While many were closing their doors in fear, the library stayed open. When local teachers sought a place to tutor students while the public schools were closed, the library opened the “School for Peace.” They provided space, resources, and even meals for students. Library Director Scott Bonner would say later the subsequent media deluge that descended on them came from being able to provide a much needed “good story” amid a seemingly never-ending storm of bad news[3].

The good story became a viral sensation, and donations and financial support for the struggling library soon followed, resulting in a whopping $450,000 total over the last two years. In an e-mail sent late last month to those who were so generous with their support of the library, Bonner provided an update on what Ferguson has been able to accomplish and where he and his staff hope to take the library in the days to come.

His e-mail—which began with the simple and heartfelt, “You are amazing!”—highlighted improvements they have made to the building, including replacing their bathrooms, making the library more accessible to handicapped patrons and allowing for the purchase of an interactive whiteboard and new computers that have greatly improved their programming capabilities[4]. Bonner went on to say that the library’s response to the events following Brown’s death helped them find out “what kind of library we wanted to be.” They are determined to become as community-focused as possible. They have increased their programming budget “tenfold” and hired a children’s services and programming librarian[5]. They’ve worked with StoryCorps to give their community a chance to tell their own stories beyond what has been highlighted by the media and are increasing their efforts “in any way we can think of” to improve the lives of every member of the community[6]. Bonner even provided a video with a virtual tour of what Ferguson Library looks like today.

The Ferguson Library is independent and not part of the city government and thus relies heavily on donations to keep telling their good story. They currently have a PayPal donation page through which you can offer your support.

We’re living through a time when good stories can seem few and far between, when opportunities to offer our assistance are often overshadowed by fears that we’ll be taken advantage of. Ferguson’s incredible work in the face of fear and adversity and their very real need is a cause all of us in the public library world can get behind. Let’s keep telling the good story.

References

[1] John N. Berry III, “2015 Gale/LJ Library of the Year: Ferguson Municipal Public Library, MO, Courage in Crisis,” Library Journal, June 8, 2015.

[2] Larry Buchanan, et al., “What Happened in Ferguson?” New York Times, August 10, 2015.

[3] Steve Zalusky, “Scott Bonner Gives a “Warts and All” Recap of the Events in Ferguson,” Ilovelibraries.org, February 11, 2015.

[4] Scott Bonner in “A Message from Ferguson Public Library by Scott Bonner” by Adam Robinson, Real Pants, December 2, 2016.

[5] Ibid.

[6] Ibid.

The post Ferguson Municipal Library Shares its Good Story first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

A significant portion of the over seven billion dollars’ worth of damage was suffered by Nepal’s public libraries. Libraries and archives there saw quite a bit of damage after the quakes and aftershocks, one of which measured 7.3. In particular, many of the Rural Education and Development (READ) centers, partners of ALA, suffered damage, along with the surrounding communities. The Nepal Library Relief Fund was set up to rebuild archives and libraries in Nepal damaged by the earthquakes.

Three major libraries in particular were dealt a severe blow by the quake. The Nepal National Library, Kaiser Library, and the central library at Tribhuvan University (TU) all saw extensive damage: buildings were devastated, shelving and racks destroyed, and books ruined by the subsequent rains and water damage. The National Library is still not able to allow anyone inside, and more than a hundred thousand books are trapped inside to face decay, insect activity, and more. Kaiser has had a bit more luck, able to let patrons inside to select the books still accessible; however, they must be read outside, as the building is not stable. The TU library sustained significant damage to the first floor materials, but quick-thinking librarians shifted books to more stable parts of the building and a number of areas important to the university library’s function have returned to life.^[2]

Resource

There are a number of ways to help:

• You can donate directly to the Nepal Library Relief Fund through ALA or this donation form.
• The NLRF page also has information on the affected libraries. Libraries can partner with Nepal to become sister libraries or adopt a library; e-mail ALA’s Michael Dowling for more information.
• Visit the READ webpage for further ways to help Nepal’s information seekers and professionals get back on their feet.

Even after more than a year, there is still a long way to go.

References

[1] Nikhil Kumar, “Why Nepal Is Still in Rubble a Year After a Devastating Quake,” Time, April 24, 2016.

[2] Sabitri Dhakal, “Libraries struggling to survive,” Himalayan Times, April 24, 2016.

The post Nepal’s Public Libraries Still in Distress After 2015 Earthquake first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

Small Libraries Ask For Help

Rachel Reynolds Luster recently became the Head Librarian at a one-room library in Myrtle, Mo. in the Ozarks.  She shared her story about the difficulties of revamping such a small space in a small community. She doesn’t refer to herself just as a librarian, but also as a curator. According to Luster, her goal is to inspire a sense of community with the library as the nucleus of the town. Her efforts have included hosting bake sales, book fairs, and a weekly story time for kids.

Her main area of concern is working within the budget of just $200 a month for books and supplies. Luster has taken to social media to procure donations and has already received over 1,000 materials to add to the collection. She feels a library is important not only for the reading, but also for the access to the internet which can be used to continue community members’ education through online programs and can help them fill out online job applications.

Vermont public libraries don’t receive any direct support from the state

In Vermont, the public libraries must all work individually to find funding to support themselves. They receive no direct support from the state. Most of the money comes from community events such as bake sales, book sales, and donations. This situation is best exemplified with a library in Ludlow. Volunteer Julia Baldwin says the library exists solely because of donations and endowments that people have left after they passed away. The library is only able to function two days a week and only in the summer. It is a labor of love in this community and through the local Ladies’ Aid society, which Baldwin is a part of. There is no paid librarian who works there.

Urban helping Rural

Hopefully this story will help to inspire those of us who live in urban communities to reach out to our rural brothers and sisters and offer a helping hand. Talk to your Head Librarians about offering donations to these libraries in need. We may have originally ordered 200 copies of the Harry Potter books to meet original demands,but I’m sure we could send a few to rural libraries that may not have ever owned a copy. Cull the collection for duplicates that may no longer be necessary and help out other communities of readers.

Sources

http://www.npr.org/2013/10/21/235483140/turning-a-page-inside-a-rural-one-room-library

http://www.npr.org/2013/08/19/209903975/for-you-to-borrow-some-libraries-have-to-go-begging

The post Challenges of a Rural Library first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

What we proposed to Mr. Melrose was a daring and different plan, where no other public library has gone before with such a concerted multi-pronged effort. While a few other libraries have created digital video labs or makerspaces, no other public library has created a space with the  many creative functions assembled in the Melrose Center. This project exemplifies Orange County (Fla.) Library System’s (OCLS) willingness to embrace unique new roles for a public library and its ability to live with risk-taking and be on the edge of completely new library services.  By fostering and creating community content and not just serving up content from other vendors, OCLS has done something very dramatic  and game changing, which other public libraries might perhaps follow. What was presented to the donor was a technology innovation and creativity space of 26,000 square feet that opened to the public in early February 2014, comprising the following areas:

• Dorothy’s story and introduction to the Melrose Center. In the story area space, users are introduced to the functions and services available in the center, but more importantly, they are introduced to who Mrs. Melrose was, what she stood for, and how her influence has shaped the services offered. A large-scale avatar of Mrs. Melrose greets visitors to the center and tells how she is thrilled by this new OCLS space. She speaks about her life, and her commitment to education and technology. Visitors can hear the narrative from Mrs. Melrose and listen as she introduces them to library personnel, who talk about the services available in the facility and explain how easy it is to use the reservation system and the special terms of use for the facility and equipment. Visitors can also see one of her artifacts, a clock that Mr. Melrose provided, which is enclosed in a small shadowbox in the story area.
• Video Production Studio. The place is equipped for HDTV multi-camera production, live streaming of shows, narrative and documentaries, and YouTube-style content. It features a three camera set up, with two controlled remotely and one on tripod; an  industry standard studio lighting and grip package; and a green screen that can be live chromo keyed or digitally composited in the  many editing stations equipped with Adobe CS6. It’s a learning center for camera operation, lighting, audio recording, and editing, designed to allow patrons to learn by doing and to start and finish a professional-grade production. Two editing bays are also available.
• Audio Production Studio with a control room, vocal booth, and big space tracking room, with a ProTools HD system that has 16X16 IO and a C/24 control surface for Pro Tools HD recording, editing and mixing. Various dynamic and condenser microphones. It also has a separate editing/cueing room, separate viewing room, with space for a twenty five person choir and the editing software necessary to produce professional sound records with professional sound abatement utilized throughout the studio. There are also two individual soundproof vocal recording booths suitable for voice over and narration function.
• Simulation Lab features a driving simulator that can teach one how to drive a vehicle, with driving exercises in 200+ driving scenarios and exercises. This includes crash avoidance, night driving, and driving under the influence scenarios, with expressway, mountains, test track and driving track, crash avoidance, and adverse weather conditions. Simulator displays vehicle dynamics modeling, including compact car, midsize sedan, small SUV, large SUV, minivan, and large delivery truck. There is another simulator that can teach one how to fly a fixed wing aircraft, using full cockpit displays, panoramic views, and surround sound to give a realistic audio experience. It has approach training for most every airfield on the planet, with the airfields geographically and topographically correct. Users can follow a flight plan and are able to train for visual flight rules, instrument flight rules, and GPS flight plans, as well as fly instrument landing system approaches. A third simulator features a construction excavator that scoops up materials and moves it to another site in a simulated environment. A fourth simulator demonstrates how to use a forklift.
• The Learning Classroom next to the Simulation Lab is equipped to teach the aspects of simulation creation with particular emphasis on learning and using underlying math concepts of geometry, algebra, kinetics, and physics to create simulation scenarios.
• Fab Lab where participants can learn how to program on a raspberry pi, configure arduinos, make jewelry, create their own 3D printed objects, learn electronic circuitry, make snapbots, and learn the software needed to create the digital files to create these objects. Classes are currently offered in Introduction to Radio Electronics using Snap Circuits; Introduction to Electronic Prototyping Using Arduinos; Adobe Photoshop; Introduction to Computer Programming; Introduction to Mobile Web App Development; 123 Design; InDesign, teaching layouts and formats in digital publishing; Adobe Illustrator; Adobe Premier; and Adobe Audition.
• Photography Studio where users can photograph their favorite models, or objects to sell on eBay, or create the photographs to accompany their graphic designs or video commercials shot in the Video Production Studio, along with the graphical design digital software. It is outfitted with a light box, Canon T51 Digital SLR Camera with tripod, monolight strobe softbox, flash boom lighting, muslin background, and portable green/blue screen.
• Tech Central where residents can attend live presentations about digital designs, creative projects, and entrepreneurship efforts launched and perfected in the Melrose Center for Technology, Innovation & Creativity.
• Conference Room (equipped with teleconferencing capability featuring two 80-inch display screens, sound system, and Internet connection) that is also available for renting out to local groups.
• Interactive Media Wall featuring digital screens where users of the center can display project designs on a thirteen-foot surface, as well as share and collaborate on their projects created in the center.

The Gift

After Mr. Melrose reviewed suggestions for a possible space named for his mother and the concept of how the space would be used, he chose the west side of the second floor of the Main Library. The close proximity of the hands-on technology classrooms and the public computer space clinched the selection for him, due to the steady stream of visitors to that area. Once Mr. Melrose accepted the space, he signed a letter of intent to donate the money to the library in March 2012. Preparations were made to present the ideas to the board. In April 2012, a formal check ceremony was held after hours, with many of Mr. Melrose’s former high school mates in attendance. A legal agreement was drawn up and signed by both the library board and Mr. Melrose in May 2012, spelling out the commitment the library was making to him and for how long a time the space would remain named for Mrs. Melrose. In turn, Mr. Melrose agreed to the two-part gift spanning two fiscal years. The first $500,000 check was received in June 2012 from the Kendrick B. Melrose Family Foundation and the second in October 2012. A First Nail Ceremony was held on June 12, 2013. Periodic updates and presentations on the progress of the center were made to the board.

Planning and Implementation

Focus groups from the public were invited from the various creative segments of the community to give the library input. The facilitated sessions with invitees brought forth ideas, potential concerns, perceived conflicts, and suggestions. A blog was set up for the public to provide ideas and to share progress on the center.

Addressing employees at each quarterly branch meeting and at Main Library staff meetings, the director explained how the gift came to be given and elicited suggestions about the services to be offered, as well as how to improve on the focus-group concepts. Many staff members indicated, even at this early stage, that they were quite interested in being a part of this and learning the new technology and definitely wanted to help provide these new services.

A request for proposal (RFP) was advertised to find local creative firms to help the library flesh out the ideas and bring forth a concept that could be used to advertise for architectural and construction bids. The local team of FX Group/Design Island was awarded the bid as digital media consultants in May 2012 and worked with library administration to create the concept paper that would form the basis of the delineation of services. This white paper became part of the RFP to seek architectural services to redesign the current space of 26,000 square feet and create an edgy feel in the space.

The design team of HKS Architects and TLC Engineering submitted the winning bid and were awarded the architectural services contract in December 2012. The Library Board awarded the construction manager contract to Skanska in February 2013. The design and specification work began in January 2013. The board approved the guaranteed maximum price of $1,311,820 with Skanska in June 2013. Construction of the space by Skanska started in summer 2013 and was completed in January 2014.

The initial cost of the project was estimated in 2012 to be $2,000,000, to be split between two library fiscal years. With a delay in the permitting, the majority of the construction costs fell into the FY2013 budget. Total budget approved by the board for the project was $2,500,000, with the interactive screen addition added later to the project at an additional cost of $215,000. It was decided to purchase the products on the Florida State contract, when possible, to enable our money to go further.

Staffing

Project management and implementation of the Melrose Center was given to Debbie Moss, OCLS assistant director and head of the Technical Support Division. The center was aligned administratively with the Technical Education Center (TEC) due to the similarity of staff roles and the technical classes already being offered to the public by the TEC staff. TEC Manager Ormilla Vengersammy was named manager of the Melrose Center. Ann Collins became the assistant manager under Vengersammy. The team immediately looked into the various software options commercially available for the different labs, using the guidance of TLC Engineering’s recommendations. The team chose to go with open-source software, where available, with the Adobe Creative Suite 6 Master Collection as the standard package that staff would teach. Copies were ordered and staff began learning the software in preparation for teaching in a few months.

Vengersammy and Collins immediately started reaching out to the community, briefing the project to Full Sail University, Valencia Community College, University of Central Florida, DeVry, ITT Technical Institute, the Downtown Development Board, the Downtown Orlando Partnership, and Orange County Public Schools (OCPS); meetings were also held with OCPS administrative staff, school board, and local organizations such as Girl Scouts, YMCA, and homeschoolers’ groups. The managers and staff have continued to reach out to community groups throughout the construction process to recruit volunteers for the space and to spread the word about the coming Melrose Center.

New Software and Equipment Classes

Training classes were already a big part of OCLS’s public services, accounting for more than 13,600 classes in the 2013 fiscal year. The system currently averages 1,200 classes a month, the vast majority of them hands-on, and many given in Spanish and some in Haitian Creole, as well as English. There are such “untypical for a library” offerings as Advanced Image Editing using GIMP, Understanding Computer Networking Concepts, Cloud Computing, HTML5, Microsoft Visio Fundamentals, and Preparing to Become A Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS), among others.

In planning for the rollout of the Melrose Center, more classes for the public were developed that would feed into the services the Melrose Center was already offering. The additional classes featured Basic Electricity Using Snap Circuits and Basic Engineering Using K’nex to stimulate STEM learning in children. These products were introduced to all branch staff at hands-on meetings and toolkits were subsequently purchased for branches to facilitate hands-on programs for children and their families. These STEM-oriented classes have been given on a periodic basis by branch personnel at all of our facilities across the 1,000 square miles of our library district.

By November 2013, OCLS was already offering hands on courses in Autodesk 1-2-3-D to create designs for the 3D printer; Adobe Dreamweaver for creating professional looking websites for graphical user interface; Adobe InDesign to create layouts for prints and digital publishing; Adobe Illustrator to create vector images for publishing; Adobe Premiere to edit, split and trim video clips; and Adobe Audition to edit, arrange, and mix audio clips. Design and Print Your Own Custom Cookie Cutters Using the 3D Printer, Introduction to Radio Electronics Using Snap Circuits, Introduction to Electronics Prototyping Using the Arduino, and Adobe After Effects were offered to the public in December 2013.

Access Policies

Because the Melrose Center featured extremely expensive equipment, and because FEATURE | Technology Center Focuses on Innovation and Creativity of the complexity of the software needed to be learned in advance of using most of the equipment, the library decided to control access to this very special space to those who can establish competency or who already knew the software and how to use the equipment. Competency can be established through attendance at the specialized classes or instructional sessions in the use of the equipment or through successful passing of a quick assessment administered by staff. A special one-hour session on the unique rules governing the Melrose Center spaces and equipment would need to be attended and an electronic signature obtained that verified the user was agreeing to abide by all the rules of conduct for the center. The signed agreements and the competencies a customer established would be recorded in the integrated library system’s customer database, where all staff would have easy access to the competencies a customer had earned or  established.

Casual entrance to the center is not allowed, with the exception of open public events (such as periodic group visitor tours or speaker presentations in the presentation area). A staff desk is positioned just inside the entrance for this purpose. Violation of the rules of the center  are grounds for terminating privileges to the center for one year, or up to three, based on the severity of the offense. The center is available to use for anyone with a valid OCLS library card, under the competency requirements. For those not living in our district, a fee-based  structure was established for out-of-district residents. The same competency requirements for entrance to the Melrose Center still apply.  After-hours access to the center is a feature that the library staff thinks would be desired. We would like to offer this service, but it has not yet been fully costed out nor presented and approved by the Board of Trustees. Much thought has been given to these special access policies and they could be modified in time, as our circumstances and our experiences with customers and their interactions with the center evolve.

Before Opening

Construction was completed by January 2014 and the month-long “shake down period” began. During this month, staff from branch locations and other departments had opportunities to test out equipment, learn the appropriate software, and become familiar with the offerings and capabilities of the center. In this way, they will be able to help promote the center to their local customers. Pre-opening special tours for dignitaries, VIPs, and Friends of the Library Board members are planned.

Marketing of the Center

Finally, we needed to introduce the Center to the community. To that end, a logo was developed by a local graphic design studio, Lure. A marketing plan was created by OCLS Community Relations Administrator Tracy Zampaglione, with input from library trustee Herman Tagliani. The aim of the marketing plan is to introduce the Melrose Center brand, build awareness, create buzz, and attract new users to the library and the Center.

OCLS plans to use its own media, including our newsletter Books and Beyond, our website, announcements during OCLS classes and programs, outside banners, and posters at all locations to promote the Melrose Center. We also will be using Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, email blasts, blogs, promoted posts, and other social media to share details about the center with the community and build excitement. We are also planning to use print media, online ads, and back-of-the-bus ads. In addition to all of this, we are creating t-shirts and flashing badges with the Melrose logo for all library staff to wear.

Gala and Grand Opening

The center opened in early February 2014. A fundraiser sponsored by the Friends of the Library was held on February 7. This ticketed event featured hands-on opportunities for invited guests. The gala was sponsored by the University of Central Florida. The center opened to the  public on February 8 with state and local dignitaries in attendance. There were demonstrations of the equipment and software for the  attendees.

Melrose-ing the Branches

OCLS’s challenge for the future remains how to keep the Melrose Center fresh and up-to-date with the current versions of the software and technology. Systemwide, OCLS needs to address how to incorporate the successes and extend the availability of the services provided in the Melrose Center to the smaller spaces of the fourteen branches of OCLS.

Giving Thanks

OCLS is extremely indebted to Mr. Melrose and the Kendrick B. Melrose Family Foundation for making the Melrose Center possible. Without his gift, none of the services would have been possible. The expert advice, questions, and ideas generated by members of the Board of Trustees added much to the success of the project. The library’s administrative team, managers, and staff all made significant contributions to the success of the Melrose Center and without their scrutiny, suggestions, and comments, it would be much less than it is today. The initial help from FX Group and Design Island got us started on the road to defining the concept of the center. The expert advice and guidance of HKS Architects, TLC Engineering, Skanska USA, and Empire Office kept us from losing focus and staying the course to completion. And the fantastic media wall and avatar made possible by the combined talents of EdgeFactory, LMG, and TLC brought Mrs. Melrose to life for all of us. Together, all of these groups have made possible a wonderful place for the greater Orlando community to learn new skills and technology, pursue new creative opportunities, and experience collective and individual innovation.

The post Technology Center Focuses on Innovation and Creativity first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

The question is, what can a public service organization that already offers its goods and services free provide as a bonus? Library staff members have spent hours pondering this question.  Elimination of fines?  This poses multiple problems. In our institution most high donors do not even use the library, let alone owe huge fines. The elimination of fines does not seem like a significant perk.  Tours of the Library? Perhaps. If the non-public areas were large enough or the donors curious enough. In our case, the non-public area is approximately twenty square feet.  Hardly worth paying to see. Individualized service? We already do that. Personalized recommendations? We do that also.

Inevitably when the conversation comes up, suggestions turn to things outside of the library: we could offer gift certificates to local business, dinners, knick-knacks, or products with the library’s brand. But many of us cringe at these suggestions.  Investing precious funds in items to give away to those who give us money seems counter-intuitive at best and wasteful at worst. Where will the funds come from to pay for these perks?

I know of very few librarians who are natural fundraising or development experts. People who like and are good at this job tend to be in the field. The rest of us, well, we generally hate it.  It’s hard to ask for money, even when we believe in the cause.  But certainly believing in the need and cause makes the process easier and more sincere

We run the fundraisers (the galas, the wine tastings, the author visits, the bake sales, the tastes of’s, the book sales, etc. etc.) but what can we offer the donors that is unique and special to them?  I have often thought that the answer, in fact, is nothing.  Perhaps libraries shouldn’t try to offer that unique gift or branded object. Perhaps the best thing is for us to be straightforward:  the perks we offer are to everyone, every day.  If one is really only going to support the library to receive their free mug or lunch, are they really supporters?

The post Perks for Library Donations first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

First, donations would be a lot more beneficial if donors better understood what kind of donations are useful in libraries. Too  often they believe that we will find value in five decades’ worth of National Geographic or complete runs of old computer magazines. Some librarians impute cynical motives to these donors: they can’t find any place else to discard their old books or they only want a tax deduction—while other librarians believe that most donors are good-hearted but misguided.

Second, it was generally agreed that being able to sell donated items greatly increases their value to a library. Whether it’s on a sale table in the library, at a Friends of the Library annual book sale, or on eBay or Amazon, the revenue generated by selling donated items can be used to enhance library programs and collections.

Third, many librarians noted that having an active Friends group, or some other solid core of volunteer labor, greatly helps. Pre-sorting, discarding what is obviously too old or damaged to add to collections or try to sell, and conducting sales are all functions that volunteers can do. This saves valuable staff time and decreases the “curse” part of the equation.

And finally, most librarians noted that it is largely the process that makes donations a problem. All the work involved in receiving, storing, sorting, discarding, and recycling can be a heavy burden on overworked or insufficient staffs. Librarians who cherish the idea of donations may lose sight of the fact that it is not cost effective if it takes ten staff hours to find six good books. Even where there is volunteer labor, the smoother we can make the process, the better for everyone involved. By streamlining and systematizing, we can take more of the curse out of the equation, and see more of the blessing.

Start with a Policy

We’ve all experienced the nightmare of a patron strolling happily up to the circulation desk and announcing that he’s got twelve boxes of magazines to donate—who can help me unload them? There are several mistaken assumptions here, the first being that libraries keep archives of old magazines. Increasingly our magazine resources are online, and some libraries no longer store any past issues of most magazines, only retaining current issues in their public browsing area. The second implied assumption is that we’re not very good at what we do; that, for instance, we greatly desire to have every copy of American Heritage running back to the 1960s, but haven’t been able to achieve that goal and we need someone from the community to help us out. And finally there’s the somewhat odd assumption that we have strapping lads lazing around in a back room somewhere awaiting the chance to unload SUVs full of donations.

These assumptions, and many others, could be clarified with a written policy. A complete gift policy will cover more than donated items like books, magazines, and AV materials. It needs to address things like donations of money, artwork, or anything else
that people may want to give their public library. But for day-to-day donations of materials, your donation policy should address four key points:

1. What kinds of donations you do and do not accept.
2. What you will do with the donations.
3. When and how you can receive them.
4. How you will acknowledge them.

The first part of the policy is the most important; it’s the ten-second speech that every staff member who answers the phones or works at a public service desk should have memorized. It is the quick answer to “Do you accept donations?”

“Yes, we accept donations of recent materials in good condition. We don’t accept textbooks, old magazines, or encyclopedias.” Various libraries add other specifics to this blurb, based on what have been problems for them, such as videocassettes, Reader’s Digest Condensed Books, or National Geographic magazines. Since you cannot reasonably have staff spelling out every undesirable item in response to a telephone query, you need to decide the most important categories of verboten items and write your policy statement that way.

Many libraries prepare a list of area book sales, and refer would-be donors to them. This is probably only a fair thing to do if you’re referring all donations to them, not just the things you don’t want. But people will ask, so it’s best (given the business we’re in) to have an answer ready.

Another point that public service staff should be able to recite verbatim is what you will do with the donations. This part of the policy should make it crystal clear that donations (a) are accepted without condition, (b) become the property of the library and are not returnable, and (c) will be used as the library sees fit. Donors cannot insist that their donations be added to the collection; nor can they show up a month after making the donation and ask for their items back because you didn’t add them to your catalog. You want people to know right up front that while all donations are considered for the collection, some—perhaps most of them—will be sold, or whatever your disposition is for such items.

Once in a while, a patron will offer a donation of a pristine copy of a heavily requested current bestseller, and ask whether it will be added. Such situations call for a reasonable amount of empowerment of your desk staff. They should be able to say with some confidence that it will be added to the collection. But these situations need to be understood by everyone involved as rare exceptions.

The third part of the policy can sound the most brutal, but it touches one of the hardest realities. Think about when or if there’s a good time for you to receive donations, if there’s someone on staff who can help unload them, and advise patrons to bring them at that time. There can even be instances where a policy might state, “Please bring no more donations than you can unload.” It does not sound nice, but if there’s nobody on staff who can haul around heavy boxes of books and magazines, the donor should understand that. The last thing you need are work-related injuries incurred while unloading stuff that may not be of value.

Always decline to pick up donated materials. This is unsafe, time-consuming, and expensive. Occasionally donors insist that they have valuable items the library must have. A few questions will usually establish that the valuable collection consists of pretty much the same kind of things people bring in all the time. If the would-be donor is insistent, ask for a comprehensive list of what the donation includes. Simply asking for a list usually puts an end to the discussion. In situations where the donor actually produces a list, you should review it carefully before making a decision. If you perceive that the donor really needs to have the items picked up, this may be the ideal time to suggest other nonprofit organizations that hold book sales and offer pick-up service.

The final section of the policy should deal with what kind of written acknowledgment donors will receive. While the majority of donors decline any acknowledgment, many appreciate a written thank you, and many want something on file for tax purposes. A donation to a public library is tax deductible.

The dollar value of the donation is something the donor must decide. IRS Publication 1771 notes that an acknowledgment of the donation should contain the “description (but not the value) of non-cash contribution.” ¹ The donor is responsible for establishing the fair market value for donated items. You may want to recommend online sources such as Alibris getting the most from donations and Amazon, where the value of used books is easy to find, and IRS Publication 561.²

Your acknowledgment should contain the library’s name and a description of what was received, but resist any request by donors to enumerate exactly what was received. Most people are happy with a simple “thank you for your donation of twelve hardcover books” but I have encountered the occasional person who asked for a complete author/title list. This is way too expensive in staff time.

A complete donations policy would read something like this:

The library accepts donations of recent books, recorded books, CDs, and DVDs. Donations should be clean and in good condition. We do not accept donations of old news magazines, textbooks, or encyclopedias.

All donations are accepted without condition, and immediately become the property of the library. They cannot be returned. Some donations will be added to the collection. The same criteria for inclusion in the library’s collection apply to gifts as to purchased materials. The rest will be sold in our annual book sale. Donations added to the collection may be subsequently withdrawn when they are worn or when their content is no longer current.

The library accepts donations between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. Please do not bring more items than you can carry into the library.

If you need a receipt for tax purposes, the library will provide one. We cannot, however, assign a dollar value to your donation.

Any detail can be changed to suit your library’s needs or practices. This policy should be printed on slips bearing the library’s logo, address, and phone number, and kept as a handout at the circulation desk. It should also be available under a donations
tab on your website.

A policy is not much use in the case of people who simply show up with their donations, but for the many people who do call, or who may check the library’s website for information, it can be helpful. Many donors who hear or read your policy will still bring in boxes of old magazines and textbooks. They are reluctant to discard the stuff and can’t find a recycling center that will take it all, so the library becomes the recycler of last resort. Donations are a benefit to a degree, but accepting them is also, let’s face it, a service we offer. Doing it graciously and putting on a happy face is a matter of public relations, and staff should be advised to be courteous and friendly—come what may.

Sorting Quickly

In your workroom, basement, foyer, or somewhere else within the library you have scores and scores of boxes and bags piled up, full of donated materials and ready to be sorted. What happens during this step, and how it happens, is crucial in determining whether or not handling donations eats up more staff time than they’re worth.

If the job is done by staff, make sure it is consistently done by the same staff member, or no more than a few who are all on the same page as far as sorting criteria. There may be the tendency to think this is an unpleasant task, so everybody has to take a whack at it, but such thinking is detrimental to the process. Over time, one person can build up skills and routines, not to mention a sense of ownership in the process, which will lead to a better job done.

If the job is handled by volunteers, your priorities in purely institutional terms are: (1) making sure that work areas are kept reasonably clear of clutter, and (2) making sure that all, or at least most, of what might make good additions to the collection are seen by the staff. This means assigning a staff member who is experienced with the process to train and oversee volunteers, and who should be following the same procedures as a well-trained employee.

You won’t always be able to sort donations when they arrive. You may not even be able to get to them within weeks of their arrival. But it should be a priority that as soon as possible, every box or bag gets opened, just to determine roughly what’s in it, and whether it’s in decent condition. Boxes full of proscribed items like magazines and textbooks can be quickly discarded or sent to recycling. With staff time at a premium it may be hard even to find time for this step; but space is also usually at a premium, and too often we pile up boxes and spend weeks or even months stumbling around them, when one hour’s work might lessen the problem significantly.

This step can also alert you early on to whether any of the boxes are harboring mold, mildew, or insects that qualify them for immediate discarding. Many libraries are in older buildings with bad air circulation, and a load of moldy books can play havoc with employees’ allergies, so it serves everyone well to make this step a priority.

Once the obvious rubbish has been eliminated, and when time permits, the actual sorting begins. It takes a decisive mind to do this job well. The employee who does it must feel fully empowered and know that there will be little or no second-guessing of decisions. The more time spent on each item to be considered, the more you decrease its value as a donation. You really don’t want an item to pass over two or three employees’ desks before it ends up on the sale table priced at fifty cents.

Donations will in general break down into three basic categories, so plan your sorting space (such as it is) to accommodate them:

1. Items to be recycled/discarded.
2. Items for sale.
3. Items to be considered for the collection.

At this point you should have gone through the donations once to find the obvious discards. More may surface as you begin unpacking. It doesn’t pay to be wishy-washy about things that are dirty, moldy, or falling apart. On close calls use a simple rule of thumb: when in doubt, toss it out. This may seem like a mercenary attitude, but it’s the only way to keep the process moving. Pack them up and get them into your dumpster quickly, so you can turn your attention to the more valuable items.

You should recycle discards where possible. Paperbacks can often go into regular paper recycling bins, and some recyclers accept hardcover books. Check recyclers in your area to find out.

Items for Sale

There are two traditional models for selling donations: the occasional big-event book sale, and the sale table in the library.  There’s not much difference in how one sorts items for one or the other. But there may be significant differences in who’s doing the work and in how things are stored after sorting.

For an occasional book sale, items are sorted and then stored somewhere pending the next sale date. In this case, it’s useful if books are sorted according to subject, though few of us have space to set up separate boxes for home repair, cookery, health, history, biography, and so on. But you probably do have room to separate fiction and nonfiction—and this saves lots of time and effort for the folks who will be setting up the sale. But remember that you’re not cataloging the books; it’s not critical that every item goes exactly where it’s supposed to, so don’t sit for five minutes pondering whether a book is fiction or nonfiction. Throw it in a box and move on.

For an ongoing sale table, items are usually just displayed together, and sorting between fiction and nonfiction matters little. But again, there are varying theories about what to sell. Some libraries sell everything at a uniform price—like fifty cents for a paperback and a dollar for a hardcover book. Others pull out the nicer, gently used items and give them higher prices: two,  three, or four dollars for a current hardcover by a popular author, even more for goodlooking coffee table books. Much depends on the economic status of your library users, but this can be an effective way to bring in extra revenue. It’s also worthwhile, if you don’t have one, to invest in some kind of display unit for sale books. It’s an expense, but if it helps you move merchandise, it should pay for itself many times over.

All the details of handling an annual or semiannual book sale are beyond the scope of this article. But you should note that a law of diminishing returns does apply. The more time library staff spends on the sale, the less it is worth to your bottom line. The ideal situation is when the whole thing is handled by an active and competent Friends group, which is the standard model in many libraries. Donated items being sold by volunteer labor means nearly pure profit. If you don’t have a Friends group, or some other reliable group of volunteer labor, you may be better off just running an in-house sale table. You may not sell as many items as you would in a big sale event, but neither will you incur vast expenses in staff time preparing for it.

Past these traditional sales methods, online sales are becoming popular, and can also be handled by staff or volunteers.  Amazon is a popular venue for selling used books, though some people prefer eBay, Alibris, and other sites. Newcomers to these sites often find that using them takes more work than they thought—but many librarians report significant income from online sales. The most successful tend to concentrate their efforts in the areas of first editions, signed editions, or “like new” copies of popular authors’ works. It’s a great job to assign to a staff member or volunteer who already has some online ability, and can work with minimal supervision.

Adding Donations to the Collection—Back to Policy

The best thing to bear in mind when adding donations to the collection is that they are not free. Yes, the item you are holding in your hand was free, but your time, as you consider whether to add it, is paid time. Should you decide to make it part of the collection, it goes to your cataloguer, another expense, and then on to processing, where someone else is paid getting the most from donations to affix a spine label, barcode, security tape, pocket, jacket, and other things that all cost money.

Neither should you forget about the cost of taking up shelf space. Few libraries have so much space to spare that they can just pile things up; and libraries that have lots of space want to fill it only with items that make a positive difference in their collections and give patrons valuable reading choices.

Understanding that adding donations to the library is an expense in a couple of ways, the sooner you lose the “what the heck, it’s free” mindset, the better. Just as with purchased items, the source to turn to is your Collection Development Policy. Remember in the donations policy I said, the same criteria for inclusion in the library’s collection apply to gifts as to purchased materials. This statement comes from your Collection Development Policy.

If your Collection Development Policy says you don’t add paperback books, videocassettes, or textbooks, you can quickly pack up all of those as sale items. If your policy has a good statement about the scope of technical expertise offered in your collection, you can pass over all those medical or science books with subject matter way beyond the interest or comprehension of the general reader. And if your Collection Development Policy states that information in books selected for the collection must be timely and current, you won’t give a second thought to four- and five-year-old travel books.

Any of these things could be decided based on a librarian’s common sense, experience, and knowledge of the collection. But efficient sorting requires decisiveness, and nothing combats indecision like firm policy points. If you don’t have a Collection Development Policy, you should start working on one. But even without the policy, there are many useful tips one can rely on in making quick decisions and adding only what is of real value.

First, set standards for things you consider adding:

• nothing worn or dirty;
• nothing with highlighting;
• no advanced reader’s copy, galleys, or proofs;
• no incomplete sets;
• no edition of a handbook or manual if a newer edition shows up in your catalog;
• nothing likely to contain outdated information (such as travel, medicine, science, and personal finance); and
• nothing specific to a state or region not your own (that may be a beautiful picture book of the wildflowers of Vermont—but it has little use if you’re working for a library in Mississippi).

Nothing in this process can substitute for an experienced, well-read librarian or technician who just knows collections, and who has a broad general idea of literature in the disciplines. Nobody knows it all, but by assigning this work to someone with the broadest grasp of these things you can expect the best return on the time spent sorting. Not everyone sorting through a pile of science books will spot the copy of Thomas S. Kuhn’s The Structure of Scientific Revolutions and know that it should be in a wellrounded science collection. Some people may pass over heaps of books on religion and not see a clean, new edition of Thomas Merton’s The Seven Storey Mountain or Augustine’s Confessions. Even in crafts and needle arts there are better known authors, like Donna Kooler (crochet, cross-stitch), Kaffé Fassett (knitting), or Nancy Zieman (sewing). Their books are likely to attract more attention in your collection than just any old book on cross-stitch, knitting, or sewing.

Shy away from just another volume of generic information on a subject, like a Time Life book on gardening, in favor of books authored by authorities. This is truer as we move deeper into the Internet Age. Years ago, people who liked to look at pictures of interesting things and read a little about those things swarmed to Time Life, Reader’s Digest, and other series books on history, culture, or paranormal phenomena. Nowadays, that sort of reading is done largely on the Web, while people who have a deeper interest in a subject still read monographs by known authors. Even as libraries are withdrawing the old Our Fabulous Century, Time Frame, or Gardener’s Guide series, people are clearing the same things out of their basements. Don’t make the mistake of adding what common sense dictates you don’t need, just because somebody gives it to you.

While many people will find the titles they want by browsing your shelves, many others rely exclusively on your catalog. You need to be aware of how your catalog lists items and consider whether the items you add will ever be found. In particular, think about date rankings. If the most recent publications are listed first, and you are adding an item that won’t be listed until the third or fourth page of titles, you may be wasting time and money. Perhaps you have a donation that includes several good books on electronics. It’s not that hard to check your catalog and see what shows up on the first few pages of the catalog when you look up electronics. If the dates that display are all newer than the books you are looking at, then these are not very valuable additions.

When handling classic works, things such as Plato’s Republic or Darwin’s On the Origin of Species, which even moderately sized collections include, you should first make sure the copy before you is in good condition: a firm spine, pages not gray or faded, and no highlighting. These works may be hundreds or even thousands of years old, but patrons still like reading clean, modern editions of them. If you don’t have a copy of the work in hand, by all means add it. If you have a copy, but yours is ancient and worn, then a replacement is called for. But don’t go to the trouble and expense of replacing a classic text just to update your edition by ten years, if the one on the shelf is in good condition. Remember too that there are new, sometimes award-winning translations of ancient texts, like Seamus Heaney’s Beowulf or Robert Fagles’ Aeneid. These make great replacements to worn old editions of the same texts.

Sorting fiction can be time-consuming because so much good stuff comes in, tempting you to add it all. But remember shelf space. Authors like Nora Roberts and Danielle Steel already fill up two or three shelves, and unless you are looking at their most recent, heavily requested book, you probably don’t need a second copy. The good thing is that so often a box full of books will have several titles by the same author; it’s just how people read. So if you have eight books by Janet Evanovich, gather them up and check your catalog to see which ones are missing. It pays also to check the shelf to see which ones are in sorry shape.Maybe you’ll replace two and put the rest right into the book sale.

Some authors are subject to frequent losses. In most libraries where I’ve worked it always paid to check holdings for Stephen King when I handled donated copies of his books; the same goes for books on the prophecies of Nostradamus. You probably know other examples of this.

Another thing to watch for are older works by an author who is suddenly well-known. An example would be finding a copy of The Tennis Partner, the 1998 memoir by Abraham Verghese, now that his Cutting for Stone made such a sensation. You may not go to the expense of buying these things, but how nice it is to have a copy for patrons who become interested in the author.

The same might be true for an older book that has just been made into a popular movie, and people suddenly want to read or reread the book. A donated copy is an ideal way to supply that likely temporary demand.

Any or all of these standards may be foregone in the case of libraries with little or no book budget, or that are rebuilding due to flood, fire, or other disaster. But for most of us, careful consideration is the watchword; adding less rather than more of the donations that pour in our doors.

A Money-Saving Tip

It’s always best to seal up boxes of books before discarding them. Members of the public (or even the actual donors) who see these things in dumpsters may not understand our reasons for getting rid of them. Library staff will often use book tape to seal up boxes, since it’s ubiquitous in library workrooms. But book tape is just about the most expensive tape you can find. Invest in a few rolls of boxsealing tape, at less than half the cost of book tape, and save a few dollars on your clerical supplies budget.

Marketing Your Sale Table

If you run a sale table in your library, remember a basic principle of retail marketing: a display that stays up too long is no longer a display, but a fixture, and nobody notices a fixture. Make sure you rotate stock and change your sale table regularly to keep patrons browsing it. Key it to your checkout period. If you circulate items for two or three weeks, you should display new sale items approximately every two or three weeks, so people returning regularly will see new items each time they visit. At one library, they mark the edge of the pages of sale books with colored markers, so they can tell which ones have been on the table longer than two months and discard them in favor of new selections.

References

1. IRS, Charitible Contributions: Substantiation and Disclosure Requirements, www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p1771.pdf (accessed Mar. 3, 2010): 3.
2. IRS, Determining the Value of Donated Property, www.irs.gov/publications/p561/index.html (accessed Mar. 3, 2010).

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