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Utah Library Association
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Demand for library service will continue to grow From 1990-2000, the state’s population grew by 29%. Public library circulation grew by 73% -- and that doesn’t begin to measure the impact of Internet use within the library. Add your own stories. How has your library service changed over the last decade? How are people using your library? New libraries experience greatly increased community use. Library use often doubles or triples in a new building . New technology requires adequate housing. Computers take up space and require adequate wiring. Do you have enough space for computers? Adequate wiring? |
Describe and Evaluate Existing Library Facilities and Project Costs: Key Findings
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64% of Utah’s libraries are more than 10 years old How old is your library building? Common Problems: Lack of space for materials, computers, meeting rooms, storage and staff work areas; ADA inaccessibility; inadequate wiring; energy inefficiency; seismic instability; asbestos; life safety problems; code deficiencies. What problems does your building have? An estimated $150-$250 million is needed for new construction/building renovation. These are preliminary statewide estimates. |
Analyze Local Library Finance/Governance Options: Key Findings
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Few governance or funding options exist to help communities build new libraries, and the strongest governance option (e.g. a special taxing district) is not politically popular.) Funding options used in other states (e.g., special sales tax, impact fees) are likely to be rejected in Utah, as is raising the ceiling on the statutory certified tax rate for library services. These points underscore the importance of receiving state financial assistance. |
Assess Public Opinion on Support for Public Library Facilities: Key Findings
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56% think the state is spending too little to help libraries meet operating costs 71% think the state should help fund new library buildings These figures are based on a Dan Jones poll conducted in January 2001. They clearly show that public opinion supports adequate public library funding and endorses state financial assistance to local libraries – particularly for public library construction.
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Phase II Assist Local Governments in Providing Adequate Public Library
Facilities and Services (2001-2003)
Establish the 21st Century Library Challenge Fund by raising $5,000,000 in private funding matched by $5,000,000 in State funding.
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An anonymous private foundation has already committed the "last" $1,000,000.
One time, state funding could be used to build the state’s $5,000,000. |
Improve state financial support for local library operations by increasing the appropriation for the Public Library Development Grant Fund from $550,000 to $2,000,000 annually.
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Since its establishment, the Public Library Development Grant Fund has DECREASED from a high of $609,000 in 1995 to today’s $550,000 During that same time period, local government funding for public library service has increased by almost 50%. Describe what you would like to do to improve service in your library. Describe how you would use a major increase in your Public Library Development Grant to achieve those service improvements. (If you need to verify the amount of your grant, call the State Library.)
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Strong Public Libraries Make A Difference
Public libraries are "labs for learning" for Utah’s children and students. Children discover the joy and power of reading – not just the mechanics.
| Fifty percent of intellectual development
occurs between birth and four years of age.
(Source: A Parents Guide to Children’s Reading by Nancy Larrick) Children who have been exposed to reading before school begins do measurably better in school. (Source: "Building Blocks for Literacy: What research shows," Steve Herb, School Library Journal, July 1997)
Three out of five public library users are children. (Source: Public Libraries, March/April, 1997) Use of the public library has more impact on children’s summer learning than anything else. (Source: Family Literacy Fact Sheet, American Library Association) Children who read as few as 6 books during the summer maintain or gain a reading level. (Source: Reading, Libraries, and Summer Achievement, pp. 161-179, (Summer Learning and the Effects of Schooling, 1979) Nationwide, more children participate in summer reading programs than in Little League baseball. (Source: ALA tip sheet). Use the facts above to help make this point. Add a story about children in your library. |
Public libraries are "labs for life-long learning " and literacy for adults. They help adults working to change careers, to become literate, to learn English, or to enrich their lives.
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Many libraries offer ESL instruction and literacy programs for adults and families. Public libraries help higher education students enrolled in distance learning courses. Libraries help adult enrich their lives by continually learning. Tell how your library supports adult life-long learning, literacy or ESL instruction. If your library is heavily used by distance education students, give examples.
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Public libraries offer access to PIONEER: Utah’s Online Library (
http://pioneer.utah.gov/
), thereby supporting public, higher and distance education, local business information needs, and citizen access to government electronic services and information.| Last year, Utahns performed over 425,000 searches of
premium databases through PIONEER.
Give examples of how PIONEER is used in your library The Internet does NOT replace public libraries – it makes them even more important. Everything is NOT on the Internet. Only the "tip of the iceberg" of the entire human record is digitized, and converting the rest of the information will not be easy, cheap or quick. Libraries are the still best place to find the world of print and media information. Everything on the Internet is not necessarily accurate, nor is it all "free." The World Wide Web is the world’s largest filing cabinet. Some information is great; some is of doubtful quality, if not outright wrong or out of date. Much of the best information is in licensed, copyrighted databases, and it is not free. Making these premium databases available is the role of PIONEER (http://pioneer.utah.gov/). Librarians know the Internet and can teach others to use it effectively: Being "computer literate" is not the same as being "information literate." Librarians can help individuals refine questions into search strategies, help locate both print and electronic resources, and learn the software for taking best advantage of Internet and other electronic information resources. One of the most important roles for librarians in this new Internet age is that of a trusted, experienced and knowledgeable Internet advisor.
Not everyone has a computer or high speed Internet connectivity: It is not simply a matter of whether or not someone has a home computer. Is that computer connected to the Internet? If the computer is connected, is the connection of sufficiently high speed to really make effective use of the World Wide Web’s array of information? Does the individual know how to effectively navigate the web? Most of us are novices when we step outside of our own niches of expertise. Libraries are "high tech" and " high touch:" In spite of all the "high tech" in our lives, we still want "high touch." Libraries, and especially rural libraries, are still vital community centers with programming and services that reach all ages in the community, and best of all in an age of automated telephone systems and bank teller machines, librarians bring a human touch to library service. |
Public libraries are a strong symbol of community identity and strength. Utah’s "21st Century Communities" need and want 21st Century Libraries.
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Give examples of why your library makes a difference in your community. |
Why Should the State Play a Role?
Too many Utah library facilities are inadequate to deliver 21st Century Library services.
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Review your own library’s facilities problems and capital needs. If your building is adequate, affirm that other communities deserve a decent building too. |
Public libraries are an important part of the state’s educational infrastructure.
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In spite of all public libraries do for children, the State provides almost no funding for public libraries. In 2001, local governments provided 92.6% of the funding. Other local income (fees & donations) raised another 5.2%. Federal funding was 0.6%, and the State gave only 1.6%. State financial assistance can create a level playing field statewide, allowing all Utahns access to quality library service. Talk about what an increase in the Public Library Development Grant fund would mean to your library. |
Utah’s local governments have widely varying capacities to fund adequate public library service
| Some communities, just like some families are wealthier
than others.
Talk about how difficult it is for your community to adequately fund library service. For more information, review the Index of Local Financial Effort chart (p. 12) and the Expenditures Per Capita chart (p. 10) in the State Library publication Utah Public Library Service 2000. |
Rapid growth already challenges local resources for basic infrastructure.
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Without state and foundation assistance, too many local governments will be unable to address library facility and service needs. Is your community growing? What challenges is your city or county facing? What new demands are being placed on your library? |
AT THE END OF YOUR CONVERSATION:
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Repeat the need to fund the 21st Century Challenge Fund and to increase the Public Library Development Grant Fund. Give them the colored Fact Sheet Ask for questions, and ask for their support Say Thank You! |
21ST CENTURY
LIBRARY INITIATIVE FACT SHEET
Goal:
Enable Utah Public Libraries
to Deliver 21st Century Library Services
Objective:
Establish a Challenge
Fund to Assist Local Governments in Building Adequate Public Library Facilities
Objective:
Increase the Public Library
Development Grant Fund to Assist Local Governments in Supporting Ongoing Library
Service Costs
Impact:
Supports Education, Life-long
Learning and Literacy
Builds Community Identity, Strength, and Quality of Life
Bridges the Digital Divide
Phase I The 21st Century Library Needs Assessment (1999-2001)
Phase II Assist Local Governments in Providing Adequate Public Library Facilities and Services (2001-2003)
Phase III Assist Utah Communities in Building 21st Century Libraries (2002--)
For more information:
http://www.ula.org/legislation/legislat.htm
21ST CENTURY LIBRARY INITIATIVE
The 21st Century Library Initiative is a broad undertaking sponsored by:
21st Century Library Challenge Fund
When the $10,000,000 Challenge Fund is established, the State Library
and its statutory board will oversee a competitive grant program
making funds available to communities for improved public library
facilities. Grant procedures will be developed over the coming year
with input from the library community and local government officials.
Public Library Development Grants
Public Library Development Grants are appropriated annually by the
Legislature to the State Library. Grants are allocated to city and
county libraries under a formula based on the number of service
outlets, the population served, and the strength of the local tax
base. Increasing this fund will help Utah public libraries address
pressing local needs.
Strong Public Libraries Make A Difference
Public libraries are "labs for learning" for Utah’s children and
students. Children discover the joy and power of reading –
not just the mechanics.
Public libraries are "labs for life-long learning" and literacy for adults. They help adults working to change careers, to become literate, to learn English, or to enrich their lives.
Public libraries offer access to PIONEER: Utah’s Online Library (http://pioneer.utah.gov/), thereby supporting public, higher and distance education, local business information needs, and citizen access to government electronic services and information.
Public libraries are a strong symbol of community identity and strength. Utah’s "21st Century Communities" need and want 21st Century Libraries.
Why Should the State Play a Role?
Too many Utah library facilities are inadequate to deliver 21st
Century Library services.
Public libraries are an important part of the state’s educational infrastructure.
Utah’s local governments have widely varying capacities to fund adequate public library service
Rapid growth already challenges local resources for basic infrastructure.
| ULA Homepage |
ULA PO Box 970488 Orem, Ut 84097-0488 |