Where do you get your funding?

Hi All!
This week we'll jump into the exciting discussion of where the Rib Lake Library gets our money from. I know- It sounds like a fun subject, doesn't it!?

I have to admit that before becoming a Library Director I had no clue how the library was funded. Even now, much of the discussion goes right over my head, or causes my eyes to glaze over while I start thinking about what I'm going to do this weekend.

But- sometimes people get curious, and I like being an advocate for the library. So let me try to fill you in, as simply as possible, on how this works...

Using a very rough estimate, we get 44% of our funding from the Village of Rib Lake, and about the same amount from Taylor County.  WI Statutes 43.12(1) allows us to bill adjacent counties for circulations to their residents. Price County circulation accounts for approximately 10% of our annual budget. The remaining  2% comes from fines, fees & donations.

Of course, it's much more complicated than that, and can vary from year to year. The problem is that the model and formulas used for determining funding are out dated. They're based on circulation (Items checked out), and the cost of circulating these materials (cost per circ). If we can keep our circulation up, and our expenses up, we are worth more in the eyes of the municipalities that fund us. When our circulation goes down, so does our value. Then you start hearing people discussing whether or not libraries are relevant in this world of technology, and wondering if we're needed at all. "Do people even check out books anymore?" they ask.  The current funding model doesn't take many of our services into account. Some things that don't count for circulation are:
E-book downloads, Computer use (fastest internet in Rib Lake), Printing, faxing, Program attendance, Using the Wi-fi (we're one of the only wi-fi hotspots in the Village!), Browsing, Socializing, Playing games, etc. The ONLY thing that counts for funding is physically coming into the library and checking out materials.

The fact is that while circulations are going down, library use is not. People still use the library to access information, it's just that HOW they get that information is changing. The best example I've heard is this: People used to come into the library and check out a cook book to find a recipe they like. Now they come into the library, find the recipe on the internet, and print it out. Same information, but one method results in a circulation (checking out the book) and the other doesn't.

So... how can you help? Well, the obvious answer, is to come to the library and check out materials. We still have books - thousands of them! We also have audio books, magazines, and DVDs (including new box office hits). Another thing you can do is to get involved in the library, attend programs, volunteer your time, buy items from our book sale, donate materials or money if you can, and talk to people whenever you get the chance. If you have a story about how the library helped you, please share it with your community leaders. Let them know that we're still here and we're still important. Hopefully, we can get the funding model changed and updated to reflect all the library services and not just circulations.

Thanks for your time, and I hope I didn't bore you too much!
Tammie