It may be March, but it’s never too early to start planning for the holidays! Schlow Centre Region Library in State College, Pa. has partnered with the Downtown State College business organization for more than 20 years to provide a holiday event that is now a second-generation tradition for local families. Nearly 2,100 children and adults attended our 2012 “Polar Express” event, held in the library neighborhood for two consecutive weekends in December.
When I began serving as Director of the J. Lewis Crozer Library five years ago, I quickly learned that unless the library secured a steady funding stream, it would eventually cease to exist. The library had traditional sources of funding through the local contributions, state support and fundraising efforts; however, the main source for funding library operations came from a rapidly dwindling endowment.
Library directors will tell you their Board of Trustees or Board of Directors can be a great source of satisfaction and support or a hotbed of turmoil and frustration. If you have worked with library boards long enough, you are bound to have encountered the good, the bad and the ugly.
Today marks the one year anniversary of the famous vote to save Troy Public Library in Troy, Mich. The city almost lost its library last year, until library supporters launched an attention-getting reverse-psychology campaign to remind residents why they still need books! YES! Magazine recently featured this video, which tells the story of the book burning campaign.
The premise appears simple: libraries want to hire a consultant with the expertise their organization needs, and consultants seek interesting projects with clients that are a good fit in terms of work style and capabilities. Writing a RFP is hard work. Writing a proposal is hard work. Both require time and effort and are generally viewed with some apprehension. Having responded to literally hundreds (perhaps even a thousand!) of RFPs, I can attest: the better the RFP, the better the proposal! Here are a few tips from the consultant’s side of the desk that may help your library get the desired result.
While public libraries nationwide work to make their collections more accessible and physical spaces up-to-date, a proposed renovation of the New York Public Library’s flagship branch has sent some New Yorkers into heated debate.
You’ve just been told to include Twitter in your company or organization’s social media strategy. Facebook has been hard enough to master. However will you learn the ropes of the Twitterverse? There’s no need to pick up Twitter for Dummies just yet. While getting used to this platform, start by keeping a few things in mind.
