Lori Rotterman, one of the DMLSA stewards who works in Magazines, read a shortened version of the following statement to the Board of Trustees at their February 17th meeting. Each Board member received a printed copy of the entire statement. Thank you to Lori for always being willing to help out!
Hello, my name is Lori Rotterman, and I'm speaking to you today in my role as a Steward of the Dayton Metro Library Staff Association.
As preparation for your upcoming Board retreat, you have asked library staff to submit innovative ideas for the library of the future. We applaud this effort on your part to receive input from as many sources as possible before making your decisions.
Rather than suggesting any specific ideas, this statement I make today hopes to address a broader picture. As staff, we are well aware that, due to changing needs of our public and due to advances in technology, the library of the future will be a very different place, and will require changes in how each of us do our jobs (and even, in some cases, in what those jobs are). We have already begun to see some of these changes. The increasing numbers of public computers with their associated space requirements within the floor plan of each library, the need for staff to be able to assist patrons in the use of these new technologies, the implementation of the PCRes system to manage computer reservations and print jobs, the introduction of EZ Check for self checkout, the ability of patrons to renew their own materials online, the capability for patrons to pay their fines using credit and debit cards, the new categories of floating collections and electronic books, and cancellation of the MORE program are just a few of the advances which have already been implemented and which have changed the nature of some staff members’ job duties.
We also are cognizant of the changing financial situation in which the
library finds itself. In addition to facing constraints in our own
personal lives due to the current world economic situation, we as a
union have been as supportive as possible to help the library get
through the very uncertain financial period of last summer and fall.
We agreed that previously negotiated pay increases scheduled
for July 1, 2009, and step increases, longevity bonuses, and awarding
of one personal day scheduled for January 1, 2010 be withheld.
We also agreed to serve 60 hours of unpaid furlough time during the period from September 2009 through June 2010.
We
contacted the Governor and other elected state officials during last
summer’s budget deliberations, and encouraged the public to do so as
well.
Through both individual payroll deductions and through
direct contributions from the union treasury, we strongly supported the
levy campaign monetarily.
Many of our members gave freely of their time and energy
to support levy efforts: manning phone banks, going door-to-door with
levy campaign literature, attending community events, speaking to local
organizations, and working as poll greeters on Election Day.
We have all taken on additional duties as needed to compensate for staff vacancies which have not been filled.
We do understand the importance of the health and vitality of the library for the community as a whole.
We would like to request, as the Board considers options for the future
direction of the library and formulates new prioritized goals and
objectives, that you also consider the human factor involved in your
decisions. Many of the changes that will be contemplated will have
direct impact on our staff members’ livelihoods. While your primary
mission is to serve the public and the community by having the best
library system to meet their needs, please keep in mind that the fact
we have an experienced, dedicated staff is one of your main tools
toward providing that service.
Even in an ideal totally digitally connected world, there
will always be the need for skilled professional reference librarians.
Some patrons do not understand computers and do not want to learn, and
they will continue to rely on librarians for information. Also, as all
of you know, just because something is on the internet does not make it
true. Librarians are the people who can educate the public as to how to
both find and evaluate that information for its relevance to their
needs.
When materials budgets are cut, choosing the right
materials in the right quantities becomes even more important. When
cutting purchases of reference materials, magazines and newspapers,
having access to those materials through database subscriptions becomes
more crucial. Coordination among those making these decisions is vital.
For example: if an acquisition decision is made to no longer purchase a
regular resource because it is also available through a database, and
simultaneously the database committee decides to drop a particular
database in favor of a different one which is more cost effective
because they know that we also have the print version, then we and our
patrons have lost complete access to that resource even though that was
not the intent of either of those decisions.
Just as a manufacturing business cannot be run
solely by the CEO and design engineers, even if it is a fully robotic
factory, a library cannot be run solely by managers and professional
librarians. A vibrant support staff must be in place to attend to the
myriad of functions which are necessary to keep things running smoothly
and allow those professionals to do the tasks they are being paid to
do. Some of these additional tasks include:
Placing orders for new materials
Receiving those materials when they arrive
Cataloging and processing them with the appropriate book covers, labels and cases
Retrieving materials from closed areas for patron requests
Pulling and processing materials for patron reserves
Assisting patrons with check-out, taking payments for fines and lost materials, and making payment arrangements when needed
Generating library cards for new patrons
Maintaining databases, spreadsheets and lists of holdings in various specific areas of the library
Generating purchase orders and paying bills
Processing payroll
Creating and printing flyers, brochures and posters promoting library programs
Driving the bookmobile and providing services to day-care centers, senior facilities and home-bound patrons
Ordering office supplies, keeping printers stocked with paper and toner, changing light bulbs
Keeping our technology networks and systems running efficiently
The list goes on and on. The fact that we have an experienced and
dedicated support staff to perform these functions means that the
library as a whole operates much more smoothly and efficiently.
Obviously, as the direction of the library changes, and as new
technologies are developed, the nature of the tasks which staff is
needed to fulfill will change. For instance, we no longer have a need
for typewriter operators to type the catalog cards for our collections.
There is a perception among some of our union members that many of
these recent and future changes are being implemented so that their
positions can be eliminated as no longer being necessary. I have heard
statements from time to time from management, stating that certain
vacant positions cannot be filled from within because our current staff
does not possess the required skill set to be proficient at the duties
of that position. The policy in these cases often seems to be to hire
someone from outside who possesses the skills needed, and then
eliminate existing positions as being superfluous.
We would like to respectfully suggest that as new skill sets are
required, it would behoove the library to provide training
opportunities for existing staff to acquire those skills. The existing
tuition reimbursement program for those choosing to attain their MLS
degree is appreciated, but as we have just seen, there are many other
tasks involved in operating a library which do not require that degree.
New tasks of the future may require skills not currently needed, and by
training existing staff in those skills we will be able to continue
that level of service which the public has come to expect from our
libraries. By continuing to provide the support needed for our staff to
succeed in the changing technological environment, you will be
demonstrating the value you place on our years of service to this
organization, and your appreciation of the sacrifices which we have all
made toward helping this institution to succeed.
Thank you, and we hope that you have a successful retreat.
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