Citation
Walther, J.H. (2005), "The more things change, the more they really change", The Bottom Line, Vol. 18 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/bl.2005.17018caa.001
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2005, Emerald Group Publishing Limited
The more things change, the more they really change
The more things change, the more they really change
Watch any process, such as running a library or editing a journal, for too long and you somehow see only the process issues and not the context and content of what is being accomplished. After leaving Bryan Cave, LLP in Washington, DC, and this journal two years ago, I quickly joined the ranks of public library service. I am happy to be back as a guest editor for Kent of this issue of the journal. It feels like coming home, in the best sense of that phrase. In reading the issues since my departure, I feel we have been served some of the best financial management literature of late, and this issue continues that trend.
We are at such a crossroads in public libraries, as we seek funding from both public and private sources. We hone our political acumen to negotiate with city, county, state and federal officials to get the best financial resources for our readers. When those advocacy efforts do not work, we shift gears to marketing in new ways and identifying new revenue streams. At the same time, we guard against making our new sources of income so productive that stakeholders say because we are so good at fundraising, our budgets will be cut even more.
What’s worse, especially from a long-term perspective, is that we have little choice but to teeter on the fence of public and private funding; trying to make everyone happy, being polite and thankful for all sources of income and advocating for more of it from all. We cannot just furtively develop a specific financial plan of needs, stand by our committed services and execute contingency plans when things get bad. We need to develop these skills for our long-term success. There is no way we can financially act like an ostrich with our head in the sand.
This issue takes advocacy to the forefront in two key articles. Through the lens of construction, we see examples of how library finance has been productively implemented in New Jersey to create something real and tangible. From New York, Dr Anne Woodsworth gives us the first in a three-part case study of how private funds are being used in a new initiative to best serve children and young adults in New York City. It is an exciting project, and one in which we immediately see portability to other systems in the region, the USA and the world.
James H. WaltherGuest Editor