Monthly Archives: February 2012

Cheryl Dobbs
Director of Greenwood Public Library
cdobbs@greenwoodlibrary.us

As a part of our Support GPL campaign, we’ve asked for your stories – your experiences with our library. These stories have been incredibly valuable to us. On difficult days, they make us smile and remind us what we are fighting for. They allow us to share with those who may wish to support our library why we are worth their investment.  They are eye-witness accounts of the power of libraries to change lives. Let me share just one of those stories with you:

Anna’s Story

Growing up in Greenwood, Tuesday was library day. I was fortunate enough to have a stay home mom. She ran that household better than most CEOs of Fortunate 500 companies. I was allowed to check out 3 books every week. It was solely my responsibility to gather my books and return them. If I forgot a book, it came out of my Ms. Curl or Linder’s ice cream money afterwards. I rarely forgot a book! With my mother’s help, and GPL’s, I learned responsibility and that there are consequences to being irresponsible. Back then, we didn’t have the internet, XBox, or even cable. There was no Barnes & Noble. So you can imagine that the summer reading program was a pretty big deal. You committed to reading (I think) 10 books over the summer. My parents asked me every week about my progress. Nothing was better than getting my certificate as a Library Superstar when I finished. My parents and the GPL taught me about commitment, as well as how to work independently. Most importantly, my parents introduced me to the joy of losing yourself in a good book; GPL allowed me make that journey. Over 4 decades, I have lost myself in biographies, opened my mind to other cultures and religions, brushed up on the fascinating history of countries, companies, politics, philosophy, and everything in between; read the classics; explored spirituality; lost myself in fiction, such as magical worlds like Harry Potter, tales of time travel, sad stories reflecting the horror of war and violence, chick lit, mysteries, historical fiction and so much more. (“Oh the places you’ll go!”). Books simply make your world bigger. Thank you GPL. Now I am a VP in a Fortune 100 company, working far away from Greenwood. But somewhere inside of me is that little girl on the floor of GPL, so happy to have her mother reading her a book on Tuesday. What a gift I was given. Thomas Jefferson said, “I have often thought that nothing would do more extensive good at small expense than the establishment of a small circulating library in every county, to consist of a few well-chosen books, to be lent to the people of the country under regulations as would secure their safe return in due time.” I concur, Mr. Jefferson. Thanks GPL for more than words can say, but most of all, for the memories.

Anna is not the first patron to write their library story for us from out of state. Donations have come in from across the country from patrons who have heard about our struggles. These are the stories that began in Greenwood and are still tethered here. These stories give you a glimpse of why patrons are so passionate about supporting the Greenwood Public Library. We are not merely a warehouse of books or even a repository of knowledge. Rather we are an interactive portal allowing exploration, creative play, and investigation. The library changes, enriches, and empowers lives.

Today, in the end, was another long day in our recovery. Progress was made, and more will have to be made tomorrow. But as I got up to clear off my desk this evening before heading home, Liz from Patron Services came up to my office with a donation in her hand. A patron had just donated $1000. Every time this happens, and it happens frequently, we are honored and humbled. Liz went back downstairs, but before I could finish gathering my things, she was back with another check in her hand. A $200 donation. I had already signed a dozen donation thank you letters today, and the support just kept coming.  I know there are library stories behind each gift.

I have to say that transparency is a scary thing. How will people react? Will they be so disillusioned that they will write us off? Maybe some have done so, but the most common response has been overwhelming support. That support produces in us a determination to succeed, to honor these patrons – their history with us, their stories, and their gifts. We want the next generation of Anna’s to be able to sprawl on the floor of the Children’s department, imagining and exploring the world they will one day be called upon to lead.

Cheryl Dobbs, Director of Greenwood Public Library
cdobbs@greenwoodlibrary.us

Last week we began communicating in earnest about an upcoming change to the way Greenwood Public Library issues library cards. In short, we are being forced to come into compliance with state law by issuing free cards only to residents of our taxing district. We had not previously enforced this law, instead offering free library cards to anyone living in Johnson County. This practice would not have been a problem had there been a reciprocal agreement with Johnson County Public Library, but there is no such agreement. During the many years this practice continued, anyone in Johnson County could use our library free of charge, whereas the residents of our taxing district had to pay to use the Johnson County Public Library system. Bringing our library into compliance on this issue has been challenging on all fronts. The most confusing part of this change is understanding the boundaries of our district. The borders of our taxing district are not equal to the city boundaries, the school district, or the service area of the Greenwood police and fire district. Over the years, Greenwood has grown through annexation, but our taxing district did not expand along with it. We have posted a map of our district in our lobby, and in addition you may go to the County Assessor’s website and type your address in to see if you are paying taxes to the County Library or to the Greenwood Public Library.

One misperception I have heard from several patrons is the idea that we are charging the non-resident fee as a way to get out of our financial troubles. Nothing could be further from the truth. This fee exists at all Indiana Public Libraries, and is meant to allow non-residents to qualify for services by paying an amount equal to what our residents pay through property taxes. The State is requiring us to comply and we will.  Whatever monies are collected for these cards will go into our operating fund. Our first concern is helping our patrons through this transition and getting our library into compliance with the law.

The conversations we have all been having about boundaries, taxing districts, and non-resident fees are difficult, but by far the most painful part of this transition is telling long time patrons that we are not their library anymore. It is awful, and it feels very personal. Some of these patrons have been coming here for decades. Their children know our storytime librarians by name, their art projects are on our walls, and they know right where to go for their favorite books. Some of these patrons found their last job with our help on the public access computers. Some of these patrons are our volunteers, our donors, and our friends.  We are heartbroken to enforce this law but determined to bring GPL into compliance with the law and make the hard decisions necessary to save it. We have a plan to carry us forward now, thanks to our financial analyst, and we have cut our budget back drastically to make recovery possible. We take full responsibility for the situation we find ourselves in, and are now making good decisions with expert advice. If you have questions, please ask me (cdobbs@greenwoodlibrary.us). I appreciate all of the patrons who have brought their questions (and sometimes even their anger) to me. Our patrons (all of them, resident and non-resident) deserve answers.  Excellent customer service and personal attention have always been what people expected of the Greenwood Public Library and we will weather this adversity with those values still firmly at the top. We intend to preserve this library, this community resource, and we intend to succeed. Thank you for continuing the conversation.

Cheryl Dobbs, Director of Greenwood Public Library
cdobbs@greenwoodlibrary.us

I looked out my office window today and saw a parking lot full of cars. Moms, dads, and kids spilled out of minivans, a business man took his brief case from his car, and a white haired gentleman held his wife’s arm as they walked toward the door. Inside, the library hummed with activity. People applied for jobs on our free public access computers, story times were getting started, and teens were encouraged to slow down as they took the stairs two at a time to be first in the teen room after school. There wasn’t anywhere I could stand in the library without seeing a good cross-section of the Greenwood community from my vantage point. This is our library, and while it may not look like it, it is a library in trouble.

You may have heard the news that the Greenwood Public Library is in serious financial peril. Although all libraries have been impacted by these hard economic times, the severity of the impact varies by community.  In our case, we will experience an almost $200,000 shortfall in tax revenues in 2012. This already difficult situation is complicated by the fact that we did not move fast enough to turn the ship when trouble was on the horizon. Action should have been taken years, not months, earlier.  In that sense we did not honor the public trust placed in us.

As the new Director of the Greenwood Public Library, I take this lapse on our part very seriously. When the severity of our financial issues became apparent, we made dramatic and difficult decisions. We laid off over 20% of our workforce. We reduced our hours of operation. It has been a nonstop, stressful, and complex problem to solve. One of the changes we are being required to make by the State Library involves restricting free access to residents of our taxing district. We are determined to run our library transparently and in full compliance with State Library regulations and committed to earning back the trust of our community. We know we are fighting for nothing less than the survival of an institution that has served our community for 95 years. It is an institution that has become more relevant, not less, over nearly a century of service.

As word got out to our community about the threat to the library, patrons were angry. How could this happen? How did we get to this point? What do we do now? They showed up at board meetings and voiced their frustration. They wrote letters and asked us question after question. We answered each one, and continue that conversation today. Anger has now turned to determination and support. They can’t imagine their community without the library.  It is the place they found their last job, studied for school, watched their child learn to read, learned how to use their Nook, or mastered spreadsheets. We are a unique community resource. We level the playing field for those needing access to the level of information many of us take for granted.

In the midst of the attention and scrutiny of the media, I hope the following will help you see why we are hopeful in spite of our difficult circumstances:

• A 13 year old teen brought in his savings, and convinced his grandparents and aunt to donate their changes jars as well . . . $117.
• A local community group used facebook to promote a “cash mob” at the library and we saw a steady stream of individual donors that day, just wanting to help.
• A woman and her elderly father came in, each with $50 checks and words of support.

• Four of the twelve employees who were laid off from the library now volunteer for us. One even recently brought in a donation.

Our problem is a large one, and we will fix it. Donations from our community will be used to purchase books, eBooks, DVDs, and other materials for our patrons. But the goodwill and support of our community will do even more. It is their tax dollars we steward and their gifts we are honored by, but it is their faith in us that will preserve our services for their children and grandchildren.