Public library financing

Public library financing

Keywords: Internet, Public libraries, Finance

Throughout this issue of The Bottom Line, there are a number of articles exploring a variety of public library financing topics. In keeping with our theme, let's take a look at some Internet resources on public library financing. Perhaps the best place to start is the Free Management Library (http://www.managementhelp.org/)developed by Authenticity Consulting and hosted by the Management Assistance Program. The Free Management Library consists of a wealth of net resources arranged according to 72 management categories such as business planning,facilities management, leadership development, and taxation. The two categories most applicable for public libraries are Basic Guide to Non-profit Financial Management (http://www.managementhelp.org/finance/np_fnce/np_fnce.htm)and Non-profit Fundraising and Grantwriting (http://www.managementhelp.org/fndrsng/np_raise/np_raise.htm).

The Basic Guide to Non-profit Financial Management page is divided into four main subjects:

• 1.

  basics;

• 2.

  activities in the yearly accounting cycle;

• 3.

  special topics; and

• 4.

  general resources.

Under basics, resources cover such beginning questions as fiscal sponsorship,the treasurer of the board, getting an accountant or bookkeeper, finding a banker, and buying accounting software. Under activities in the yearly accounting cycle, you will find non-profit bookkeeping, financial controls, and such yearly operating activities as: designing a budget, managing cash flow,credit and collections, and managing program finance. Financial statements and analysis are also covered.

The special topics section includes materials on whether to lease or buy,financial assessments and audits, and coping with budget cutbacks. Finally the general resources section lists print resources, sites of online information,and online discussion groups for non-profits. Meanwhile, the Non-profit Fundraising and Grantwriting page arranges resources according to such subcategories as: an overview of funding sources and their relative advantages and disadvantages, the board's role in fundraising, registration of fundraising activities, grantwriting and proposals, fundraising online, fundraising software, and whether to hire professional fundraisers.

Principles

In fundraising, as with most things, ideas and details change steadily, but basic principles don't. In 1989, James Swan, director of the Great Bend (Kansas)Library, wrote an article for the Wilson Library Bulletin on "fund-raising for the small public library" that he has reprinted with permission on his own web site (http://www.ckls.org/~jswan/fundraisingwilson.html). It features a great deal of good advice on raising money for small public libraries. Among the rules for fundraising that Swan outlines are:

• 1.

  give the donor some recognition in what you are offering;

• 2.

  have a specific project in mind;

• 3.

  have a specific donor in mind;

• 4.

  help the donor visualize the end-product;

• 5.

  have a specific amount in mind for the donation; and

• 6.

  ask for the gift confident that you will receive it.

While his main point in the article is you will never get anything unless you ask and ask again, he also listed a number of useful tips for a general capital fund drive:

• Set your goal.

• Seek a lead donor who will give at least 10 per cent of that goal.

• Have everyone involved in the fundraising contribute something to ensure their own commitment to the project.

• Never ask for less than $100. You can accept less, but don't ask for less.

• Choose, recruit, and train askers.

• Develop a list of prospective donors and decide how much to ask each to donate.

• Once you have raised 20 per cent of your money, kick off the public fund drive.

• When the goal is reached, celebrate and recognize the donors and the askers.

Case studies of public library successes

The Kansas City Public Library is involved in just such a fund drive in order to find a new home for their central facility downtown. Their fundraising campaign has its own web site (http://www.kclibrary.org/about/campaign/info.htm)that outlines exactly what the library is planning on doing. They have purchased an old bank building in the downtown area and are renovating it and adding a parking garage. The cost for each part of the project is identified, as are the funding sources and the justification for the project as a whole.

The Providence Public Library has an annual fund (http://www.provlib.org/about/support/charitable/annual/annual.htm)operated by their development office. This is essentially a friends of the library type of operation that gives donors a different status according to how much they give. Donors can be friends, advocates, guardians, patrons, champions,or conservators depending how deep their pockets are.

The Boulder Public Library devised an overall master plan several years ago that set forth a set of goals for the library to achieve. Among these goals were: to pursue and offer new information technologies to the public, while maintaining free access to developing information resources to everyone in our community; to increase and improve training opportunities for the public,library staff, children, and teachers; to improve child literacy; to preserve the library as a place where a record of the history of Boulder is maintained for future generations; and to pursue new technologies to assist the disabled in using the library. As part of this plan, chapter 9 dealt with "long term financing strategies" (http://www.boulder.lib.co.us/general/mplan/dist8.html)and discussed such options as tax increases, new fees, and new relationships with regional governments.

On a larger scale, the New York Public Library has a host of contribution programs in place. Their web site (https://www2.nypl.org/support/index.htm)shows a range of activities. There are several "friend" type groups that a patron can join, from the general friends of the library to the more specialized Schomburg Society that supports the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture to the heavy-hitter's (25K and up) President's Council. A page on planned giving outlines the possibilities for estate bequests. Special events and programs are described and promoted. Corporate support, foundations, and governments are all given their own pages. Finally, the library shop offers one more outlet for fundraising.

The California State Library (http://www.library.ca.gov/html/locser4.html)offers California public library facilities planning and financing services through its Library Development Services Bureau. They provide technical assistance in: general library facility project planning, library facility needs assessments and master plans, site selection, building program review, project budget information, funding sources, and architectural plans review.

Further options

LibraryHQ.com is a private organization that produces a web-based portal site for the library profession. They have several pages of net resources for library professionals and one of them is on funding and grant sources (http://www.libraryhq.com/funding.html). Sections on this page cover fundraising books, articles, and web sites as well as resources on commercial partnership programs, scholarships, and foundations.

The Public Library Association has its own page of net resources (http://www.pla.org/resources/resources.html). One of the most critical publications accessible on their site is Policy Considerations for Public Libraries Accepting Donations (http://www.pla.org/resources/donate.html). Here the PLA examines the significance of public libraries accepting non-tax sources of revenue. They consider the impact of fundraising on public sources of funding and the policy implications of accepting support from non-governmental organizations.

PLA has also co-sponsored a couple of courses related to fundraising as part of the Certified Public Library Administrator Program (http://www.pla.org/projects/certification/certification.html). One is "Dollars and sense: tools for planning and carrying out your library's mission"; (http://www.pla.org/projects/certification/certification_budget.html)and covers the principles and practices of budgeting and finance, including effective use of public sector budgeting techniques, cost accounting,performance measures, and capital project budgets. The other course is "BB&T= bucks for books, buildings, and technology" (http://www.pla.org/projects/certification/certification_fundraising.html)and covers the preparation of a fundraising plan for a library facility and other library activities. It teaches students how to develop a fundable grant application.

Finally, it's sometimes a good idea to broaden your horizons a little to find items somewhat off-point, but still useful. For example, the New York City Small Business Resource Center is devoted to helping entrepreneurs start their own for-profit small businesses in the city, but the chapter on writing a business plan (http://www2.nypl.org/smallbiz/business/writing/writing_intro.htm)would prove helpful to any organization pursuing funding.

Comments on this column are welcome and can be sent to maxymuk@crab.rutgers.edu. Or visit my web page (http://www.rci.rutgers.edu/~maxymuk/home/home.html).

John MaxymukReference Librarian at the Paul Robeson Library, Rutgers University, Camden, NJ, USA