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March 19, 2009

In tight times, N.J. libraries market themselves

March 19, 2009
By Cynthia Henry

Inquirer Staff Writer

New Jersey librarians are learning to tell their own story.

They're compiling testimonials and statistics they say will "reinvent people's perceptions of what libraries are - not just someplace to house books," said Helen Snowden, children's librarian at the Gloucester Township branch of the Camden County system.

The New Jersey Library Association, in conjunction with the State Library in Trenton, is teaching libraries to market their services, which these days include unemployment assistance, small-business development, tax filing, and early-childhood education.

"Marketing is a new job for us," said Carolyn Wood, West Deptford adult-services librarian.

Library associations need savvy lobbyists to fight impending budget cuts, leaders say. Gov. Corzine's proposed 2010 budget calls for cutting library aid for the second time in two years - a cumulative 18 percent since 2008, said Pat Tumulty, executive director of the New Jersey Library Association.

On Feb. 19, the association took a daily-use "snapshot" of 250 member libraries. Now the State Library's "Tell Me Your Story" project is creating an online journal of how patrons use libraries.

"When people ask me the dreaded question, 'Do people still go to libraries?' I'm able to say, 'On this day, 161,367 walked through the doors,' " said Heidi Cramer, association president and cochair of Snapshot Day.

Intuitively, libraries know what they do, Cramer said. But the one-day survey provided concrete evidence: 156,793 books and movies borrowed, 18,537 questions asked, 27,742 computer sign-ons, 1,241 programs offered.

"It's just an easier way to explain what we do to people, whether it's to our patrons or politicians," Cramer said. "It was a great morale booster."

On Snapshot Day in West Deptford, frequent patron Anne Marie Smith waited with a half-dozen others for free tax advice. She planned to return that evening for an Abraham Lincoln lecture.

Smith has been going to her town's library since 1961, when she first took her children to a story time. Now she stops in to type up notes on the computers for the town's Senior Club.

She also attends programs at the county library in Mullica Hill.

Could she imagine a day without a library, the premise of Snapshot Day? "Oh, no," she said. "They have a big following here."

Especially since the economy turned sour. "Hard times are good times for libraries," said Joseph Galbraith, director of the Moorestown library, where circulation grew more than 26 percent last year, largely in adult books but also in DVDs.

Average circulation, visitation, computer use, and programs increased by up to 29 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008 over the same period in 2007, according to a State Library survey of 88 libraries. Some jumps were huge, such as a 350 percent increase in computer use in Millville, Cumberland County, and a 103 percent jump in borrowing in Delanco.

West Deptford youth librarian Diane Cann has observed parents working on resumes and job applications while their children attend story time. Foreseeing another stay-at-home summer, parents already are inquiring about library programs, she said.

Gloucester Township parents who can no longer afford preschool use library programs to prepare their children for kindergarten, Snowden said.

Libraries depend on state aid to keep the lights on and buy materials, but also to pay for joint purchasing, interlibrary loans, electronic databases, and small-business initiatives, Tumulty said.

"Library usage that was already going up is now skyrocketing," State Librarian Norma Blake said. "At the same time, the budget isn't there. Libraries can't help in the recovery if they don't have the money."

Initial budget figures suggest that New Jersey's per-capita state aid will be down 10 percent in fiscal 2010, after an 8 percent cut last year, Blake said. The New Jersey Knowledge Initiative, which helps libraries give small businesses free advice, faces a 47 percent cut over fiscal 2009.

"We're all trying to do more with less, but there comes a point you can only do so much," Blake said.

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Contact staff writer Cynthia Henry at 856-779-3970 or chenry@phillynews.com.

Posted by tumulty at March 19, 2009 6:59 AM

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