Library closures in Massachusetts, demands for state funding of libraries in Vermont, and inclusion of libraries in Maine’s Creative Economy movement—these are but a few of the current funding trends in New England that have consequences for local and statewide library advocacy. None of these trends is unique to their state or region, but each has implications for library advocates and activists. Together, they demonstrate that advocacy must evolve in relation to new trends, and advocates must be informed at all times about new local and state developments with consequences for library funding.

In this story:
Vermont
Massachusetts
Maine

Context

New England has traditionally led the way in the development and funding of America’s public libraries. The Petersborough Public Library in New Hampshire was the first in the country to provide free library services for all, starting in 1833. The Boston Public Library, established in 1848, was the first publicly supported municipal library in America. It was also the first library to institute a system of branch libraries (1870) and the first to establish a space specifically designed for children (1895). Massachusetts was one of the first states to provide state support for local libraries. Today, through its Board of Library Commissioners, the state provides one of the nation’s models for capital construction and local funding.

From funding and services to architecture and e-access, New England’s libraries and library systems have set the national pace for nearly two hundred years. At the same time, libraries have always anchored the ubiquitous Village Green, providing both a symbol and a cornerstone for public life.

In both numbers and quality, the New England library tradition continues today. New Hampshire, Vermont and Massachusetts have the highest number of libraries per capita in the country. Libraries across the region provide benchmark facilities, programs, new technologies and virtual services. And, they continue to evolve. From the Wilton Library in Maine, which has recently introduced Family Place Libraries programming for parents and caregivers of very young children, to the Danbury Library in Connecticut, which is working with the local business community to provide classes and programs for recent Portuguese immigrants, public libraries are continuously introducing new services, new technologies, and new materials for their rapidly changing constituencies.

Challenges

Despite their record of exemplary service, no library and no group of libraries—even in New England—is without challenges or problems. There are severe disparities between rural and suburban library services, between facilities in low-income communities and wealthier communities, between levels of state support, and between the capacities of small independent libraries and large urban systems to provide access to new media, online homework help and 24/7 reference help. These disparities are exacerbated by numerous new opportunities and challenges:

• Rural libraries in New Hampshire and Maine are facing new demands for varied services from second-home owners and retirees.
• Suburban libraries are becoming the new commons, providing residents with neutral, non-commercial space in which to meet, explore ideas, learn, and exchange social and civic information.
• Libraries throughout the six states are providing after-school programs for young people; emergent literacy and parenting information for families of young children; and health information for residents of all ages.
• Urban libraries in Connecticut, especially Bridgeport, Waterbury, Danbury and Hartford, are serving as gateways for newcomers, involving bilingual services, literacy classes, and assistance with local and government information.
• All libraries, no matter the size or locations, are trying to meet growing expectations for public access computers, computer-based reference assistance, and access to varied learning software and specialized databases

In the face of these demands, funding trends take on new importance. Are current levels of public support adequate to realize libraries’ potential to meet future information and learning needs? How can libraries continue to provide critical traditional services while also developing and funding new digital services? What funding infrastructure and what kinds of advocacy are needed for 21st century public libraries to achieve that infrastructure? What new funding opportunities could be explored?

Americans for Libraries Council (ALC) has identified several trends in three of the six New England states that illuminate funding issues and opportunities. In future regional spotlights, Act for Libraries will explore other regions and other issues.

State by State

Vermont: Advocating for State Aid

The Vermont Library Association’s (VLA) Government Relations Committee is leading a movement by the state’s librarians to gain legislative approval for appropriating state funds on an annual basis for public libraries. The Vermont Library State Funding Initiative is the result of many years of discussion and study. In the fall of 2006, VLA announced their plan to request funding in the next state budget. According to VLA “State funding for our libraries is long overdue and the time has come to make it a reality.”

Vermont is one of only six states in the nation that does not appropriate state funds for public libraries.

The Vermont Library State Funding Initiative calls for a line item in the state budget of $1.6 million for public libraries. Distribution of the funds would be determined by the State Administrative Rules process.

To ensure equity the Initiative calls for state fund to be distributed to all 139 libraries that meet Vermont Public Library Standards, in an amount equal to 10% of a library’s operating budget ($1,500 minimum). VLA’s Government Relations Committee felt this would be a “fair way to support all public libraries and improve library service for every Vermonter.”

The timing of the Funding Initiative reflects the funding challenges faced by Vermont’s public libraries as they struggle to meet new expectations for spaces, collections and services. Across the state, from the Cobleigh Library, which serves a large rural area of the “Northern Kingdom,” to more urban libraries on the southern edge of the state, local funding has remained relatively stable or even decreased while usage has grown. With the attraction of educational and cultural activities, books and other learning materials, and public access computers, all in friendly, accessible, and neutral public spaces, libraries are destinations for newcomers and longtime residents of all ages and backgrounds.

According to Martin Hahn, Executive Director of the Kellogg-Hubbard Library in Montpelier and a
member of the VLA Government Relations Committee, “libraries are ‘victims of their own success.’” His own library, which serves the state capital and has the second highest circulation in the state, was forced to close for two weeks in 2006 due to increasing operating expenses.

Organizers of the Vermont State Library Funding Initiative have begun a campaign to build support by reaching out to constituencies throughout the state. They are seeking the assistance of trustees, town officials, patrons, Friends and other librarians, asking them to contact their legislators to request for their support for the line item.

Massachusetts: Threats of Library Closures

Library advocates and library officials in Massachusetts are concerned about a series of negative votes for library budgets and library expansion. These votes have serious consequences and in several cases have led to closures that may or may not be permanent. The most serious consequence of a reduced budget is the loss of state funding according to the state’s Municipal Municipal Appropriation Requirement. Without full local funding or any state funding, some of the libraries are facing closure. The two most recent local funding problems are in the towns of Medway and Randolph.

• In 2005, voters in Medway approved $284,726 for a library but rejected a motion that would have used $80,000 in stabilization money to fully fund it. Subsequently, an override vote was defeated. At a subsequent Town Meeting, residents voted to approve a greatly reduced library budget that will keep the library open for only 20 hours per week. Local trustees are still working with the town to see if additional funding can be found to increase its hours so that its certification will not be in jeopardy.
  
• The Turner Free Library in Randolph has cut its services to the point that it is violating the state’s Board of Library Commissioners policy and has lost state certification.

There are other instances of negative outcomes for library funding initiatives in the state:

• In November 2005, Wilmington residents rejected an $8.2-million addition to the Wilbraham Public Library. As a result, the town was no longer eligible to accept a $2.6-million grant from the state board of library commissioners. Although the state offered a six-month extension to approve funding for the project, local library trustees felt that the time was not right to pursue the project. They voted in January 2006 to forgo the grant and cancel the project.
• By a margin of 3 to 1, Palmer voters recently rejected an 18-year debt exclusion for the town’s $2.7-million cost of a $5.9-million library project.

More positively, the Hampden Public Library, which was closed for 12 months after voters failed to approve an override to keep it open, was re-opened in July 2006. A group of resident advocates was responsible for this turnaround.

At a time when many Massachusetts public libraries are flourishing, with strong local support, state support and enhancements provided by private funding, the inability of some communities to sustain minimal local budgets or qualify for state funding is a serious trend. Board of Library Commissioner Edward Bertorelli has suggested that the Board and Library Commission staff reach out to financially struggling libraries to see if a meeting with town officials would be beneficial in helping directors and library trustees in presenting the consequences of their financial decisions.

Maine: Libraries Part of Creative Economic Agenda

Maine libraries stand to benefit from inclusion in a state level policy and funding agenda that links cultural and economic development. Policymakers, economic development experts, leaders of cultural organizations and library leaders are working together to raise awareness of the role of creative individuals and cultural organizations in local economies and statewide. Libraries are recognized as key components of the state’s cultural life in The Creative Economy in Maine: Measurement and Analysis, a 2004 report prepared by the New England Foundation for the Arts and the Maine Arts Commission. The report cites the Bangor Public Library is one of the cultural attractions that are economic assets in the city’s downtown.

Maine’s Creative Economy efforts are linked to a larger national movement, spearheaded in some states by arts councils and in other states by economic development agencies. This movement uses a broad definition of culture that includes libraries, museums, historical agencies, theatres, arts organizations, and other agencies that foster access to the arts and humanities. The movement recognizes the economic and social impacts of these organizations and the individuals that animate them not only for their roles in promoting tourism but also for their contributions to the social and economic infrastructure that attracts or retains business and residents. Vermont is another New England state in which there is considerable momentum behind the concept of culture as an economic asset.

The Creative Economy movement in Maine may have positive budgetary consequences. A bond initiative to “Revitalize Downtown areas, Support Cultural Tourism, and Expand Maine’s Creative Economy” is pending in the legislature. Another bill pending, “An Act To Support the New Century Community Program”, calls for funds to strengthen local cultural resources, provide educational services beyond the reach of the standard educational system; and preserve both the State’s material culture and its built environment through grants for preservation and restoration.

The Creative Economy movement in Maine and elsewhere may have other positive consequences, in particular the positioning of libraries as fundamental components of the economic life of a city of state. This new positioning for libraries can support advocacy in terms of strategic communications and new opportunities for public investment.

Implications for Library Advocates

While each of the three situations outlined above is state-specific, the trends are also visible in other New England states and, indeed, in other regions of the country. They suggest that funding situations can change dramatically even in the most historically bound area of the country. And, they each suggest the need for new engagement on the part of library advocates.

• In Vermont, given the importance of state funding to extend local budgets, a statewide citizens movement might be mobilized and the library cause elevated to a new level of importance. The possibility for state support could be exponentially increased by such an effort, providing an important complement to advocacy by professional librarians. It is far harder for state legislators to ignore or displease large groups of constituents than it is for them to reject the demands of a group of professionals.
• In Maine, the Creative Economy initiative has opened up exciting opportunities for libraries to gain new visibility and new funding through linkage with downtown revitalization projects and cultural asset development. The outcome of this new positioning will undoubtedly be a new attitude about libraries on the part of policymakers and community planners. Indeed, these same individuals may themselves become library advocates as they learn about the library’s many roles in economic and cultural development. Advocates should take part in this movement as a strategy for building visibility, allies and support.
• In Massachusetts, a statewide communications campaign could help to communicate the library’s value to towns and the state. However, given the importance of sustaining local funding, intensive local communications and education are required as well. This might be accomplished through cooperation among local library advocates, across town lines. Advocates who have been successful in making the case for library services and support in some communities could assist peers in others where libraries are taken for granted and funding is threatened. There is also a need for new kinds of advocacy, including partnerships and strategic communications. Advocates must communicate the consequences of local funding cutbacks and the contributions of local libraries for education, civic life and economic development.
  

In considering the library issues in each of the states discussed and the implications for new approaches to library advocacy, it is important to acknowledge that each state already has a base of citizen supporters. Beyond these individuals and groups there are local advisory groups, teen councils, leaders of partner organizations and unaffiliated library advocates. The sheer number and variety of current advocates makes it hard to understand why libraries are not at the top of all policymakers’ agendas.

Each of the six New England states has an opportunity to re-assess its advocacy base and to consider ways to activate that base more effective, not only to overcome current funding challenges but, more importantly, to seize new opportunities for positioning and support.