LAWRENCE PUBLIC LIBRARY

707 VERMONT STREET

LAWRENCE, KS 66044-2371

785-843-3833

785-843-3368 (fax)

May 7, 2004

Ms. Debbie Van Saun, Assistant City Manager

City of Lawrence

P.O. Box 708

Lawrence, KS 66044-0708

Dear Debbie:

For the past few years we have been in "maintenance mode" and have not had the opportunity for growth at the Library. In light of the New Directions initiative (see item one, below), we want to give our patrons noticeably better service to help promote the Library and its upcoming expansion planning. It is within that context that I offer the following assessment of the critical issues for the library:

1. Library Consultant – we would appreciate authorization to use monies from the Library special reserve fund so that we may hire a building consultant to study the feasibility of expanding or relocating the library within downtown Lawrence, develop recommendations for operational costs in the current facility and in an expanded facility, and perform a wage and classification study. $300,000 or more is available in this fund, and we estimate that this study will cost approximately $100,000.

2. Salaries, Wages, and Benefits – A recent wage and salary study confirmed that Lawrence Public Library employees are significantly underpaid in comparison with staff members in other Kansas urban public libraries. Funding for 5 percent salary increases, and for additional part-time positions in support of Technical Services, Circulation Services and security functions at the Library is included in the library’s budget request. There has been a 30 percent increase in library circulation and collection acquisitions in the last five years, with no increase in staffing. The pressures caused by this increase in library service are creating are reaching a critical level. Funding for anticipated health insurance cost increases is also included.

3. Book Budget – For the first time, in 2004, 15 percent of the library's operation budget was dedicated to the purchase of books and other materials for the collections, allowing the library to meet minimum standards for library collection development. We wish to continue to increase the portion of our budget that is dedicated to the development of the library’s collections, and are proposing a budget that devotes 16 percent of the overall revenue toward the acquisitions of new materials. The increase in this fund will be devoted to enhancing the adult fiction collection, which must be strengthened in light of many years of inadequate funding in this area.

4. Staff Development – In this budget request, the travel budget is increased significantly to accommodate professional staff development efforts. The Library Director has not attended a professional library conference in five years. Many other staff members would benefit from enhanced continuing education opportunities, many of which are held in Kansas or the Kansas City Metro area.

5. Programming – The ability of the library to develop and deliver high-quality public programming has been hampered in the last three years by severe budget constraints. The Friends have devoted tens of thousands of dollars of grant funds in recent years to propping up our programming budget, which includes the very popular and useful summer reading programs for children. We have also had to decline on some opportunities for programming that would have been of interest and value to the community, due to budgetary constraints. The 2005 budget request attempts to address this concern.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Yours very sincerely and respectfully,

Bruce Flanders

Director