Buildings, foundations and change

Citation

Boese, K.C. (2005), "Buildings, foundations and change", The Bottom Line, Vol. 18 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/bl.2005.17018daa.001

Buildings, foundations and change

In our ever-changing environment, some of the things we can be certain of are the need for more staff, space, and money. Library visitors demand more of us than they used too. With the convenience of accessing information online – regardless of its accuracy – people have come to expect everything and anything, and they expect it now. One of the results is that libraries are ever striving to do more and more while, at best, maintaining current levels of staff and resources.

Two goals that are often striven for in order to keep up with modern demands are to increase library funding, or make our use of current resources more efficient. Toward the goal of increasing funding, Jerry Nichols’ contribution draws attention to a situation in New York State where revenue has been collected to support local libraries for years. Yet, much of this revenue has not been realized by the very libraries it has been collected to support. This is a situation that may be occurring throughout the USA. Nichols’ example should be a wake up call to many to be more involved in their local governments so that they can either ensure that they receive the funds earmarked for them or make a case to local officials that their support needs to be a priority when negotiations occur between government and corporate officials seeking to start new businesses. By merely ensuring that an institution receives all the revenue that is its due, one can increase an operating budget without asking for an increase in the amount that the local authority has granted.

Similarly, Andrew Itedjere brings to light what can happen when a Nigerian university doesn’t support its library – monetarily or intellectually. While a system has been implemented requiring library users to pay a registration fee, the deemphasized importance of library collections for research – and therefore non-mandatory registration – has imposed a barrier to the library to realize fully needed funds to support service, collections, and technology. In a country where resources are scarce, every little bit helps. A more successful approach would be to educate faculty and staff on the importance of libraries to ongoing study, research, and personal development. After earning the support of the university, an across the board registration fee for all students could generate more money for the library, while reducing the financial burden per student. This would allow the library to obtain more materials and better serve the university community.

Khalid Mahmood and his colleagues suggest another approach, which is charging library visitors for services rendered. While surveying the situation in Pakistan, their approach could apply to any library community. Just as the way information is provided in libraries has changed, perhaps the types of information provided freely needs to change. We are all familiar with charging for photocopy services and interlibrary loans, but we might be able to offer new and innovative services – not historically associated with libraries – for a charge. We often ask users how we can improve service, but I doubt if we have explored if our visitors are willing to support certain services financially if the direct result is better and faster service for them personally.

Taking a different approach, Catherine Park indicates that we can make resources go further, and increase service, if we rethink the manner in which we plan the library building itself. By reducing the number of service counters, cross training staff, and providing more opportunities and equipment for visitors to serve themselves, current staffing levels has been maintained as visitors needing assistance get help in a more timely manner in the Greater Houston area. The concept of self service is an old idea, but has only started to catch on in libraries relatively recently. People like to do things themselves when they can. They are also more likely to have an enjoyable visit experience if they are able to be self reliant when they are capable of helping themselves, and have better service when they need assistance from library staff. Additionally, by reducing the amount of space that is dedicated to service desks, computer terminals, etc., has allowed Park’s libraries to be more flexible with customers’ needs.

While each and every item in all of these papers is small, when combined they can lead to significant change in how we operate, and cope, from day to day. By rethinking how we dedicate staff, design our buildings, and what our service focus should be, we can think of new ways that will make our institutions cost effective. We will also be able to show how the services we offer are valuable, which in turn, helps us justify our public support, and positions us better for private opportunities.

Kent C. Boese