The past two years have seen a lot of change in library organizations in the United States, and most of those changes seem to be related to funding. That, of course, is a sign of the economy. For libraries and other public institutions money problems are likely to continue for one to two years after the rest of the economy comes back. That is certainly what Keith Fiels, Executive Director of the American Library Association, predicts. Mr. Fiels said in a recent letter that he sent to ALA staff "With library funding lagging the recession by perhaps two years, it is unclear when the library economy will 'bottom out', or when we will start to see a rebound in library funding nationally. In the meantime, everything from advertising to conference attendance has been affected. ALA is in the midst of a two million dollar revenue shortfall." (Read More)
LTLS Board Recommends Next Steps
At the May 24, 2010, LTLS Board meeting, several actions were taken as a result of the current financial challenges facing LTLS and other library systems in Illinois.
Jan Ison, Executive Director, summarized the challenging economic climate, the current cash flow situations facing various library systems, and the cash position for LTLS. With information from the Illinois State Library that reimbursements are 6-9 months delayed, many systems face lack of cash to continue operations. LTLS currently has a sufficient cash balance to continue the priority services (LINC and delivery and restructuring discussions) through June 2011. This is because the Board and administration have been fiscally conservative in their management and have fund reserves that will see us through this difficult time. (Read More)
Executive Director's Letter to Membership
I am sure that all of you have been following the uncertain financial situation in Illinois. This financial situation is affecting many important services in Illinois that we all depend on. Libraries of all types are not immune from needing financial support from the state to maintain valuable services. For Lincoln Trail Libraries System this crisis has led to the Board of Directors and the Administration re-looking and re-thinking our entire service program. Approximately 50% of the system’s budget comes from the State of Illinois. That includes a grant to maintain our traditional services. To date we have received all of the funds from the state to manage our special projects and 58% of the funds to manage general services. The amount we are "owed" by the state is $295,462. These funds support the LTLS delivery service, some of the LINC services (resource sharing) as well as consulting assistance, facilities, education and overall membership relationships. (Read More)
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