[Publib] Budget cuts - hours vs. materials

[Susan Vittitow]

One option might be to use the NCES compare public libraries tool to find a few libraries comparable to yours and see what their trends have been - http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/libraries/compare/ . Or, check your state library stats and look for trends. Your state data coordinator may be able to offer some help. 

Just a thought, but it's been my impression (anecdotally) that libraries sometimes have maybe too much of a "make do" attitude. Cuts to staff raises and collections are much less visible to the library-going public than cutting hours. So libraries make do and make do and make do and the public thinks all is OK funding-wise, because the doors are open. Of course, they also think the library has lousy service and crabby employees and never has the books they want, but I suspect they'd blame poor management instead of poor funding for those outcomes, whereas I think the hours-funding link may be stronger. No research to back this one up, just my opinion and just a hunch. 



Susan Vittitow, Statistics Librarian
Library Development Office
Wyoming State Library
516 S. Greeley Hwy,
Cheyenne WY 82002
Phone: 307-777-5915
Fax: 307/777-6289
svitti at state.wy.us


>>> "Tiar, Marc" <MTiar at washoecounty.us> 8/7/2008 12:35 PM >>>
Hello out there,

 

I'm a new subscriber to the list, having just joined to post this
question (although I was a subscriber many years ago).  In these tough
economic times, we're having to make some difficult choices.  We are
trying to find any data, anecdotal or otherwise, to support or refute a
decision one way or another.   We have been searching the literature but
not doing too well - it's sort of a tough concept to put into search
terms, due both to such common words and the many synonyms of them that
appear in the journals. 

 

Put briefly, is it better to cut hours/days of operation or
acquisitions?

 

Or, the way it was phrased to us to look into:

 

Washoe County Library has been asked to consider cutting deeply into its
Library Materials budget in order to fill personnel vacancies, which
might allow some library branches to expand public hours. If you cut
deeply into your materials budget, did your circulation and/or visitor
statistics decrease?  By maintaining or increasing public hours, despite
cutting your materials budget, did your circulation and/or visitor
statistics increase?

 

Many thanks for any information you can share.

 

Marc Tiar

Washoe County Library