 15% from December 2008.

According to our most recent reports, circulation rates are rising exponentially
and we expect them to continue rising since the city itself is growing. However,
our most recent surveys indicate that while circulation is rising, our customer
satisfaction is going down at an alarming rate. In December of 2008, our
customers rated their satisfaction with our service at being 93%, well above
the norm for most public entities. In December of 2009, our satisfaction rates
dropped to 72% due to increased wait time at the check-out desk. Wait time in
December of 2008 averaged at about 3 minutes where in December 2009,
patrons were often waiting upwards of 15-20 minutes to check out.

While our circulation rates are going up due to the increase in population, the
rates could be even higher. Library staff have commented that since wait time
has increased, many patrons will leave the line because they are frustrated
with the wait. Staff has also mentioned that many of the "regulars" have not
returned, due to what they perceive as poor service. In order to combat this
problem, the Public Library would like to request the purchase of a Self-Check
machine where patrons will have the choice between checking something
themselves or waiting for staff.

The estimated cost of a 3M SelfCheck System Model 6412 Solid Top Surface
Scanner from Demco is $20,299.99. The high cost of the scanner would be
cheaper than having to hire another Staff Member and work-station to combat
the waiting time. It has also been shown that if customers are given the
opportunity to self-check, the satisfaction rate goes up as the patron sees
themselves as having a choice. The increase in customer satisfaction for the
library will be important when our millage comes up for a vote in May 2011 and
the Library staff feels that this scanner would be a significant way to help with
satisfaction.
2 (optional)
Total $20,299.99