PLA Day 3

Started the day at 7:30 at the OCLC breakfast – bacon & egg croissant, fruit, juice, and coffee – mm mm! Table talk with catalogers, especially challenges of multiple cataloging locations within system.

Full or Plural Funding
Speakers: Steve Coffman & Tom Hennen

• Steve and Tom presented opposing viewpoints, both convincing. Steve encourages plural funding, following the model of NPR, etc. Tom believes libraries are tax-supported public goods.
• Steve’s points: If what we (libraries) are doing to gain public support isn’t enough, it’s not working. We’ve squeezed everything we can out of public support.
• In 1950, 2 cents of every tax dollar (nationally) went to libraries. Current figure is .5 of every tax dollar.
• In 1950 an average of 25% of budget went to book budget. Current figure is 14%.
• With a single source of funding, the major funder (whoever it is) has major influence over library’s philosophy. Encourages diversity of funding.
• Tom’s points: Not important what percentage of budget is spent. More important, amount spent per person served.
• Question asked: “where does library fit? (cultural, education, etc.)”. Steve – cultural; Tom – community education and learning.
  

Productive Aging – Are public Libraries Productive Partners?
Speakers: Mary Catherine Bateson (Institute for Intercultural Studies), James Welbourne (New Haven), Representative for Diantha Schull (Americans for Libraries Council).
This session was a pleasant surprise. I expected information about serving baby boomers – got new information (to me) and points to ponder.

• Mary Catherine’s philosophy: “We are not what we know, but what we are willing to learn.”
• MCB said for the first time we are living in a 4 generation society: children, adult 1 (raising children), adult 2 (being grandparents), adult 3 (being great-grandparents).
  Adult 2 are being the traditional grandparents (“they are getting advanced degrees and eloping”). That role is now filled by Adult 3 to children.
• MCB – we are making too many short-sited decisions, mortgaging the future.
• Too many people age 65 are burdened with obsolete concepts of aging formed from watching previous generations age.
• James Welbourne talked about the Transition Center in the New Haven Library. It sounded as vital as having a children’s room or teen center.
• Diantha was ill. Her stand-in did a great job (sorry I didn’t get her name). She quoted Maxim Gorky “in the carriages of the past you cannot go anywhere.” She challenged to get a new carriage.
• She talked about the wealth of service available in experienced people and suggested an HR service to handle volunteers.
• She cited Marc Freedman who said aging adults are our largest growing natural resource.
  She related that many boomers are not well-educated nor middle class – an opportunity for inclusivity in the library.
• For others the assumption for needs for services in a deficit model is mistaken (homebound, impoverished, etc). Need to think of them as resources.
• Talked about life planning resources. Services to non-traditional students, thought provoking meetings.
  

Evening reception at Boston Public Library: What a magnificent building. Thanks to red-capped Boston PL staff. All the touches were wonderful – the music, the food, the fife and drum corps. Even the outdoor traffic control by the Boston Police.

Personal notes: new photos added to Flickr today.

I won the new Nancy Pearl doll at the OCLC WebJunction reception last night. I asked Nancy to autograph it when she was at the ALA store today. I just really enjoyed meeting and chatting with her. She's a special person.

Very nice lunch at Legal Seafood today. Also squeezed in some time to see some of Boston this afternoon. Especially enjoyed seeing Old North Church, Old Ironsides, and the "Cheers" barfront used in the TV show (how's that for incongruous?)