Should Public Libraries Charge Fees?

Should public libraries charge fees to "rent" their materials? Does it make economic sense in a 21st-century economy to adopt this business model? Or does it fly in the face of libraries' jobs to deliver info for free? 

Read this short article in The Atlantic and see if you agree: 

"Rethinking Government: Why We Need Library Rental Fees"

Right now there are 92 comments where people are engaged in heated discussion about whether libraries still matter, and whether there are still people in the US who are too poor to be able to pay fees. 

What do you think? I'd especially like to hear from readers in countries where people do pay membership fees to use the library. How does that work? Does it keep some from using the library? Do you use a sliding scale to make sure fees are affordable at different levels? 

We clearly need more funding to keep libraries open -- are rental fees the way to do it? 

King County Wows Again

So I'm scanning through the finalists for the PR News finalists and there they were, King County Library System - Take Time to Read. Will that library ever stop being fantastic? Our friend Marsha Iverson is a PR Specialist over there and we can't say enough good things about her, but she is surrounded by a talented and dedicated team.

According to the news release, "the coveted Platinum PR Awards set the industry benchmark for excellence across all areas of PR. Celebrate the industry's best—those who took chances, made tremendous strides and understand the power of public relations. This must-attend industry event will honor the top PR campaigns of the year, the smartest communications initiatives and the people behind them."

Have we talked about the campaign yet? The KCLS Take Time to Read campaign is a three-year project featuring innovative ways to promote reading as a community value. They installed  outdoor community galleries of book art and audio narrative as an innovative way for the public to interact and engage with books and reading in a surprising, fun way. Book covers and audio narration, yes! I can imagine they'll be connecting QR codes to this project if they haven't already.


I love it because its bringing us back to our brand, reading. It's helping people remember why it's important to take the time to read. And its providing some fun motivation to help people get back to what they love.  Read this copy from the press release:

"Why is it important to Take Time to Read?
No matter how you measure it, Americans are overbooked and under-read. We work more hours than a medieval peasant did, and read less than we did ten years ago. The results are far from trivial. Just as our frenzied work schedules affect our health, our communities, and our sense of well-being, reduced reading time is taking its toll.

The National Endowment for the Arts studied American reading habits, producing an alarming report in 2007: To Read or Not To Read: A question of National Consequence. Among their more disturbing findings: "On average, Americans ages 15 to 24 spend almost two hours a day watching TV, and only seven minutes of their daily leisure time on reading."

Look at these neat gift cards- how clever!

Like all skills, reading improves with practice. The less we read, the worse we get at it. Our vocabularies are dropping, along with reading comprehension, critical thinking and analytical skills.

Young adult author Paul Kropp writes in The Reading Solution: "There are almost half a million words in our English Language - the largest language on earth, incidentally - but a third of all our writing is made up of only twenty-two words."
In Illiterate America, educator Jonathan Kozol points out: "50 percent of American adults are unable to read an eighth grade level book." It's worse than it sounds. Nationwide, low literacy skills affect employability, productivity, health, lifelong earning capacity, and economic stability.

In today's hectic culture, it's hard to find time to read for pleasure. The KCLS Take Time to Read campaign is a three-year project featuring innovative ways to promote reading as a community value.

Learn more about Take Time to Read at King County Library System's www.kcls.org/taketimetoread."

KCLS even helps people find the time to read on their website:

Give yourself or someone you care about a Gift of Time to read.  Pick up a gift card at any King County Library and indulge in the pleasure of reading.

Turn time to kill into time to read.  While you’re waiting for your medical appointment or your oil to be changed, take a little time to read.  Take advantage of the books, short stories and magazines on of our Quick Read Shelves throughout the county.

Go for the reads that don’t take much time. Suggestions from our librarians for Quick Reads.

Take Time to Read Programs
Do you want to have more time to read? Get organized, clear your clutter and learn time management techniques at your library.

Very nice.

 And those programs: Summer reading, of course, but there's walking with your library, opera, writing workshops, creating reading journals.... love it!
(And yes, this is the same system that was just named Library of the Year! We covered that too.)

Columbia's Biblioburro: Now a Docmentary by PBS!!

Watch the full episode. See more POV.

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Watch the full episode. See more POV.

We've talked about the great Biblioburro (donkey library) project here before. Now, it's the subject of a documentary being shown by PBS (public broadcasting TV station)! And YOU can help promote it!

Check the documentary's site, and notice that, on the left side is a link to "Help us promote the film." Everything you need is there -- instructions to embed the video trailer on your website (as I've done here), suggestions for social media, a press release, an email message template, and info on getting a copy to show, free, to your own community. 

The PBS premiere is next week -- Tuesday, July 19 -- so  don't delay! Start talking this up today.

The Biblioburro is a heartwarming, amazing example of how even the smallest libraries can touch and change lives. If nothing else, watch it yourself to get the inspiration you need to continue your own important work. 

Awards from ALA: 2011 PR Xchange Best of Show Winners

                              

                        

Back to the American Library Association's annual conference coverage. I'd be remiss if I didn't post about the PR Xchange (an annual opportunity for PR people to swap ideas & materials) and its own contest, the Best of Show awards. 

The PR Xchange is the new name of what used to be known as the Swap & Shop.  

I explained the Best of Show awards here when the call for entries came out. 

The committees that sponsor this dual event were kind enough to share the BoS winner list with The M Word. (Thanks, Jennie & Kim!)  I'll add some of my pictures from the event. 

2011 PR Xchange 

Nancy Dowd holds up a BoS button since she & the
 NJ State Library won in the Advocacy--Print category.
Judith Gibbons (R) shares her excitement!

Best of Show Winners           

Advocacy – Print

$2-6 Million

• Honorable Mention:  Cecil County Public Library

• Best of Show:  West Bloomfield Twp. Public Library

$6-20 Million

• Honorable Mention: Grand Rapids Public Library

• Honorable Mention:  Greenville County Library System

• Best of Show: New Jersey State Library

$20+ Million

• Honorable Mention University of Pennsylvania Libraries Ivy Leaves (Info-letter)

Advocacy – Video

Under $2 Million

• Best of Show: Kentucky PLA

$20+ Million

• Honorable Mention: Texas Tech University Libraries

Annual Reports – Print

Under $2 Million

• Best of Show: Mill Valley Public Library

$2-6 Million

• Honorable Mention: Ypsilanti District Library

• Best of Show:  Shaker Heights Public Library (OH)

$6-20 Million

• Honorable Mention:  University of Kansas Libraries

• Best of Show: Grand Rapids Public Library

$20+ Million

• Honorable Mention: King County Library System

• Best of Show: Cornell University Library

Bibliographies and Booklists – Print

Under $2 Million

• Honorable Mention:  Lawrence High School Library

$2-6 Million

• Honorable Mention: Warren County Public Library

• Best of Show:  West Bloomfield Twp. Public Library

$6-20 Million

• Honorable Mention: Tacoma Public Library

• Best of Show: Des Moines Public Library

$20+ Million

• Honorable Mention Hennepin County Library, Minnesota

• Best of Show King County Library System

Best of Show winners on display at the PR Xchange

Calendars and Newsletters – Print

Under $2 Million

• Best of Show: Noreen Reale Falcone Library, Le Moyne College

$2-6 Million

• Honorable Mention: Ela Area Public Library

• Best of Show: Ypsilanti District Library

$6-20 Million

• Honorable Mention: Ann Arbor District Library

• Best of Show: William H. Hannon Library, Loyola Marymount University

$20+ Million

• Honorable Mention:  King County Library System

• Honorable Mention:  Prince George's County Memorial Library System

• Best of Show: University at Buffalo Libraries

Fundraising – Print

$2-6 Million

• Honorable Mention:  Burlingame Public Library

• Best of Show: Shaker Heights Public Library (OH)

$6-20 Million

• Honorable Mention:  University of Kansas (KU) Libraries

• Honorable Mention:  Greenville County Library System

• Best of Show: Norfolk Public Library, Norfolk, VA

$20+ Million

• Honorable Mention:  University of Pennsylvania Libraries

• Best of Show: UBC Library

Fundraising – Video

$6-20 Million

• Best of Show: Western Kentucky University Libraries

Reading Programs: Adult and Family – Print

$2-6 Million

• Honorable Mention:  Ela Area Public Library

• Best of Show:  Burlingame Public Library

$6-20 Million

• Honorable Mention:  Ann Arbor District Library

• Best of Show:  Kitsap Regional Library

My table at the PR Xchange was
festooned with New Orleans-style
 beads to give away.
(Thanks to the staffer who shot this picture!)

Reading Programs: Adult and Family – Video       

$6-20 Million

• Honorable Mention:  Lexington Public Library

Reading Programs: Children – Print

Under $2 Million

• Honorable Mention:  Lawrence High School Library

$2-6 Million

• Honorable Mention:  West Bloomfield Twp. Public Library

• Honorable Mention:  Shaker Heights Public Library (OH)

• Best of Show: Wyoming State Library

$6-20 Million

• Honorable Mention:  Grand Rapids Public Library

• Best of Show: Ann Arbor District Library

Services, Orientation, Policy – Print

Under $2 Million

• Best of Show:  Indiana University East Campus Library

$2-6 Million

• Honorable Mention:  Towson University Albert S. Cook Library

• Best of Show:  West Bloomfield Twp. Public Library

$6-20 Million

• Honorable Mention:  Illinois State University Milner Library

• Honorable Mention:  Ann Arbor District Library

• Best of Show:  J. Murrey Atkins Library

$20+ Million

• Honorable Mention:  King County Library System

• Honorable Mention:  University of Pittsburgh Library System (ULS)

• Best of Show:  Texas Tech University Libraries

The view from my table -- folks gathering
 samples on the PR Xchange floor.

Services, Orientation, Policy – Video           

$2-6 Million

• Best of Show:  Lamont Library at Harvard University

$6-20 Million

• Honorable Mention:  University of Houston Libraries

• Best of Show:  Alden Library, Ohio University

Special Programs and Events – Print

Under $2 Million

• Best of Show:  Oshkosh Public Library

$2-6 Million

• Honorable Mention:  Sonoma State University Library

• Honorable Mention:  National University Library

• Honorable Mention:  Ela Area Public Library

• Best of Show:  Christopher Center for Library and Information Resources, Valparaiso           University

$6-20 Million

• Honorable Mention:  Z Smith Reynolds Library, Wake Forest University

• Honorable Mention:  Kitsap Regional Library

• Best of Show:  Des Moines Public Library

$20+ Million

• Honorable Mention:  Hennepin County Library, Minnesota

• Best of Show:  Metropolitan Library System

Special Programs and Events – Video

$6-20 Million

• Honorable Mention:  Monroe County Public Library

$20+ Million

• Honorable Mention:  Texas Tech University Libraries

Watching the PRMS committee members give out the Best of Show awards.

Stay tuned to The M Word to find out when to send in your 2012 entries for Best of Show and your Xchange samples to share.

Kathy's Book Is Now on the Nook (and on sale!)

Did you finish reading your personal books over the weekend? Or did July 1 mark the start of your library's new fiscal year, giving you access to a new book budget? Either way, I have good news for you. My book, The Accidental Library Marketer, is now available in a new format:

You can purchase it in the Barnes & Noble Nook store.

And in case you missed the announcement I made a couple of months ago, it's also available in the Amazon Kindle store.

Finally, if you still like the good ole paper version, that's on sale! From now through July 25, publisher Information Today, Inc. is offering 25% off all in-stock titles ordered through its secure website at http://books.infotoday.com/. So that's not just my book, it's all the other Accidental titles (Accidental Fundraiser, Manager, Webmaster, etc.) and 150 other titles.

To get the discount, use the promo code ITISP at checkout.

Details from the publisher's site:

Ordering on the ITI website is secure and easy, and the discount applies to all in-stock titles published by ITI and featured on our website, including:

• CyberAge books for internet-savvy businesses and consumers 
•  ITI Books for library and information professionals
•  American Society for Indexing (ASI) books
•  American Society for Information Science & Technology (ASIS&T) books
•  Plexus Publishing books

To get the discount use the promo code ITISP when you check out!

Important: This discount offer applies to the regular retail cover price of each book and cannot be combined with any other discount offer. Directories and periodicals are excluded from this offer, as are co-published/distributed titles and ASI/ASIS&T member prices. Standard shipping rates apply. For international orders please email our customer service department at custserv@infotoday.com for shipping costs. New Jersey residents please add 7% state sales tax.