The European Trade Union Education Network

How public libraries can pass the budget cuts through cultural associations, educational and business

By Thomas Badgett

 

 

 

In the current difficult economic climate, the libraries of all sizes and types face budget cuts, often very serious. At the same time the need and demand for library services at sea. To minimize cuts libraries need to leverage their strengths and promote the value of giving those who use them. They have to inform the public that are available and promote what they offer in terms of services and entertainment options paid. As the public becomes more aware of libraries and what they offer, can come to their aid and the demand for more funds by politicians and bureaucrats.

 

During the economic downturn, people cut wasteful spending and try to evaluate what they spend the money. There is a better value, free. Public libraries provide services and materials for users that no competitor can beat, because they are usually free. Families seeking activities and places you can go to interact, have fun and spend quality time together. Libraries provide all this plus the educational value, whether self-help, help with homework, choice of learning for students for life, or aid. In addition, libraries can preserve the identity of a community by recording oral histories, artifacts, housing, and staging programs to inform users of the history and culture of their community, how it developed. Libraries must play to their strengths as educational and cultural institutions, including the promotion of its value as centers of free society and family.

 

Ways in which libraries can promote themselves as centers for families, including family reunion of people advertising such as bowling, cinemas, shops stack of ice, and dining establishments. Libraries can set up booths self promotion at special events such as sports (football and baseball), festivals (wine, music, handicrafts), concerts (classical, country, jazz, rock), and baseball cards displays of toys. Perhaps the IMLS or ALA is sponsoring a NASCAR team? To call the attention of young readers in a library could sponsor shows the comic in one of its meeting rooms or have a stall / booth at a comic convention. Cooperation with local bookstores and comic shops or kiosks would be another way to advertise library services. The library can advertise some companies in its lobby and perhaps signs donated by other companies (like stadiums are doing.) Even the bookstores and libraries can direct users to each other in a sense of collaboration, as both have a vested interest in the printed word. Libraries can also establish relationships with the hobby and craft stores and craft fairs sponsored model or sample kit in your community. In addition, the library could build a dialogue with local community members who are artisans and collectors model or any other collector. Card games may be sponsored in the library – a cribbage tournament, for example – or a poker tournament (without playing). There are many ways for libraries to build relationships and get your message to the public through the Internet.

Capacity planning and management of the librarians are more important than ever for less money for staff resulting in fewer man-hours for the service. Library hours of operation should be based on peak demand in the library community and the traditional banking hours. This is particularly critical if the library wants to promote itself as a family or a community center. Libraries should be open, when families can use, not necessarily when it is more convenient for staff to be there. There may be faster way to get that libraries are stuck in the late hours of Monday to Friday banker traditional style as before – unless a tax collection is created. Weekend can be a time of peak demand in some communities and library staff will have to adapt or face extinction in their careers. In the short term at least, some non-traditional knowledge (such as planning, in order to meet demand) is expected to gain further importance. The libraries continue to evolve new skills and further weakening of services can occur in public libraries. For example, reference may play a minor role and responsibilities of customer service will be much more in demand. Each library, now more than ever, should focus on services and materials are needed to serve its users.

 

The IMLS, whose mission is to create strong libraries and museums that connect people to information and ideas, is dedicated to serving a nation of learners. In addition to the NLG program, an international strategic partnership initiative is in place to link the educational and cultural institutions worldwide. NLG program fosters collaboration among educational and cultural institutions in various projects, including digitization projects, in order for them to reach a wider range of users and the ease of access for these users. Contributions are short term and long term, rotating exhibits ranging from between institutions at various states of Colorado scanning software. Cultural and educational institutions, libraries, museums, archives and historical societies are well adapted through partnerships IMLS grants. However, schools and private sector companies are also potential partners, and cultural and educational network expands.

 

One of the main goals of IMLS is to preserve the culture, whether local, regional, national or international in nature. Through the digitization and dissemination of information on this can be achieved. Partnerships between cultural and educational institutions can help ensure their survival through this recession, the longest in postwar history. Association must provide not only more users, which can eliminate duplication of positions and lead to the rationalization of staff in these institutions, placing them in an advantageous position for growth when the economy recovers. Collaborative projects that libraries and museums to explore issues and common challenges, build collaborative networks, sharing information and best practices, and develop their institutions.

 

Museums are now active members of the libraries, archives, historical societies, and others in the construction of digital libraries in order to highlight their role as educational institutions. Museums have had a long and productive relationship with the university and special libraries and are now working more often with public libraries. Two important considerations for the production of digital resources is a good grade (under Library) and the precise description wise according to the standard case (Force Museum). a wider audience more variety can be achieved through collaboration and digitization, because the institutions complement each other. In addition, the wear on parts of the museum’s collection can be reduced once digital reproductions are created for use anywhere. Library Web sites must be interactive and participatory, a museum for many websites. This interactive / participatory model lends itself very well to learn the freedom of choice, representing half of all learning (formal after school and work). Free choice of individual learning is the entry point as part of learning. The only user decide which method of participation, learning style, learning site and content they wish to participate in.

 

museum library associations can also work with educators. In Illinois, the Illinois Library Association (ILA) said that school visits to museums and libraries have been increasing, once initiated collaborative projects. School teachers using museums and library resources as well. Forms educators and museum staff can work together is through professional development workshops and training courses in museums. In addition, students can create their own museums in schools. Museums and museum websites are excellent resources for teachers to use for the curriculum. NC ECHO is the creation of an online curriculum for K-12 educators in North Carolina.

 

In addition to educators, government can play a role in the library-museum partnership. The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) is an agency within the executive branch tasked with funding from the collaboration between cultural institutions like libraries and museums. Libraries have been carried out by the Federal Education Department budget for fiscal year 1998 and placed under the umbrella of the IMLS. According to Diane Frankel, director of IMLS in 1997, museums are beginning to understand that they need to serve a more diverse audience – while librarians have always understood. Frankel describes the libraries and museums as anchors of the community “and social places to spend time together as well as educational institutions. These features make them natural partners and entities IMLS facilitate greater collaboration and partnerships with funding agreement grant from the National Leadership Grant (NLG) program.

 

Dilevko criticizes some collaborative efforts museum exhibits the collection, which he described as “edutainment” as museum pieces unpublished many libraries have nothing to do with the library or the community. However, we recommend a hybrid library-museum that can be based on one of the two models. The first model is the cabinet of curiosity – where books and articles are located to enhance research and learning. This model is often found in university libraries. The second model is popular in public library collections, using specific sets of objects popular “design objects for interconnectivity between libraries increase, information and community.

 

Originally a phenomenon of private collectors, the cabinet of curiosities of the screen (or Cabinet) of rare and curious from the sale and carried through museum objects – can have an impact on learning. These artifacts, along with books from the library to create an interdisciplinary environment to be explored by the user. The model uses the objects of popular collections that are affordable and attractive to most people, in order to connect with an audience of users. Corporate sponsorship can play a role in mitigating the educational functions of museums and entertainment, raising concerns regarding control over the content of the presentations and exhibitions (both at the museum or a member of the library). Museums seem to emphasize a change in “real objects” to “authentic experiences” in order to attract more users to experience the museum. This could lead to a problem that the museum provides facilities and services that do not correspond to the museum’s collection. Libraries can fall into the same trap holds exhibitions in museums and exhibitions that have nothing to do with the library community or collection.

 

Dilevko and Gottlieb argue that libraries should have a harder time asserting its importance to a community if they act and look like many other places – a clear hit in bookstores. They also said that the digital era has created the concept of re-establishing the museum as a physical space – a place where people gathered. Libraries and museums, they add, should avoid the situation where concepts based on the experience of use to bring people to the library-museum does not translate into meaningful experiences that meet the scope of its mandate. Libraries should make the distinction between the aim of attracting visitors and just to attract users of the library. Library of rare objects or lack impressive to attract people to them for study. Are partnering with museums, often in collaborative digitization projects for teaching. Guests traveling museum libraries – which can erode the importance of the own resources of the library community. Often, these programs have little to do with the permanent collection of the library. The creation of virtual libraries of conflict museum with the need to restore the library itself as a physical space and presence in the community. A Catch 22 situation where the library has expanded its electronic access to physical integrity and lose users. One solution is the development of their own exhibitions that combine objects and artifacts from the museum’s collection with the library staff.

 

Museums have recently begun to recognize what Dana practiced for nearly a century – the value of local collectors in relation to their communities. Some museums have a collector “under the residence and in England, which sponsored museums’ From the People” – group exhibition at a museum in a series of private collections ranging from pencil tire Pulp Fiction. popular collections models based on users of a library of a community can be integrated with the objects in the collection of the library that serves as a form of community awareness. An example might be a model for collection presents an exhibition based on his collection of plastic kits of aircraft of the Second World War and library books and magazines to add on aircraft and World War II his collection and possibly , sponsor a community building plastic model of competition the game (or program). The cabinet of curiosities popular collections model and the model can offer to attract people to an educational institution. The library-museum able to maintain control over how information is presented (without sponsorship). The hybrid library-museum is another method of these two cultural and partner with educational institutions as places where people gather.

 

According to McCook, libraries in the future, four main trends continue. First, they need to provide a sense of place – third place (not at home and not work) – where people gather. This is where a family is perceived as falls and also helps communities retain their character. Secondly, there will be a convergence of cultural institutions – Digitalization is the main manifestation of this trend at this time. One example is North Carolina ECHO. Third, the libraries follow the mandates of the overall results with a commitment to social justice. This is the struggle to provide equal access for all users. Finally, libraries must support the public sphere – to act as a shared public where citizens can meet and the interests and concerns. In this sense, the library can serve as a formal room, the informal city and the center of news, as in the commons of the city of New England in colonial times. Combined, these trends in lifelong learning.

 

If the past is renewed in 2009 IMLS’s library and museum partnerships or associations is likely to increase due to two factors. One is that it IMLS both types of institutions, together with the harsh reality of limited funds (both public and private). Those institutions that would normally be an island may be forced to find a partner / partners. In the future, one can expect to see more partners in partnerships, not just two, due to lack of funds and the advertising and public relations benefits. In addition, corporate sponsorships can be combined with subsidies and partnerships in a hybrid society. However, for this to work better public and private sector should be co-equal partners. IMLS research shows that libraries and museums working together can increase access to information in their communities and improve education. They may also attract new audiences and broaden the scope and integration of its programs. Libraries and museums share educational goals and the preservation of culture as a common bond. Like most collaborations and partnerships have taken place “rules of engagement” and protocols have been established between the two institutions to share their experience. Many staff members of both organizations have developed a dialog box through previous collaborative efforts. The possibility of future state and regional conferences to join the library and museum of leaders is most likely due to previous successful collaborations between these and other cultural institutions. This support base could be expanded to include educational organizations (schools) and the private sector (companies) and local government, state and national levels. Finally, the associations for the museum’s collection could be used to promote tourism in some areas of the nation and therefore benefit financially from their communities.

 

The fate of libraries and other cultural institutions are at the top and could be decided by how quickly adapt to an evolving technology, educational and cultural needs and perceptions. Librarians should no longer be passive and expect the powers that fund and are “doing the right thing.” They should promote aggressively in new ways with partners and other organizations and companies that share at least some common goals can be mutually beneficial for them. New library in the twenty-first century skills include technical skills, the ability to manage the planning issues and priorities, and shameless self-promotion, and the ability to mediate and negotiate deals / prices (negotiation). The ideal of the twentieth century library may be part techno-geek, bookworm hand, the used-car salesman, part entrepreneur, part teacher and part activist. It may be what is needed for libraries and librarians to survive in the XXII century.