State of the State Rebecca L. Hamilton State Librarian Louisiana Library Association Annual Conference March 28-30, 2006

In the past year... My first day was July 5, days later the greatest natural disaster in Louisiana’s history took place Louisiana’s libraries faced the worst circumstances in the State’s history At our worst 121 of 339 libraries were closed

At the State Library Within 5 hours of reopening after Hurricane Katrina, we had a section on our webpage with disaster recovery information and news about affected libraries Made contact with public library administrators in affected areas and began to assess damage Organized acceptance and distribution of donated PC’s to public libraries Accepted monetary donations for hurricane affected public libraries via the LLF--$70,000 to date

At the State Library Canceled Administrative Conference Canceled 2005 book festival Executive order enacted and still in effect Worked with Gates, ALC, private donors, and vendors to secure donations of databases, kiosks, temporary buildings and staffing (still underway)

At the State Library Established back up Internet for libraries Hosted NOPL and web servers until they were ready to take over operations Solicited vendor discounts for affected libraries Worked with the Lt. Governor’s office and ALA over FEMA issues and to have libraries listed as essential services Worked with Mississippi and Alabama to request special E-rate funding from the FCC to restore networks

At the State Library Worked with OLG to draft a congressional appropriation request for 22 million dollars Went to Washington to meet with leaders and show them the devastation Met with Gates, SOLINET, private donors in BR and Atlanta to create a recovery plan Monitored 2 extraordinary special legislative sessions

The Public Libraries Became front line responders Stayed open holidays, weekends and nights providing critical service to evacuees Provided not only critical library service but food, shelter, and moral support Dealt with FEMA, insurance companies and local government issues Expanded their rules to ensure all of our citizens could receive library service no matter how far away from home

Continued.. Showed the state (and the world) that libraries are an essential good Demonstrated that libraries have something that money can’t buy—trust and good will Trailblazers held the Administrative Conference at Lincoln Parish Library in their brand new facility

What we all learned from “Katrina/Rita” People need libraries (including FEMA and public officials) Libraries make people feel safe Our existence is fragile We are leaders in our communities and we have proven ourselves invaluable We should leverage this value to gain funding and to be recognized by FEMA as an “essential service” We have the will and strength to rebuild

What we at the State Library Learned Our budget is never safe State Aid is never a done deal. In light of statewide budget cuts, it will now more than ever require a fight to justify its need Budgeting for Outcomes is the way of the future Priorities must be set in a time of financial crisis and some traditional services may have to be adjusted or eliminated We have to build on our traditional services and values to reach new audiences

State of the State Library of Louisiana Our budget is entering the regular session facing a possible cut between 14% and 25% Majority of cuts will be felt on operational side of SLL and we may face some layoffs I met with legislators and fought for $1.5 Million in state aid and am fighting for an additional $1.5 Million. Along with our constituents, I am fighting to restore our budget as much as possible We are partnering with LLA Legislative Committee to facilitate a statewide multi-type virtual library.

Cont’d We must look closely at our ILL system & review alternatives—does NOT mean we are changing We have to get as much value as we can for every penny we spend and justify our budget items. We are competing for public dollars and have to show ROI to continue at our existing level— although we also have an opportunity to increase our funding through the BFO process

Continued We want to leverage our resources through expanded training that will empower you and enable you to train your own staff and to partner with your neighbors to train their staff

What do we need from you? We need you to answer these questions: –What more can we do for you? –What can we do better? –What do we do that you do not need us to do any longer? Or what should we stop doing? Grade our services, response time, our professionalism Share your vision with us so that together we can think strategically and shape the future of our libraries Give us feedback on our basic common goals.

Our Strategic Plan Goals

Goal 1: Provide access to and preserve Louisiana heritage. Enhance and expand the Louisiana collection Present Book Festival and LRYC program Expand the Book Festival

Goal 2: Expand Services Promote statewide databases as true virtual library Continue to provide interlibrary loan and delivery services; review current vendor functionality Review all existing services for opportunities to streamline and enhance Best use of resources

Goal 3: Aggressive program of marketing and outreach We must publicize what we do now more then ever –Web pages –Media outlets –Make the most of marketing opportunities

Goal 4: Foster Ongoing Professional Development of Public Library Staff Offer relevant and timely workshops throughout the state Partner with other CE agencies to bring more training to LA libraries Empower public libraries to serve the needs of their communities through pro-active consulting, training and e-publications. Offer online training for public library staff

Goal 5: Serve the needs of special populations Partner with early childhood organizations to improve emergent literacy statewide –Offer collection development support –Pilot emergent literacy programs statewide –Training to support core competencies –Training tools and manuals to support this Continue leadership role of SBPH Continue SRP, LYRC and Teen Reading programs

Goal 6: SLL will remain relevant and energetic Survey public libraries to assess satisfaction with SLL services Continue to review internal procedures and practices. Continue to seek additional funding opportunities

What’s ahead ? Rebuilding libraries, their networks and collections –Monetary donations –Materials –Equipment –Databases –Bookmobiles, temporary buildings, staff Working around mid-year budget cuts and working with CRT/DOA to maintain current level of funding

Continued Work with colleagues in Miss., Ala. & Fla. as well as SOLINET on a recovery plan Taking a leadership role in expanding and defining the digital library Thinking strategically and leveraging our assets to get the most ROI Securing more State Aid dollars to bring total to $3 Million

Continued Using a collaborative model to securing funding for SLL and public libraries for early reading success –Strengthen our position in early childhood development All of us must must become better trained in early childhood development 88% of children deficient in word recognition skills in the 1 st grade were poor readers in 4 th grade We need to continue to build partnerships between school, public, special and academic libraries as well as the State Library, DOE, and DSS Build on traditional services but reach out to new audiences and try new methods

Continued Work with FEMA so that libraries are considered essential services and are treated as such during a disaster.

Wrap Up The Office of the State Library and Public Libraries in Louisiana are critical to the rebirth of our State. We must work together, think strategically, be pro-active, and be visionary.