Book Companion:
Library and
Information Center Management,
Seventh Edition
The Ordeal Of Zachary Taylor Ponder, Jr.
The day had started wrong for Zachary Taylor Ponder, Jr. First, he had slept lightly and slept badly. Then early in the morning it had begun raining-a cold, steady, autumnal downpour. And then he had nicked himself shaving, so badly that the styptic pencil had failed immediately to do its appointed task, delaying him so that he had to wolf down his breakfast, the eggs of which had on them a crust which he hated. As he stepped onto the porch on his way to the garage, he stumbled over a chair, upsetting a vase of flowers and soaking his trousers. He went back into the house, addressing his Maker in low agonized tones, changed, and started out again. This time he made it unscathed to the car.
As he drove to the library, he harkened to those busy inner voices filling his mind with ominous portents. Today-Friday-after four days as director of the Earnscliffe Public Library, he was to receive back from the town manager the budget his predecessor had prepared. His predecessor! He shuddered when he thought of the budget Dennis Baldwin had put together. The man had stayed on the job a mere month and a half-just long enough to do his damage. "Not your fault," Ponder tried to convince himself as he navigated the glistening slippery streets. Thereupon he rallied, and with an air of accepting the inevitable turned into the library parking lot and went to his office.
"Mr. Ponder," his secretary announced as he picked up the intercom, "I just got a call from the town manager's secretary. She said Mr. DeJong has looked over the budget and is returning it with a few comments and suggestions. She said he has to have it back in a week, with new figures if you're going to submit any. A week takes us to November 7th."
The something that had ached in Zach Ponder all week and which he thought he had finally quelled, started aching again. His pulse rate increased alarmingly. This is what he feared: changes and short notice. "Might as well face the music," he said resignedly. "Would you go over and get it, please?" He went back to the report he was reading.
Earnscliffe, an sprawling town of 18,109, lies in a saucer-like setting of wooded hillsides in the northeast region of the country. It enjoys a relatively placid existence as a well-appointed dormitory for thousands of commuters to a large metropolitan area of 250,000. It is far enough from this core city (27 miles) to live independently; and while it does have some light industry of its own-mostly metal, lumber, and paper products-its unhurried atmosphere and quiet shady streets camouflage all signs of mercantile activity.
In the very center of Earnscliffe's small business district of conventional, suburban-type stores is the Johnson Memorial Public Library, a two-story brick and granite Victorian adaptation of Italian Renaissance design. Erected in 1872, it opened in 1873 when Eleazer B. Johnson, a wealthy landowner who established the city's first paper mill, cut the ceremonial tape and declared that "henceforth all who seek to educate themselves shall have the opportunity in this, Earnscliffe's public 'university.'<|>"
Not unlike many municipalities in these inflationary times, Earnscliffe is feeling the pinch of a severely high general property tax-i.e., the tax on real estate and personal property, both tangible and intangible. For the present calendar year, it is set at $86.00 per thousand, 100% evaluation. Since the manager had predicted that it might increase another $11.00 next year, the finance committee has been charged by the community with the responsibility of trying to "cut corners" wherever it can. The manager himself has advised department heads to "try to hold the line" in his general guide to developing estimates.
With the federal and state government preempting the high-leverage taxes tied to growth in national income and to inflation, the city is left with a very slowly growing revenue base. In recent years, Earnscliffe's revenues have grown about 5 percent per year. (These are the costs of merely "staying even"-e.g., wage increases and price increases in purchased items.) And to make matters worse, retirees on fixed incomes, who are a somewhat heterogeneous aggregate-the people of Earnscliffe show a population-age distribution close to the norm for the state, with 11% 65 years of age or older-have recently presented the manager and selectmen with a petition deploring the soaring property taxes and asking them to exercise more constraint in preparing next year's budget. All in all, the financial picture in Earnscliffe looks grim.
It was against this background that Zachary Taylor Ponder's predecessor prepared the library's budget estimate for next year (Appendix I). Dennis Baldwin had started at Johnson Memorial in September of this year, directly from library school. He had worked part-time in a large city library while working on his degree, and had applied for the director's job in Earnscliffe in July-almost as a lark, for he did not think he had a chance of getting it. He was surprised and flattered when he was accepted. From what Ponder could gather he made an excellent impression on the trustees, who selected him over more experienced applicants because they felt they could work with him. To their chagrin, he was not on the job a month when he announced that he was leaving. At the same time that he was being interviewed for the Earnscliffe job, it appears he was also interviewing for a similar job on the west coast. The trustees of the west coast library were slower in reaching a decision, so he took the Earnscliffe job in case the other, which was his first choice, did not materialize. Town employees do not sign contracts in Earnscliffe; they merely exchange letters. Therefore he felt free to leave. But the manager and the trustees were livid.
Zachary Taylor Ponder, Jr. had been the Earnscliffe trustees' second choice for the director's position, and when they learned they would be needing another director they contacted him. He had been assistant director of a library comparable in size to Earnscliffe, but in that capacity had never prepared a budget. Hence his apprehension.
The secretary arrived back and presented Ponder with the budget. She lingered in the doorway of his office for a moment, while he gave it a quick glance. "Yipes!" he cried. "He's shredded it."
"Look bad?" Doris Suttie questioned, with simplicity.
"Terrible," was Ponder's reply. "Just as I suspected." He forced a smile. "I have a lot of work to do this week."
"I'll be more than happy to help in any way that I can," Suttie offered. "I can stay late to type for you, if that will help."
His smile broadened. "That means a lot to me, Doris. Thanks. Right now, though, I'd like to study it more carefully. I'm sure we'll be in touch a lot this week!"
Suttie took her departure, repeating the offer. Ponder gave her a friendly salute and resumed his examination of the document and the manager's letter (Appendix II). His face wore a look of studious concentration.
The annual town meeting, which is held each spring, is the principal governing authority of Earnscliffe. In the fall of the previous year, the process of budget preparation begins. Department heads estimate their expenditures for the coming year and submit them to the town manager, who approves or disapproves them. The manager's major task is to shape the individual requests into a combined budget and to measure the requests against expected revenues. He establishes priorities among the proposals and determines where cutbacks, if necessary, will be least painful. If a department's budget is approved immediately, it is incorporated in the combined town budget; if it needs to be amended, it is returned with the manager's suggestions as to how and where it could be changed. It is then re-worked by the department head and resubmitted. If the manager approves it this second time, it then becomes part of the combined town budget. If not, it is returned again and reworked until it is acceptable. And again, if necessary. The town manager's combined budget document is accompanied by a budget message, which explains the policies followed in its preparation, identifies significant items, and estimates the tax rate and revenue program necessary to support the proposed expenditures.
The next phase in the process begins when the finance committee receives the document. The committee's usual practice is to hold hearings at which department heads and the manager answer questions. The committee members are free to accept, modify, reduce, or add to any part of the budget. Their recommendations carry considerable weight with the citizens, and their final product as presented at town meeting is usually approved without major change.
In the case of the library budget, the director also secures guidance from board members. It has been their policy to require the director to submit a draft to them for review before submitting the final document to the manager. They typically modify it before giving it their approval. This year, however, due to time constraints and the fact that Baldwin left so precipitately, they were forced to submit figures they were less than satisfied with.
Thus it was not with surprise that the chairman of the board, Father Francis X. Banion, answered his telephone to hear Zachary Taylor Ponder, Jr. say:
"Father Banion? Zach Ponder here. I just received the library's budget back from Owen DeJong. He really did a job on it!"
BANION: How are you, Zach?PONDER: Aside from the fact that we have to get this back to Owen by next Friday-fine! How are you?
BANION: Not too bad, thanks. Well, Owen isn't entirely pleased with what we submitted?
PONDER: That's for sure.
BANION: I'm not surprised. We all knew we were asking for too much, but we went along with what Dennis prepared because he was late in getting it to us and Owen wanted it before we had a chance to scrutinize it carefully. That Dennis! When I think of him, I . . . well . . . to put it frankly, cringe. It doesn't seem ethical to me that a person should accept a job and leave after a month and a half. It would seem to me that a person is duty bound to stay with a library for at least-the very least-two years. No matter how much more another job pays or how much more a person would like another part of the country or another job, the person should stay put for a minimum of two years. Well, that's not solving our problem. What do you plan to do?
PONDER: I thought I'd try to redo the whole thing. I don't like the justifications and I'm not sure some of the figures are realistic. Owen suggests in his letter that he doesn't see how we could ask for more than he's approved. I interpret this to mean he might be persuaded to approve a bit more.
BANION: You're optimistic, Zach. I don't. Thos of us who have been around longer know that you can only increase your budget by about the same percent as previous years. What did we increase it by this time, percentage-wise?" PONDER: Fifty-eight percent.
BANION: Good grief! Totally unreasonable. In fact, preposterous.
PONDER: Well, if I may suggest so, Father, I don't think you people should have approved it.
BANION: We had no choice. Dennis, after much pushing, finally got it ready two days before it was due in Owen's hands. We barely had a chance to look it over. We asked for an extension, but Owen said to send it over as it was. He said he had to have it to get a preliminary figure for the town's budget. He said he'd give it a careful going-over.
PONDER: Well, now he's giving me a week.
BANION: Well, you have something to work with, and you have Owen's suggestions. Can't you seclude yourself and do nothing but work on the thing for a week?
PONDER: That's my plan.
BANION: Good. Now here's my suggestion. You try to have something to show us next Friday afternoon. I think you should stay with Owen's figures, unless you can spot something obvious that should be changed. What you can do is find out, too, how we compare with other libraries in the Northeast in terms of per capita expenditures, circulation-everything. You'd know better than I what "everything" is. I'll call a meeting of the board and we can go over it then. I'll also call Owen and see if we can get an extension. Even a few days would help. If we could meet next Friday, and then again the following Wednesday we could get it to him for the following Friday. . . . Yes, that what I'll do. I'll ask him for a week's extension. I'll call him now and get back to you.
PONDER: Okay.
BANION: Bye for now.
PONDER: Good-bye.
A shock of resistance and antagonism went through Zachary Ponder. He was overcome by the sinking realization that he was going to have to work day and night to prepare something he could be proud of by next Friday. He arose and began walking the floor. "Better get to it," he said to himself, resuming his chair. He leaned toward the document and began to go through it page by page.
"I can do it," he said to himself, with a certain amount of aplomb which years of dealing with problems had given him.
The telephone rang. "This is Zachary Ponder," he said cheerfully.
"Father Banion, Zach. I spoke to Owen. He says he'll give us a week's extension."
PONDER: That's good news. It takes some of the pressure off.
BANION: He said again that we should pare it down to something much more in line with his figures. Perhaps you could do this by reevaluating some of the things Dennis felt we needed and by cutting down on some of the accounts.
PONDER: From my quick survey of the figures, I think that will be hard to accomplish in all cases. But I'll see what I can do. You know I do wish we didn't have to fit the library's budget into the town form. You know what I mean?
BANION: The form that all departments use?
PONDER: Yes. We all have to fit our special needs into the accounts on the form. For instance, you know that we put books under "Other Commodities?"
BANION: I agree with you, but what alternative do we have?
PONDER: Well, I wonder if I could do something different.
BANION: Meaning what?
PONDER: I don't know exactly. Call things by their proper names, perhaps.
BANION: Well, I tell you what. It's a good idea. Why don't you go along with the town form this time and afterwards, after we've submitted the budget and had it approved, work up something else. Other libraries must use line-item budgets and must have found a way around this.
PONDER: I also feel the justification and the individual account descriptions which Dennis wrote could be improved upon considerably. I know I can't do everything I would like to in a week, but maybe afterward I could come up with something better.
BANION: Sounds good. In that regard, I'm not at all sure a line-item budget is best. I keep hearing about PPBS and zero-based budgeting. How would it be if after you get out budget in you look into the possibility of informing the trustees about other types of budgets, and showing us how they could be used by taking some aspects of our present budget and demonstrating the differences. Perhaps you could take an account-I don't know too much about it-and show us the difference under line-item, PPBS, and zero-based? Perhaps there are other possibilities, too.
PONDER: I'd be glad to. I think we need something else. Maybe we could set aside a couple of trustees meetings for this purpose.
BANION: Splendid! Oh, by the way, before I forget. What did Owen do about the bookmobile?
PONDER: He cut that out. Father, I find it surprising, to speak frankly, that even with the little time you had you would have let that go through.
BANION: Well, at least it made the manager aware of our need. You know of course-or maybe you don't-that suggestions for branch facilities have always been turned down over the years. We have a large area to cover here-36 square miles. We've been talking about a bookmobile. Parking's a problem around the library, as you know. And we've been thinking a bookmobile would take the library to people rather than making them come to us. I know Dennis didn't do much of a job in presenting it. Now, there's another item for you to investigate. What sort of planning has to be done? How much do they cost? What's the upkeep? There must be all sorts of considerations which Dennis obviously didn't go into. There's another item for you for one of our regular meetings.
PONDER: I know I'll have to get to that question sooner or later. During the short time I've been here, people have broached the topic of a bookmobile with me.
BANION: Well, I wouldn't expect you to be detailed in your report in terms of where it would stop around town and where you'd park it! At this stage, we'd be interested only in knowing enough about them so that we could make an informed decision as to whether we wanted to even consider going after one. Right now, all the trustees know is that there are bookmobiles. We don't know anything about different types, or how one would go about planning for one, what has to be considered, costs. That sort of thing.
PONDER: I'll get to that, I promise! But right now I have a budget to work on!
BANION: There's no hurry, obviously, on the bookmobile question, but keep it in mind.
PONDER: Perhaps trustees' funds could be used for a bookmobile.
BANION: I'm glad you brought that up. This budget you're preparing is strictly the appropriation we're requesting from the town. It doesn't include reference to any other source of funding.
PONDER: Yes, I know that.
BANION: By the way, what are your thoughts on "padding" a budget?
PONDER: By that you mean putting in some expendable items, knowing they'll probably be eliminated in order to get more money? Well . . .
BANION: Don't answer that now. We should discuss it as a group. I'll let you get to work. If you think I can be of help, don't hesitate to call.
PONDER: Thanks. But I'll see how I make out. I'll keep you posted. I'm going to try to do a much more creative effort than Dennis did, within the confines of the town's budget format.
BANION: Sounds good. It would be very useful for us to have you offer a critique of Dennis's budget, where you think it's weak, making suggestions for a new proposal, and of course coming up with the actual figures you think we should submit now. I'm truly sorry about this ordeal by fire. But I want you to know we certainly appreciate what you're doing. We'd be lost without you.
PONDER: Thanks for the kind words. I'll be in touch.
BANION: Now don't forget I'm here if you need me. I'm as close as your phone. Call me if I can do anything. Bye.
PONDER: Bye.
APPENDIX I
JOHNSON MEMORIAL LIBRARY BUDGET
(as submitted by Dennis Baldwin)
Departmental Description and Background
The Johnson Memorial Library provides books and nonbook materials which will best serve the interests, needs, and backgrounds of people of all ages in the community as they seek self-education, build life-long interest in books and ideas, further formal education, meet informational needs, and find wholesome recreation.
The library implements these objectives through the effective organization of materials, through specialized service to children, young adults and adults through booklists, displays, and group programs. It reaches out beyond its four walls to support the educational, civic, and cultural activities of community groups and organizations.
Statistics
The figures below portray graphically the very significant growth and gains made in the library.
Library Circulation
Prior Year Last year This year
139,876 (actual) 148,980 (actual) 16,900 (estimate)
Total Book Stock at End of Year
89,015 (actual) 93,714 (actual) 98,400 (estimate)
All Registered Borrowers
9,109 (actual) 11,001 (actual) 12,400 (estimate)
Volumes Cataloged
3,816 (actual) 4,029 (actual) 4,500 (estimate)
CLASSIFICATION EXPENDITURES
Next
Prior Last This Year Proposed
Year Year Year Dep't Manager
Actual Actual Actual Request Request
Personal Services 148,700 168,200 189,800 283,240 218,040
Contractual Services 28,070 29,880 33,260 37,230 35,230
Commodities 31,130 34,650 39,900 49,550 46,050
Equipment Outlay 700 720 830 47,090 1,090
Total Expense 208,600 233,450 263,790 417,110 300,410
Personnel
Regular 10 10 11 17 12
Part-time*/Seasonal 10 11 11 16 13
Total Personnel 20 21 22 33 25
*Includes Pages
BUDGET JUSTIFICATION
1.1<_> Regular Salaries and Wages
The increase in the salary figure is accounted for by the following personnel changes.
Reference Librarian. The public continues to make increased demands on our reference services and personnel. We are proposing that Ms. Myers be changed from part-time to full-time so that our reference staff can be freed up for other important tasks such as community development, work with special groups, and readers' advising. No statistics are kept on the number of reference requests, but we know they have gone up.
Bookmobile Librarian. It is evident that we need some way of getting out to the public. Parking has become a problem around the main building and it would be difficult this year to find a suitable location for a branch facility. The bookmobile would meet this need to bring the library to the people.
Children's Room Circulation Clerk. Mrs. Kellogg, our Children's Librarian, is forced to spend most of her time at the circulation desk in the Children's room because she does not have the help she needs to administer that important part of the operation. The additional hours that Miss Hill would give us would mean that Mrs. Kellogg could function more as a professional librarian.
Assistant Custodian. It is imperative that we add an additional custodian to our staff. Mr. Shand works from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and gets some help from our male pages. He opens the library on Saturdays but does not stay during the day. The staff has to close the library at nine o'clock at night and this means having to go around and turn off all the lights and make sure the windows are closed. It is also at night that we have discipline problems with our young people and it would be nice to have a man around to help control them.
Cataloging Clerk. At the present time we are grossly understaffed in the cataloging department and our cataloger is forced to spend a good deal of her time performing clerical tasks. An extra person would mean that we could get rid of the backlog of books that continues to pile up.
Bookmobile Driver. The reason for the driver is self-evident.
1.2<_> Overtime Reserve. Quite often during the course of the year various emergencies will arise, such as accidents, sickness and sudden demands on the library. During these periods the part-time help is occasionally asked to put in extra hours to meet these emergencies. The salary levels for part-time personnel do not cover these unforeseen contingencies, so we are asking this year for a sum to meet this need.
1.3<_> Part-time
Circulation Clerk. Due to increased circulation, our circulation staff has been stretched to the limits of its resources. There are times now when we need two people on the circulation desk at the same time, but we have no one to assign.
Pages. This year we would like to raise the rate of page salaries from half the current minimum wage to the minimum wage. We are also asking for four additional pages. Use of our materials by the public, particularly periodicals and magazines, which are in the basement area and hence not open to the public, has increased to such an extent that our present pages are finding it difficult to keep up with the daily demands made on them.
1.4<_> Seasonal
Summer help from college students has become a vital part of our operations. We have always taken on one summer student ($300) to replace desk personnel during vacation time, but this year we plan to undertake a complete inventory, clear registration files, and change the cataloging scheme in the Children's Room. Two additional college students ($800 each) would accomplish this.
2.1<_> Utility Services
Fuel $10,000
It is difficult to estimate fuel costs these days, but this should get us through the year.
Electric $8,500
With the fuel adjustment costs going up steadily this figure may well be conservative.
Water $50
We receive two water bills a year, each just under $25.
2.2<_> Communications
With a growing staff a few more telephones will have to be added.
2.3<_> Transportation
This covers the traveling expenses of the staff members to seminars, children's, young adult, and adult conferences, to state association meetings, and so forth. With a larger staff and increased participation in these functions additional funds will be needed.
2.4<_> Out-of-State Travel
This sum will cover attendance at the American Library Association meeting and the regional association meeting; the latter is attended by several staff members.
2.5<_> Advertising
This year we hope to do a good job of publicizing the library through posters and other such means.
2.6<_> Dues
This amount covers our contribution to the American Library Association and the local library association. This membership is valuable for it brings all the publications of the various sections and divisions. This opportunity enables the staff to keep abreast of professional developments.
2.7<_> Binding
With our collection growing the way it is and increased use being made of our materials, more and more volumes have to be sent out for rebinding. Binding costs continue to go up, but it is still more economical to rebind than replace.
2.8<_> Maintenance of Buildings & Improvements
The following items make up this account.
1. Normal building maintenance and repairs $4,000
2. Improve lighting in cataloging area 750
3. Replace skylight over main reading room 1,200
4. Carpet young adult room 2,000
5. Three display bookcases ($350 each) 1,050
$9,000
Explanation
1. Normal building maintenance and repairs. This covers the costs of supplies which would be used by the custodial staff, i.e., paper towels, paint, light bulbs, floor wax, soap, mops, brooms, etc.
2. Improve lighting in cataloging area. The cataloger and her staff are located in a very dark corner of the building.
3. Replace skylight over main reading room. The skylight leaks and several of the panes of glass are cracked. Mr. Shand and I feel that it would be wiser to replace the whole window rather than repair it. To repair it would cost about $120.00.
4. Carpet young adult room. We are requesting this because we feel carpeting would help stifle the noise that sometimes emanates from this room. The staff also feels that the room needs to be made more attractive; bright carpeting would help. The area is 44x49 feet.
5. Three display cases. These are to be situated near the front entrances of both the adult room and the children's room. The idea is to draw attention to recently acquired books.
2.95<_> Other Contractual Services
Charging Machine Rental (2 at $180 per year) $ 360
Charging Machine supplies 1,960
Postage Meter rental 130
$2,450
3.1<_> Office Supplies
This account covers all the secretarial and office supplies needed by the adult and children's staffs during the year.
3.3<_> Operating Supplies
The costs of operating supplies (plasti-clear jackets, record jackets, magafiles, attaching tape, etc.) has gone up considerably in price in the past year. As we grow larger we need more of these supplies.
3.6<_> Repair Parts-Equipment
This account covers the cost of replacing parts in the audiovisual equipment—film projector, tape recorder, etc. The costs of maintaining our typewriters also comes from this account.
3.8<_> Minor Apparatus and Tools
The following items are requested:
1. A mimeograph machine (to prepare our own
booklists, flyers, lists of holdings, etc.) $ 800
2. Sign Printing Machine (to prepare our own
posters, directional signs, display notices, etc.) 1,300
3. Electric typewriters (at $700 each) 1,400
$3,500
Explanation
Items 1 and 2 are being requested because we feel that the library could be doing a much better job of publicizing its wares.
3. At the present time there are no electric typewriters in the library. I would like to get one for my secretary and one for the cataloging section, equipped with a special library keyboard. We feel that electric typewriters do a far better job than manual ones.
3.9<_> Other Commodities (Books and Materials)
Since we are forced to adapt library operations to the Town budget forms (which does not have a heading for books and materials) we put them in this account.
The prices of books and materials continue to mount. A look into the standards for public libraries would show us to be considerably below the suggested level for libraries our size in books. The public has come to expect that we will have a wide and varied selection of new material, which means a greater obligation to try to serve. The people of Earnscliffe have the opportunity to move the Johnson Memorial Library on to greater heights by granting the money to strengthen our collection. There comes a time in the life of any institution when it must forge ahead or, perforce, mark time, or, worse, retrogress. We cannot afford to mark time.
This account also covers the “Sundries” items (petty expenditures and postage), and $2,000 of the total is for sundries. (It has remained the same for years.)
4.1<_> Machinery and Equipment
Considering the far-flung nature of our city, the problems with parking around the main library building, the lack of branches, the need to bring the library to the people, we are requesting a bookmobile. We have looked into the prices of bookmobiles rather carefully and have concluded that the most reasonable expenditure would be $46,000.
4.2<_> Office Equipment
The following items are also requested:
1. Book vans (3 at $90 each) $ 270
2. Additional magazine rack 350
3. Rotating fan for cataloging area 150
4. Slide projector 320
$1,090
ANNUAL BUDGET
PERSONNEL DETAIL AND SALARY CALCULATIONS
Current Dep't Proposed
Budget Request Manager
Position Title & Name
FULL-TIME
Library Director 25,000 27,500 27,500
Dennis Baldwin (P)
Assistant Librarian 18,000 19,800 19,800
Jill Earle (P)
Children's Librarian 16,000 17,600 17,600
Ruth Kellogg (P)
Reference Librarian 16,000 17,600 17,600
Edna Lawson (P)
Reference Librarian 13,000 14,300 14,300
Ethel Scott (SP)
Circulation Head 12,800 14,080 14,080
Karen Prescott (NP)
Cataloger 16,000 17,600 17,600
Gloria Payne (P)
Secretary 9,500 10,450 10,450
Doris Suttie (NP)
Custodian 11,200 12,320 12,320
Ralph Shand
Circulation Clerk 10,500 11,550 11,550
Jean Godden (NP)
Circulation Clerk 9,800 10,780 10,780
Rita Skelly (NP)
P—Professional
SP—Sub-professional
NP—Non-professional
*Change to full-time
N.B.—Staff benefits are not included since they are paid by the town.
Current Dep't Proposed
Budget Request Manager
Position Title & Name
PART-TIME
Reference Librarian* 8,400 16,800 16,800
Mildred Myers (P)
Circulation Clerk 4,900 5,390 5,390
Grace Polk (NP)
Cataloging Clerk/Typist 4,800 5,280 5,280
Amy Lang (NP)
Children's Room
Circulation Clerk* 4,900 9,800 9,800
Laura Hill (NP)
Pages 8,200 12,500 8,900
Summer Help 800 2,400 800
NEW POSITIONS
Bookmobile Librarian (FT-SP) – 16,000 –
Assistant Custodian (FT-NP) – 10,900 –
Cataloging Clerk (FT-NP) – 12,000 –
Bookmobile Driver (FT-NP) – 12,000 –
Circulation Clerk (PT-NP) – 5,390 5,390
Overtime Reserve – 1,200 500
Total 189,800 283,240 218,040
P—Professional
SP—Sub-professional
NP—Non-professional
*Change to full-time
N.B.—Staff benefits are not included since they are paid by the town.
ANNUAL BUDGET
DETAIL
Next
Prior Last Current Year
Year Year Year Dep't Proposed
Act.# Account Classification Actual Actual Actual Request Manager
1.1 Regular Salaries & Wages 126,800 141,800 157,800 224,480 173,580
1.2 Overtime – – – 1,200 500
1.3 Part-time 21,100 25,600 31,200 55,160 43,160
1.4 Seasonal 800 800 800 2,400 800
Total 148,700 168,200 189,800 283,240 218,040
2.1 Utility Services 12,750 14,250 16,550 18,550 18,550
2.2 Communications 1,300 1,450 1,650 1,800 1,800
2.3 Transportation 350 390 450 650 650
2.4 Out-of-State Travel 700 700 700 700 700
2.5 Advertising 200 200 200 400 400
2.6 Dues 120 140 160 180 180
2.7 Binding 2,500 2,700 3,000 3,500 3,500
2.8 Maintenance of Buildings
& Improvements 7,700 7,600 8,100 9,000 7,000
2.9 Maintenance of Equipment
2.95 Other Contractual Services 2,450 2,450 2,450 2,450 2,450
Total 28,070 29,880 33,260 37,230 35,230
3.1 Office Supplies 250 300 350 450 450
3.2 Food, Drugs & Chemicals
3.3 Operating Supplies-Bldgs.
& Improvements 2,500 2,800 3,100 3,500 3,500
3.4 Repair Parts-Bldgs. &
Improvements
3.5 Operating Supplies-
Equipment
3.6 Repair Parts-Equipment 80 80 80 100 100
3.7 Operating Supplies-
Construction
3.8 Minor Apparatus & Tools 800 870 1,370 3,500 2,000
3.9 Other Commodities 27,500 30,600 35,000 42,000 40,000
Total 31,130 34,650 39,900 49,550 46,050
4.1 Machinery & Equipment – – – 46,000 –
4.2 Office Equipment 700 720 830 1,090 1,090
• Other Equipment
Total 700 720 830 47,090 1,090
GRAND TOTAL 108,600 233,450 263,790 417,1210 300,410
APPENDIX II
THE TOWN OF EARNSCLIFFE
INTER-DEPARTMENTAL MEMO
October 30th
To: Zachary T. Ponder, Jr.
From: Owen H. DeJong
In re: Budget for Johnson Memorial Library
I realize that you had nothing to do with this budget request, but I can't forebear remarking that I was amazed to see such an incomplete request for a bookmobile. Needless to say, I eliminated it. I would, however, be happy to discuss with you and the trustees the possibility of a bookmobile, but before we do there is a lot of “homework” to be done by way of preparation.
I have made several cuts, as you will see. If you and the trustees feel that some items should not be touched, I would be willing to consider your suggestions— as long as you do not exceed my total figure . In other words, feel free to work within that figure. The Finance Committee is not likely to view with favor the percent of increase my figure represents over last year (13%), but I think I can get them to accept something close to it. I make no guarantees, however. And I'm not sure, given the fact I must have your resubmitted budget back by November 7, that you will have time to do much more than accept what I have proposed.
The descriptions of and justifications for the various items leave a lot to be desired. I would appreciate it if you would begin to think of how the supporting data and justifications could be strengthened.
Personal Services. I don't think the circulation figures warrant the additional staff being asked for. Could you not attempt to streamline operations and undertake time and motion studies? If we are getting pages at the rate we are paying them, is there any need to up their pay? I know we have no trouble recruiting pages, and I'm sure we're not obligated to pay them the minimum wage. You might check that. Could you not keep a tally of the number of reference requests so we could have something to go on? Is there enough work to justify a second custodian? The library has been able to get along fine with one for a long time. Why a second all of a sudden? The reason given is weak.
Maintenance of Buildings & Improvements. I don't think carpeting would accomplish the stated purpose. Eliminated.
Minor Apparatus & Tools. Why not use our mimeograph machine? After all, we're only a short block away. Ours is not used all the time and I'm sure one of your staff would not lose much time running things off here. Eliminated. Why not get one electric typewriter this year and request another next year? I have eliminated one.
Other Commodities. I would rather keep this item more in line with the previous years' increases. We have a pretty good collection on what we have been allocating for books and other materials. I have taken $2,000 from this account.
I have tried to be reasonable with the request. My budget represents a 13% increase over the present year, which is not bad compared to some of the other town departments this year. If you can pare it down, however, I feel we will encounter less opposition from the Finance Committee. As it stands now, the library budget will represent 2.9% of the operating expenditures for the town. I think the per capita support is excellent.
Written by Dr. A. J. Anderson, Professor Emeritus, GSLIS, Simmons College