In a scene from Alice in Wonderland, the White Rabbit waits nervously to testify before the Red Queen. Explaining that he has never given testimony before, the Rabbit asks for…
Abstract
In a scene from Alice in Wonderland, the White Rabbit waits nervously to testify before the Red Queen. Explaining that he has never given testimony before, the Rabbit asks for help in how to proceed. “It's simple,” replies the Red Queen. “Begin at the beginning. Go to the middle. Come to the end. Then stop!” The same kind of logic applies to library fund raising from the private sector.
Kent C. Boese and Page Brannon
In order to remain viable, the Fairfax County Public Library has re‐examined itself and changed its attitudes toward funding and fund‐raising. Stemming from serious cutbacks due…
Abstract
In order to remain viable, the Fairfax County Public Library has re‐examined itself and changed its attitudes toward funding and fund‐raising. Stemming from serious cutbacks due to the poor economy of the early 1990s, the Library changed the way it did business. The programs instituted have permitted the Library to provide better service, increase the Library’s importance to the County, and enhance the budget through public and corporate donations. One of these programs is a Library Foundation. Fairfax County Public Library is one of the few public library systems in the country that has moved into this arena of fund‐raising. This case study involves the current library director and the past chairman of the Library Board, as they relate issues pertinent to these initiatives and indicate the direction in which the Library may head in the future.
Details
Keywords
In response to recent public library funding deficiencies, many people both inside and outside the field of librarianship have suggested that public libraries need to rely less on…
Abstract
In response to recent public library funding deficiencies, many people both inside and outside the field of librarianship have suggested that public libraries need to rely less on traditional government funding and more on alternative funding sources. This chapter reports the results of a review of the research and professional literature relating to government and alternative funding for US public libraries and presents a case study of the West Chester (PA) Public Library, which relies heavily on non-tax funds for its operations. It concludes with an analysis of the major arguments for and against alternative funding for public libraries and a consideration of the implications for public librarianship in the United States.
Fifteen years ago, when I became a city library director, my highest priority was to increase the percentage of city residents who used the library to 100 percent. During my first…
Abstract
Fifteen years ago, when I became a city library director, my highest priority was to increase the percentage of city residents who used the library to 100 percent. During my first six months on the job, I did a community needs assessment and also looked at the other locally funded city services. One of the startling realizations I had was not all city services were striving for that all‐important 100 percent utilization.
Edward Lumande, Babakisi Tjedombo Fidzani and Silas Oluka
This case study looks at building partnerships and networking relationships that developed in the course of implementing a three-year (August 2009–August 2012) Information…
Abstract
This case study looks at building partnerships and networking relationships that developed in the course of implementing a three-year (August 2009–August 2012) Information Literacy (IL) in Higher education project “Developing an Information Literacy Programme for Lifelong Learning for African Universities” funded by Development Partners in Higher Education (DelPHE). The process leading to the end of the project has been enriching and opened windows to various professional networking relationships and institutional cooperation within the African region and with those abroad. The contacts have opened new avenues for further research and collaboration in areas such as monitoring and evaluation of the IL programs in Higher Education (HE) institutions. The University of Botswana (UB) has benefited from these collaborative initiatives and this chapter traces the partnerships that evolved in the course of institutionalizing and embedding information literacy at UB, its participation in the DelPHE project, and how the leadership took advantage of opportunities that came along in order to augment and enrich the activities and outcomes of the project as well as promote the university’s vision and mission. The chapter concludes by highlighting some of the benefits and challenges of collaboration among institutions, organizations, and individual professionals in advancing the institutional policies, strategic plans, and interests which may be at variance and how some of these challenges can be overcome.
Details
Keywords
The purpose of this paper is to study the implementation of Staff Picks, a new measurement to evaluate the annual performance of professionals at the Santa Cruz Public Libraries…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to study the implementation of Staff Picks, a new measurement to evaluate the annual performance of professionals at the Santa Cruz Public Libraries (SCPL).
Design/methodology/approach
The paper discusses the reasons why the number of public librarians' publications is far less than that of their academic counterparts in professional literature. To reverse such a trend, SCPL requires its librarians to write and publish three book reviews per year, as part of their annual performance appraisal.
Findings
As one of the contributors to the program, the author has not only participated in the process, but also has conducted a series of investigations into the unprecedented success of Staff Picks. The paper provides answers to a series of questions: Why can it shine and attract so many writers and readers? How can it grow so steadily and successfully? What are the driving forces behind all of these phenomena?
Practical implications
The paper helps public librarians to be more active in contributing to professional publications by practicing and publishing locally, and eventually nationally and internationally.
Originality/value
Staff Picks is innovative in the historical sense that, for once, public librarians are required to write and publish. Their practical research work has benefited not only their own promotions and appraisals, but more importantly, the lives of the public.
Details
Keywords
ARNOLD BENNETT was a man of two worlds. In the terms of Max Beerbohm's cartoon “Old Self” was plump, wealthy, self‐assured, a landmark of the London scene, a familiar of press…
Abstract
ARNOLD BENNETT was a man of two worlds. In the terms of Max Beerbohm's cartoon “Old Self” was plump, wealthy, self‐assured, a landmark of the London scene, a familiar of press magnates, the owner of a yacht; “Young Self” was thin, ambitious, far‐sighted, industrious, secretly terribly anxious to justify himself to himself and decidedly provincial.
Abstract

Born in Pittsburgh, PA, on November 1, 1910, Taylor Ostrander grew up in Westchester County, back in New York, his family's home state for many generations. He went to public…
Abstract
Born in Pittsburgh, PA, on November 1, 1910, Taylor Ostrander grew up in Westchester County, back in New York, his family's home state for many generations. He went to public schools in White Plains and Scarsdale and graduated from Hackley School in Tarrytown in 1928; that fall he entered Williams College in Williamstown, MA, where his mother's father was in the class of 1882.