With the recession, library budgets have been hit hard just as demand keeps climbing, a paradox that creates a resource gap for even the best-off libraries. Short term, the recession has library leaders scrambling to find ways to close the money gap and keep core services alive. Long term, it has them thinking about how to stabilize their…

In this article, the author presents the results of "Library Journal's" 2010 budget survey. The overall trend in FY10 indicated that 72 percent of survey respondents said their budget had been cut, and 43 percent had staff cuts. Among libraries serving populations above one million, these figures were even more acute, with 86 percent reporting…

There is a surging need for library services, placing high demands on staff time just as staff time and resources are shrinking. The increased demand coupled with decreased resources puts stress on those on the front lines and on administrators, many of whom are themselves suffering the same financial anxieties as their patrons. Nationwide, public…

Public libraries are walking a tightrope. They are a free service to all, but increasing funding cuts have some libraries turning to a wide variety of revenue-generation strategies to ensure financial security. Gift and coffee shops, meeting room rentals, classes, and more are being launched in hopes of filling funding gaps. In fact, in a recent…

America is facing what many have called the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, with one in ten Americans unemployed. It's no surprise, then, that the 2010 book-buying survey of public libraries is on the dark side. Representing some 100 institutions nationwide distributed equitably by size, type, and location, "LJ"'s annual survey…

It's no surprise that libraries in "LJ"'s annual budget survey reported an overall downward trend, with the expected decline in total budgets some 2.6% and the change in materials budgets 3.5%. Per capita funding is nudging down after years of steady if sometimes modest increases, with a projected decline of 1.6% in FY10. After all, the country…

According to the results of LJ's latest annual referenda survey, covering measures held between December 1, 2006, and November 30, 2007, voters approved both operating and building referenda at very high rates. If a library reported a referendum this year, chances are they are in high spirits. Operating referenda, with 69% of measures succeeding,…

This article presents the results of the 2008 "Library Journal" Budget Survey. Libraries that responded to the annual "Library Journal" Budget Survey are doing reasonably well, continuing the modest growth reported last year. However, a closer look suggests that budget increases may not go far enough. While 81% of all respondents projected an…

Six years ago, the author shared some strategies on managing a cutback ("Budget Shortfalls," "Library Journal" 5/15/03, p. 34-35). Now, people are in an even more severe economic downturn. In this article, the author offers some additional tips on how to cope with more budget shortfalls during this recession.

"Forbes" recently reported that Americans spent $11 billion in 2008 on self-help books, CDs, seminars, coaching, and stress-management programs--13.6 percent more than they did in 2005. Why the uptick? According to a recent "Publishers Weekly" cover story, conventional publishing industry wisdom holds that personal improvement titles do very well…

Why choose librarianship as a career? Seventeen percent of public librarians responding to this question in LJ's Job Satisfaction Survey began their answers with the words "I love...." And not for nothing: 70% reported being either "very satisfied" or "satisfied" with their jobs vs. the 31% who said they were "somewhat satisfied" or "not satisfied…

This article reports the findings of a survey examining the current performances of libraries. The libraries that were surveyed this year reported a solid performance in 2005, with a budget growth of 4.7 percent. For the next fiscal year, libraries predicted a 5.5 percent increase in budgets which exceeded the inflation. Many of them, however,…

How librarians came to their careers is as varied as the people themselves, but despite some often highly publicized challenges for college and university librarians in the digital age, academic librarianship is good work, according to the "Library Journal's" Job Satisfaction Survey. This article presents the results of this survey. The…

If one wanted to win a library election in 2006, what would have been the mythical perfect referenda? For building referenda, the sweet spot was hit with measures over $10 million, on a ballot sometime between September and December, with no other items on the ballot, in a general election, for a library serving a population under 100,000. For the…

From the ascendance of the reference database and web sites offering endless opportunities for cyber-promotion to the crowds swarming through the doors to avail themselves of new computers, the Internet has transformed the way public libraries do business. That is not news. What is exciting, though, is how the Internet continues to change public…