If you want my 2¢ worth

Citation

(2002), "If you want my 2¢ worth", The Bottom Line, Vol. 15 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/bl.2002.17015aaf.002

If you want my 2¢ worth

Edited by Kent C. Boese, Arts Cataloger, Cataloging Services Department, Smithsonian Institution Libraries, Washington, DC, USA

Keywords: Librarianship, Financial Management, Funding

TBL interviews Ken Haycock, Professor and Director, Graduate School of Library, Archival and Information Studies at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.

TBL: What do you consider your greatest achievement?

Haycock: My greatest achievement has been the ability to present the profession of librarianship and libraries in terms that have meaning for decision makers, whether civic leaders, senior education officials or politicians. In my experience, it is difficult for leaders not to see the value of libraries and librarians, especially if you can tie the service to their needs and priorities. Success in our field comes from connecting agendas, not from simple requests for more money.

TBL: Who are your heroes in real life?

Haycock: My heroes are personal, professional and political. My parents were inspiring in their ability to lead rewarding lives with honesty and integrity and not much money; specific colleagues have been role models for innovation, marketing and advocacy in particular, local, provincial and national politicians I have met in the course of my work have typically been committed to their communities and their development, making them easier to respect and work with in spite of philosophical or programmatic differences.

TBL: What writings on financial management best inform you to do your job?

Haycock: In the early days I valued the basic, straightforward work of Alice Warner. I then read The Bottom Line and work by Betty Turock. Gradually, I found that managing funds was less challenging than raising funds and moved to grantsmanship and defining criteria for determining whether to pursue specific partnerships or sponsorships.

TBL: What do you think of corporate sponsorships? While they bring significant funds to libraries, do they threaten the library's neutrality?

Haycock: Policy makers have been remiss in not addressing sponsorships in terms of the institution's values, mission and goals. Specific policies and procedures need to be put in place such that individual offers of sponsorship can be screened appropriately. Corporate sponsorships are neither all "right" nor all "wrong". It depends on the reflection of the library's values and priorities.

TBL: How do you see the funding mix for public libraries shifting over the next ten years? Will the local, state, and federal pieces of the pie grow or diminish?

Haycock: Public support of all institutions will change. Taxation will become part of the mix of revenue but only one part, and perhaps a diminishing part. Whether librarians like it or not, the ability to raise funds through partnerships and sponsorships speaks to funders in terms of the value of the library, i.e. it must be a wonderful institution, else why would corporation X be sponsoring those programs? These alternate sources of revenue then become leverage for maintaining or increasing public support. Too often we do not use other sources of revenue as leverage, but rather assume that they are replacement funds for diminishing support and an ensuing decline occurs.

If taxation support diminished, I would prefer to see additional funds come from partnerships and sponsorships consistent with our values and beliefs than from fees and fines.

TBL: In 20 years, will libraries purchase (as opposed to license or lease) any information resources?

Haycock: Yes. In my opinion, the lending library with concrete on-site data objects will still be an important part of our repertoire. Libraries serve as community centers and community information centers, and will become information providers and producers more than at present, particularly for local information.

TBL: What do you perceive to be the most compelling financial concern facing libraries in the next five years? How would you address this issue?

Haycock: Client demands are increasing while resources are decreasing. Libraries need to work with communities to define their specific role and responsibility in the broader community and focus resources to support that role. Strategic planning, including environmental analyses, should help to address budget shortfalls and budget reductions, such that communities have been involved in determining needs and priorities and reductions can be made with greater support and understanding. There is no "one-size-fits-all" when it comes to library services.

TBL: What has been the hardest decision you have had to make in your career?

Haycock: Having been involved in a large number of interviews where this question was asked of candidates, the answer is usually that someone received a negative evaluation and had to be terminated. I do not see this as a difficult decision if the process is open and fair, the criteria well-known, support provided and the individual makes his/her own decision as a result. Rather, the hardest decisions are those that require reallocations of resources due to shifting needs and priorities. No longer do we find new monies as readily as before, such that some services need to be let go in favor of newer, more popular or more needed ones.

TBL: If your budget were decreased by 10 percent, what would your response be?

Haycock: My response should have been started last year in my planning for this possibility. Starting now is too late. I should be able to speak to this proposition to my board easily and articulately. The days of fear mongering (we will have to close one day a week!) are gone. Open hours are the highest priority of most groups so perhaps we need to distinguish hours we are open for circulation and hours of full service. Perhaps we need to move from self-service as an option to self-service as the desirable alternative. For example, one should have to walk by the self-checkout machines to get to the circulation desk; they should be introduced during school holidays, so kids can show people how easy they are to use. I need to know my community, their priorities and the priorities of the council or board.

TBL: From your years of service in the profession, is there one piece of advice on fiscal responsibility that you would like to give today's library managers-to-be?

Haycock: There are three primary influential groups in the community – the elected politicians; the business community; and the press. Too many librarians either ignore them or give them "lip service" rather than engaging them fully in the operation and its place in the community.

TBL: How did you first get involved with library finance issues? Did you have a mentor?

Haycock: I became a library manager at age 21, appalling when I think about it. I learned quickly that there was neither enough money nor staff to do what needed to be done. After getting nowhere on these issues, I found a sympathetic ear for discussion of facilities. So I focused on a renovation, shifting attention towards achieving that goal. After that success, other successes followed. I learned to connect agendas and speak to the issues of my boss, the most important person for me to manage. Fortunately, other managers in that institution met regularly, worked long hours without complaint and shared successes, challenges and suggestions. That collegiality was something I sought in each succeeding position.

TBL: What do you think libraries can do or offer to make better funding of libraries a higher priority in out society?

Haycock: We need to spend more time determining what is important to our communities and the decision-makers they elect. Some studies suggest that elected politicians do not share the priorities of librarians and library managers. We need to develop our marketing, research and economic skills to examine issues of economic impact. For example, if non-residents use the library extensively, is that a financial drain? Are they using our services and resources because their own are inadequate? Or is the library a community draw, resulting in more shopping, more dining, and more spending? We do not often have the answers to these questions.

We need to have clear and well-supported determinants of success to be able to address the impact that we have culturally, economically, educationally and socially on communities. Blather about the "public good" makes us feel better, but it does not advance our cause. Local swimming pools are also a public good, but I pay to use mine. We need to be clear and articulate about why the local public library should be "free", that is, tax-supported without additional user fees.

TBL: What is the most significant cost savings measure you have implemented in the course of your career?

Haycock: The library was closed for two days. We examined everything that we did as an entire staff to determine what the economic consequences would be of discontinuing some tasks. It was the first time that clerical staff had been engaged in such an exercise. We ended up eliminating a number of acquisitions and technical services tasks that had never been questioned and developed more of a culture of continual improvement, especially when people realized that they would have more time to do important things, not that we were going to cut jobs in any way.

TBL: What are the most important skills that new librarians need to succeed in the twenty-first century?

Haycock: Three areas separate professional librarians from trained library technicians: deep knowledge of the underlying theory and principles for what we do; management and marketing, that is, managing the facility, staff and resources to meet organizational objectives and client satisfaction; and staff development and training, both of staff and of customers. We do the first reasonably well, provide opportunities for the second and tend to do the third poorly, assuming that it can be learned on the job.

TBL: Are library schools doing enough to prepare librarians to be sound financial managers?

Haycock: No. Financial management is typically one class in a required management course, and some programs do not even have a required general course in management. At the same time, graduates are moving more quickly into management positions. You tell me: is three hours of instruction sufficient to manage hundred of thousands of dollars of resources and personnel? Of course, one could say the same thing of many other areas too. In defense of the schools, employers are reluctant to pay higher salaries for a longer education.

TBL: Which authors or books would you recommend on management?

Haycock: To list people in our field puts my life and reputation at risk. Too many of them are friends and colleagues. Outside our field I do not miss anything by Drucker, Kanter or Kotler. In addition to our own publications, I find the Harvard Business Review and Fast Company useful reading.

TBL: If you had the opportunity to do it all over again, would you still choose a career in this profession? Why or why not?

Haycock: Of course! Where else could I find such a rewarding and stimulating career! Through librarianship I can work in the private or public sector, in direct service or in senior management, in the library or outside in the broader community. I have had so many wonderful opportunities that would not have otherwise been possible. Further, the skills of the professional librarian have served me well in other professions I pursued for more than ten years before returning to the fold.