THEIMPACT OF ECONOMICRECESSIONS ON LIBRARIES: A PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE VIEW
FROMMINNESOTA
byAnneMostadJensen
Introduction
The United States is now officially in an economic recession and has been since December 2007 (NBER, 2008). The effects of the recession have been resounding in the United States, with an in creasing number of layoffs and foreclosures announced every day. The unemployment rate in the UnitedStatessitsat7.6%,thehighestsince1991(USDepartmentofLaborStatistics,2009).Asthe economicpressureshaveincreased,sohavethemediareportsabouttheincreasedlibraryusagein responsetotheseeconomicpressures.TheNewYorkTimes,CBSNews,NationalPublicRadio(NPR), andMinnesotaPublicRadio(MPR)arejustahandfulofmediaoutletsthathavefeaturednewsitems onthesubject(seelinksbelow).
IntimesofeconomiccrisislibrariesfindthemselvesinaCatch22situation.ACatch22,asdefinedby theOxfordEnglishDictionary,is“asupposedlaworregulationcontainingprovisionswhicharemu tually frustrating”. As the economic crisis continues and deepens, there is increased usage of the library,whileatthesametimelibraryfundingdecreases.Howcanlibrariesmosteffectivelyrespond tothisCatch22?
Thispaperwilllookathowlibrarieshaverespondedtoeconomicrecessionsinthepast,specifically during the Great Depression, and how libraries are responding to the present economic recession, specificallyfocusingontheexperiencesoftwoverydifferentlibrarysystemsinthestateofMinne sota. One library system, the Kitchigami Regional Library System80, serves a rural 6000 square mile fivecounty area with a population of 130,000. Another library system, the Ramsey County Public Library System81, is located in the second most populous county in Minnesota and serves an ur ban/suburbanpopulationofoverhalfamillionpeople.Bylookingbothtothepastreactiontoeco nomicrecessionsandtotheexperiencesofthepresentitwillhopefullyshedlightonhowlibraries canbestrespondtothetensionbetweentheincreasedlibraryusageandthestagnatingordiminish ingfundingduringtimesofeconomicdownturn.
PastRecessions
Historicallyspeaking,themostobviousplacetolookforexamplesoflibraries’reactionstoeconomic recessions is the Great Depression. During the Great Depression there was a huge antitaxation movementthatlibraries,andmorespecificallytheAmericanLibraryAssociation(ALA),attemptedto thwart. Three key themes pop out when looking at the work the ALA was doing to stop the anti taxationmovement,whichwere:
action, publicity,and cooperation.
“Donotwaitforotherstotakethelead”(Lydenberg,Milam,&Gallagher,1933,p.169).Thesewere thewordsofHarryMillerLydenberg,CarlH.Milam,andMichaelF.Gallagherintheiropenletterto theALAmembersabouttheformationofcitizens’councils.Thesecitizens’councilswereformed:
80http://www.krls.org/about_krls/about_krls.html
81http://www.ramsey.lib.mn.us/
1. [T]o promote interest in local and state governmental problems, to the end that the present widespread demands for reduction of public expenditures may produce actual and permanent improvements in the governmental organization, the tax system, and the services rendered by publicandsemipublicagencies.
2. To encourage the organization of local and state citizens’ councils to consider the problems of maintainingessentialcommunityservicesinthefaceoftheneedforreductionofpublicexpendi tures(ALA,1933,p.170).
Somespecificactionscitizens’councilswereaskedtodotopromoteconstructiveeconomyandgood government included addressing their spending, addressing efficiency of services, projecting future funding problems by addressing potential changes in levies or property taxes, and seeking relevant informationfrominstitutionsandexpertstobenchmarkservicesprovided(Lydenberg,Milam,&Gal lagher,1933,p.170).
CooperationwasanotherkeyfactorinthestrategyoftheALA,libraries,andcitizens’councils.
“Itishopedthatitmaybeusedtobringintoexistencesomecoalitionororganizationofthe friendsofalltheeducationalandculturalandperhapssocialagencies,locallyandbystates, in orderthattheymaybeas articulatein demandingthemaintenanceofessentialservices onareasonablebasisastheorganizationsfortaxreductionareforanythingthatwillreduce publicexpenditures.”(Lydenberg&Milam,1933,p.57)
Finally,publicitywasaveryimportantpartofthestrategyofmaintainingpubliclibraryservices.One waytheALAachievedthiswasbyadoptingtwostatements;oneonthe“ReductionofPublicExpen ditures” and the other was titled “Increased Demand for Library Service.” The purpose of these statementswastocounterantitaxationgroupsblanketstatementthatgovernmentfundingshould becut,regardlessoftheservicesoffered.Thestatements’messagewasthatyes,governmentshould beresponsibleintheirspendingandworktodiminishwastefulspending,butnotattheexpenseof sociallyusefulservicesandcertainlynotbeforewastefulspendingwascurtailed.
PresentDayMinnesota
InordertounderstandthereactionofMinnesotalibrariestotheeconomicrecession,itisimportant todescribetheeconomicsituationinMinnesotaandthewaylibrariesarefundedinMinnesota.
Minnesota’sconstitutionmandatesthestatemaintainabalancedbudget(ArticleXI,section6,Min nesota Constitution). As a result, as the recession has deepened, the Minnesota state budget has continued tobe affected. Thestatehasanestimated$426millionshortfallfor2009,whichhasre sultedina$229millionunallotmentoffunds82.Thefuturedoesnotlookmuchbetter,withtheJanu ary2009EconomicUpdatedescribingthesituationinthefollowingway:“TheU.S.economicoutlook is,toputitcharitably,grim”83.TheNovemberForecastfromtheofficeofMinnesotaManagement&
Budget predicts a $4.847 billion dollar shortfall for Fiscal Year 201011, 9.4 % below previous fore casts84.
Thewaypubliclibrariesarefundedvariesslightlybasedonthetypeoflibrarysystem,butthemajor ityoflibraryfundinginMinnesotacomesfrompropertytaxes.Consideringthecurrentfinancialcrisis wascausedbyacrashinthehousingbubbleandhasresultedinaprecipitousdropinhousingprices, itisworryingthatthemajorstreamoffundingforpubliclibrariesinMinnesotacomesfromtheabil itytolevytaxesonproperty.
The Kitchigami Regional Library System (KRLS) is a consolidated regional public library in northern Minnesota.TherearetwomodelsforregionalpubliclibrarysystemsinMinnesota,theconsolidated
82http://www.mmb.state.mn.us/doc/budget/unallotment08.pdf
83http://www.mmb.state.mn.us/doc/fu/09/updatejan09.pdf
84http://www.mmb.state.mn.us/doc/fu/08/completenov08.pdf
model and the federated model. In the consolidated model administration is consolidated at the headquarters.Inthefederatedmodeladministrationislocallyheldinthebranchlibraries,withthe headquartersonlyprovidingsystemwideservices.RamseyCountyLibrarySystemisacountylibrary system,soalladministrativepowerremainswithinonecounty.KitchigamiRegionalLibrarySystemis aconsolidatedregionalpubliclibraryinnorthernMinnesota.
KRLShastwoprimaryfundingstreams.Thefirstfundingstreamisderivedfromalevyortaxoncity orcountyproperty85.Thesecondfundingsourcecomesintheformofregionallibrarybasicsystem supportgrants,whichisalsoderivedfrompropertytaxes,butisdistributedbythestate.86Another small source of funding is Local Government Aid (LGA). LGA are tax monies collected by the state, whicharethenredistributedtocitieswhouseittofundmunicipalservicessuchaslibraries,police, andfiredepartments.
A basic budget breakdown for KRLS finds 70 % of funding going towards personnel, 20 % towards technology, and 5 % goes to collection development. KRLS serves an economically disadvantaged area.Asaresulttheydonotderiveanyoftheirfundingfromfines,becauselibraryuserswouldnot beabletopayandimplementingfineswouldresultinagreaterlossofitems.
KRLS hasbeenlucky with staffingfor2009,as theyhavenotyet hadtoreducestaff.However,the countieshavemadeitknownthatcutswillbepassedtothedepartments.MarianRidge,directorof theKitchigamiRegionalLibrarySystem,statesthatsheexpects“34extremelydifficultyears”ahead forthelibrarysystem.
RamseyCountyLibrary’sfundinghasalreadybeenaffectedbytheeconomicdownturn:82%ofthe Ramsey County Library’s funding comes from property taxes on the county level, 6 % from Local GovernmentAid(LGA),7%fromfines,andtheremainderfromanumberofmiscellaneoussources.
TheLGAwasunallottedinDecemberand,accordingtoSusanNemitz,directoroftheRamseyCounty PublicLibraries,willbecutsignificantlyinthefuture.Nemitzalsoreportsthatfinesandotherfunds aredown.However,thecountypropertytaxesremainstableatthemoment.
RamseyCountyPublicLibrary’sbudgetstrategy,asitmovesthroughtheturbulenteconomictimes, includes benchmarking to demonstrate value, lobbying through the Minnesota Library Association (MLA)andRamseyCounty,andbyreducingspendingwithcutstothebookbudget,implementinga hiringfreeze,banningtravel,etc.
IncreasesinServices
KitchigamiPublicLibrarySystemhasseenagreatincreaseinanumberofservices.Thegreatestbe inga32.5%increaseintheusageofthemobilelibrary.Thisisindicativeoflibraryusers’responseto themassiveincreaseingaspricesduringthefallof2008.Inaddition,KRLShasseena14%increase in circulationduringthelastyearalongwith increasedusageof computers. Ridgestated thatcom putersatthelibraryareoftenfullybookedfromtheminutethelibraryopensuntilclosingtime.Ac cordingtoBeckyWalpole,alibrarianintheKRLS,patronsareonlyalloweduptoanhourperdayon the computers, but no more than that due to high demand. Walpole also mentioned the affect in creasedlibraryusagehashadonstaffingstatingWalpole:“Weusuallyhaveonlyonestaffmember ondeskatatime,toallowotherstodobehindthescenethings.Wenowoftenhavetwoatthedesk andattimes,three.”
Ridgealsocitedanumberofbehaviorsorusesoflibraryservicesthataredirectlyrelatedtotheef fectsoftheeconomicrecession.Therearepeoplewhoaregivinguptheirhighspeedinternetlines andusingthewirelessatthelibraryinstead,peopleareusingthecomputerstoregisterforbenefits online,peopleareprintingoutcouponsandusingthecomputersforcomparativepricing,andfami liesareusingthelibraryformorerecreationalmaterialratherthanbuyingitthemselves.
85https://www.revisor.leg.state.mn.us/statutes/?year=2008&id=134.07#stat.134.07
86https://www.revisor.leg.state.mn.us/statutes/?year=2008&id=134.34#stat.134.34
KRLShasfocuseditseffortsinrespondingtotheneedsoflibraryusersinanumberofareas,thelarg estisthetechnologyneedsofusers.KRLShasfocusedonprovidingmorecomputersandmaintaining broadband speeds. This is difficult, because whenever the branches add computers or broadband, thereisacorrespondingincreasedusage.Thisresultsinaconstantlystrainedbroadband.
KRLShasalsorespondedtotheeducationalandcareerrelatedneedsofthelibraryusers.Therural location of the library users precludes them from accessing traditional educational opportunities.
Manylibraryuserscanonlyaffordtotakeuniversityclassesorcontinuingeducationclassesonline.
Many people use the library to work on these classes. In addition to supporting distance learning, KRLS has also invested in online databases, that address the economic and career related needs of the users.Forexample,theyhavedatabasescontaining information aboutautorepairandmainte nanceaswellasinformationonstocks,mutualfunds,andhealthcareservices.Databaseusagehas seena50%increaseoverthelastyear.
RamseyCountyLibraryhasseenincreasesinusageoflibraryservicesandresourcesinanumberof areas.From2007to2008circulationhasincreasedby8.9%(anewrecord),visitsareup5%,public computer use is up 38 %, web site use is up 10 %, wireless network use is up 61 %, and computer classusageisup23.7%.RamseyCountyLibraryisrespondingtothisincreaseusagebyincreasingthe bandwidth.
AccordingtoNemitz,thebiggestchallengetheyfaceis“flatstaffingoverthelast10yearswitha59
%increaseincirculation”.AtthesametimeSusanNemitzdoesreportanumberofsuccesses,includ ing: convinced the county to invest $2 million in autohandling and RFID, convinced the county to investover$25millioninremodelingoverthelastfiveyears,startedavolunteerprogram,thatlast yearprovided25,000hoursofservice,andreceivedover$100,000inbookdonationslastyear.
CarryOn
Theeconomicrecessionmeansincreaseduseofandstrainonlibraryresources,allwhilecopingwith budgetary restrictions. The past response to economic recession should help guide libraries in the responsetheyhavetotoday’seconomicrecession.Librariesshouldtakeactionandbeproactivein the response to the challenges, that lay before them, they should publicize the importance of the work libraries do and the services they provide, and finally libraries should cooperate with other agencieswhoareprovidingothersocialandgovernmentservices.
Inadditiontolearningfromthepast,theexperiencesoftheKitchigamiPublicLibrarySystemandthe RamseyCountyLibrarycanhelpshapeourunderstandingofwhatisgoingonatthegroundlevel,as farastheneedsofusersareconcerned.BeckyWalpoleremindsusofthevitalroleoflibraries,when shestates,“Formanyof the patrons weserve, wearenotaluxury,but anecessity”.Finally,in re sponse to the challenges the economic recession will place on libraries, Ridge recommends taking theadviceofaposterfromWWII,whichreads“KeepCalmandCarryOn”87.
ReferenceList
American Library Association. (1933). Organizing citizens’ councils. Bulletin of the American Library Association, 27, p. 170-175.
Bureau of Labor Statistics. (January, 2009). Employment situation summary. Retrieved February 15, 2009, from, http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm.
Catch-22. In Oxford English Dictionary (2nd ed.). Retrieved February 19, 2009, from Oxford English Dictionary Online database.
Lydenberg, H.M. & Milam, C. H. (1933). Basis for a citizens‘ platform. Bulletin of the American Library Association, 27, p. 57.
87http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3276/2297001187_7602a82ff7.jpg
Lydenberg, H. M., Milam, C. H., & Gallagher, M. F. (1933). Citizens' councils: An open letter to A.L.A.
members. Bulletin of the American Library Association, 27, p. 169.
Minnesota Constitution. Article XI, section 6. Retrieved February 18, 2009, from http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/cco/rules/mncon/Article11.htm.
National Bureau of Economic Research. (December 11, 2008). Determination of the December 2007 peak in economic activity. Retrieved February 15, 2009 from,
http://www.nber.org/cycles/dec2008.pdf.
MediaReportsaboutincreasedlibraryusage:
NewYorkTimes
http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/08/01/are-economic-woes-pushing-up-library-circulation/?hp
CBSNews
http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=4771080n
NationalPublicRadio
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93041368
MinnesotaPublicRadio
http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2008/12/18/with_the_recession_library_usgage_on_the_r ise/?refid=0
