News from Illinois Library Association

Volume 3, Issue: # 3

January 14, 2010

ILA needs your help. ILA has received an urgent request for information on whether we are aware of any Illinois municipality utilizing the Illinois Special Service Area statute to impose a special service area property tax to support a municipal public library. Under Illinois law, government services can be provided to the public in a specific geographic area and a special property tax can be imposed on property owners in the area because they receive a unique benefit from the delivery of those governmental services. Special service areas have most often been used for police or fire service, but we need to know if they have been used for library services.

Special Service Area means a contiguous area within a municipality or county in which special governmental services are provided in addition to those services provided generally throughout the municipality or county, the cost of the special services to be paid from revenues collected from taxes levied or imposed upon property within that area.

If you have any information on the use of special service areas for library services please let us know at this e-mail address. Thank you.

Wednesday, 10 February 2010
Snapshot: One Day in the Life Illinois Libraries

Please join us on Wednesday, 10 February 2010 and participate in "Snapshot: One Day in the Life of Illinois Libraries" by collecting statistics, comments, and photographs from your library. The purpose of this event is to provide indisputable proof that libraries consistently provide invaluable services to our community.

To collect the comments from the public, a "Patron Survey" form will be available shortly.
Click here to download the "Library Statistics" form that you will use to track general library activity.
Follow this link to an "Online Survey" form where libraries are requested to record their statistics by Monday, 15 February 2010.
Also included in this survey, ILA requests that you to submit your Top Five Comments from Your Library Users.
Photos are being collected at this Flikr page.

After all this data is collected, ILA will create a Web site similar to this one created in New Jersey, where state wide results will be displayed. We will also create templates which will assist you in presenting this information to your local elected official.

Got Questions in organizing your Snapshot Day, please contact Denise Zielinski at the DuPage Library System.

Summit on the Future of Illinois Library Cooperation

As described in the December 18, 2009, ILA E-News, this project is proceeding under the leadership of ILA and the Steering Committee formed as an outgrowth of the November 9, 2009 Summit. The following three task forces and accompanying charges and timeline are proposed to address the issue areas that emerged from the summit and that were outlined in subsequent reports. Co-chairs will be appointed and members are being solicited by January 31, 2010. This is a call for participation, and interested parties should contact Dee Brennan to comment or join a specific task force.

Three task forces are proposed, all of which will focus specifically on regional/statewide collaboration to provide and improve equitable access to library services for all citizens of Illinois. While some of the work of the task forces will of necessity focus primarily on public libraries, the intent is an approach that is inclusive of all types of libraries and library service, all of which benefit Illinois residents.

The proposed three task forces on Structure, Service, and Funding encompass the areas of concern voiced at the summit. The task forces are not intended to become advocacy or interest groups per se, but rather to produce an informed and actionable plan by the end of 2010, ready for implementation when the 2011 legislative session begins. While this process recognizes that current state budget issues may force immediate changes in some areas, the need for a thoughtful and strategic approach to longer-term organizational structures, funding, and services is critical.

Structure Task Force
Charge:

Provide overall analysis of current structure (state library, regional systems, etc.), documenting and diagramming key functions.
Conduct basic SWOT analysis for what works, what doesn't, priorities, immediate needs, etc.
Examine other examples/models
Identify specific state laws that need to be changed or implemented

Funding Task Force
Charge:

Provide overall analysis of current state budget appropriation and actual funding (per capita grants, systems/delivery, databases, electronic support, etc.) in a clear, understandable, and communicable format
Identify areas of essential (unique) service, possible duplication, opportunities for consolidation
Examine other examples/models
Prioritize needs for state level spending

Services Task Force
Charge:

Provide overall analysis of cooperative/collaborative services currently provided
Identify service overlaps and "gaps" (duplication, unserved, underserved, etc.)
Examine other examples/models (statewide digital library, statewide library card, etc.)
Develop criteria for a minimum level of service for all residents

(Charges are intended to set an initial scope for the work, and are subject to modification.)

Proposed Timeline
January 2010

Establish task forces, issue charge, publish timeline
Call for participation
Co-chairs appointed for each task force

February/March 2010

Each task force to conduct initial meeting(s), re-examine/accept charges, set meeting schedule/workplan, coordinate with steering committee

April/May 2010

Task forces complete analysis/research phases, meeting as needed
Steering committee available to provide additional resources, guidance, etc.

June 2010

Preliminary findings of each task force shared with steering committee and each other

July/August 2010

Discussion/revision/consolidation of task forces findings into preliminary draft plan
Sharing of preliminary draft with key stakeholders for additional input

September 2010

Draft plan shared with library community at ILA state conference and through electronic and other media

October/November 2010

Finalize draft plan, including 2011 action plan

December 2010

Formal adoption of plan, beginning of implementation

Mark Your Calendar

January 20 to Contact Illinois Governor and Comptroller

Illinois's Regional Library Systems have not received any money this fiscal year, beginning July 1, 2009 along with other state funded agencies. The Illinois General Assembly allocated money, but payments have not been released.

The current budget shortfall ESTIMATE is $13 billion. This amount is equivalent to all state General Funds spending for the Illinois State Board of Education, the Illinois Department of Human Services, the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, and the Illinois Department of Public Health. The entire General Funds -- after accounting for mandatory spending for pension costs, debt services, and other statutory transfers -- is about $26 billion. Closing a $13 billion gap without new revenue would require devastating spending cuts, on top of those enacted this year. If such cuts were applied across the board, they would slash about 50 percent of funding from every state program; if not distributed equally, individual cuts would run far deeper.

On Wednesday January 20, 2010, the Illinois library community is being requested to send e-mail messages to Comptroller Hynes and Governor Quinn. Please mark your calendar now to go to www.saveillinoislibraries.com next Wednesday, January 20. An easy to use form will pop up on the front page. Put in your information and send those e-mails.

In the News

Save the Evanston Branch Libraries
To continue reading about this story, click here.

Sugar Grove Library Pushing Referendum, Again
To continue reading about this story, click here.

Help Speaks Volumes: People Really Like Barclay Public Library, as Shown by Volunteer Turnout
To continue reading about this story, click here.

If your library has a newspaper story with link, send it to us at doyle@ila.org for possible inclusion in the next ILA E-News. Thanks.

Sincerely,

Robert P. Doyle
Illinois Library Association

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Disclaimer: Links to non-ILA sites have been provided because these sites may have information of interest. The Illinois Library Association does not necessarily endorse the views expressed or the facts presented on these sites; and furthermore, ILA does not endorse any commercial products that may be advertised or available on these sites.