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.