“Hey Cheryl, when is the library going to restore hours?”
It is a question I hear all the time from patrons, and it is a reasonable question. Our patrons heard all about our crisis and what our immediate changes were, but what is this recovery going to look like as we go forward?
The short answer is that we will not be restoring hours in the near future, even though that’s a hard line to hold. This isn’t the first time we have reduced our staff and shortened our operating hours, but in the past we have always restored hours after a matter of months and slowly resumed old spending patterns. This time, however, our goal is not to get back to where we were before the crisis. Our goal is to build a brand new GPL that is transparent, stable, and sustainable – ready for what future may bring.
At this point in our recovery, we are barely getting our sea legs. The storm may have passed, but now we know that more storms will certainly come. It would be irresponsible to bank on clear sailing from here on out. Even the experts can’t predict exactly what our funding will be in the coming years, but the forecast isn’t good. Local, state, and national trends and decisions impact our budget and keep us from realizing the kind of increases that might lessen our financial woes. And so we prepare as though another storm is coming and make our ship as tight and seaworthy as it can be. We reduce spending. We save. We fundraise. We build relationships. We ask for help and admit when we need it.
Our recovery plan, which has been newly updated on our website, is a five year plan. It is not light reading, but it does reveal how the changes we have made this year have already begun to chart a different course for us. In five years, if we keep to this course, we will find ourselves where we need to be.
The long haul of recovery is almost worse than the crisis because it is harder to sustain. In spite of the struggles we have had, I honestly think I am one of the most fortunate library directors in the State of Indiana, because my staff is as determined as I am to see GPL succeed – no matter what. They work hard. They don’t complain. They go above and beyond. They are the engine that keeps us moving.
We are so pleased to have been able to keep most of our services and programming intact thanks to our staff, the Friends’ fundraising, and our wonderful volunteers who help us multiply our efforts. We are determined, and not discouraged. We are already seeing the result of our hard work and the commitment of our community.
I love it when a (recovery) plan comes together.