Recommendations to Public Libraries

1. The State Library and public libraries should develop collections and programs for ages 10-18 years, beyond homework assignments (Collection Development).
   
   
2. The State Library and public libraries should establish LSTA¹  minigrants for promoting local libraries and community awareness activities (Promoting the Value of Libraries).
   
   
3. Barriers to access should be addressed as follows (Access):
   
   
• All public libraries, library schools, and the California Library Association, should work together to address and improve staff attitudes, lack of skills, and staff's need for training.
  
  
• Public libraries should address the issue of fees for non-resident's library cards.
  
  
• Public libraries should work to improve unsuitable library buildings and facilities that   don't meet ADA² requirements, their lack of equipment, and services for special needs.
  
  
• Public libraries, the State Library, and the California Library Association should   address the issue of disparities in funding.
  
  
• Public libraries should address the lack of public transportation, inadequate parking,  and poor access to parking at the local level.
  
  
• Public libraries should respond to the language needs of their service areas.
  
  
• Public libraries and the State Library should work together to improve the literacy level   of all Californians.
  
  
• Public libraries should promote their services to non-users who have no previous   experience/knowledge of public libraries.
  
  
• Public libraries and the California Library  Association should address the lack of policy/legislation ensuring every individual's right to library services.
  
  
• Public libraries should work to eliminate electronic barriers (e.g., getting voice mail instead of a person).
  
  
• Public libraries should provide adequate training for the public in use of new technology.
  
  
• Public libraries should work to improve library rules (such as fines) and policies   (such as hiring criteria).
  
  
4. Public libraries should provide technology and information literacy training for the public in group and individual instruction with support from the State Library and library schools (Technology).
   
   
5. All public libraries and the State Library should support and facilitate community-based planning to determine their individual community's priorities for access (Access).
   
   
6. Public libraries, the State Library, the California Library Association, and library schools should publicize the library's unique role in lifelong learning, both to the profession and to the public (Lifelong Learning).
   
   
7. Public libraries, the State Library, and the California Library Association should provide training for all library staff in customer service, technology, and working with diverse communities, particularly but not exclusively ethnic communities (Staffing).
   
   
8. Public libraries, the State Library, and the California Library Association should develop bilingual, bicultural staff and work to empower a "feminine" profession (Lifelong Learning).
   
   
9. Public libraries should develop adequate resources in terms of staff, material and hours (Lifelong Learning).
   
   
10. Public libraries and the State Library should expand the PFC methodology to include children, young adults, aging baby boomers, seniors, etc. (Community Collaboration)
    
    
11. All public libraries should reexamine and redefine staff duties and expectations so that being flexible, adapting to change, and being creative with the community equals success (Staffing).
    
    
12. Public libraries, the State Library, the California Library Association, and library schools should recognize and respond to the need for continuing education in the areas of managing technology (Technology).

1. The California Library Association should take a leadership role (with the State Library providing funding) to develop opportunities for internships, models and programs that develop managers into directors. This would include release time grants to go to school plus tuition, while working to remove local restrictions (Staffing). 
   
   
2. The California Library Association should establish minimum levels of technology standards for public libraries in order to ensure equity of access.  This should also include an assessment of current technology levels in California public libraries (Technology). 
   
   
3. Barriers to access should be addressed as follows (Access): 
   
   
4. The California Library Association, library schools, and all public libraries should work together to address and improve staff attitudes, lack of skills, and staff's need for training. 
   
   
5. The California Library Association, the State Library, and public libraries should   address the issue of disparities in funding. 
   
   
6. The California Library Association and public libraries should address the lack of policy/legislation ensuring every individual's right to library services. 
   
   
7. The California Library Association, the State Library, and library schools should continue to develop tools for organizing the World Wide Web to support language and cultural diversity in California (Technology). 
   
   
8. The California Library Association, the State Library, library schools and all public libraries should publicize the library's unique role in lifelong learning, both to the profession and to the public (Lifelong Learning). 
   
   
9. The California Library Association, the State Library, and all public libraries should provide training for all library staff in customer service, technology, and working with diverse communities, particularly but not exclusively ethnic communities (Staffing). 
   
   
10. The California Library Association, the State Library, and public libraries should develop bilingual, bicultural staff and work to empower a "feminine" profession (Lifelong Learning). 
    
    
11. The California Library Association, the State Library, library schools and all public libraries should recognize and respond to the need for continuing education in the areas of managing technology (Technology).

1. Barriers to access should be addressed as follows (Access): 
   
   
• Library schools, the California Library Association, and all public libraries should work together to address and improve staff attitudes, lack of skills, and staff's need for training. 
  
  
2. Library schools and the State Library should provide comprehensive technology training in a "train the trainers" format (Technology). 
   
   
3. Library schools, the State Library, and the California Library Association should continue to develop tools for organizing the World Wide Web to support language and cultural diversity in California (Technology). 
   
   
4. Working with the State Library, library schools, should train all library staff on the value of community joint ventures, using regional workshops, a manual, and a "train the trainer" approach (Community Collaboration). 
   
   
5. Library schools and the State Library should survey Partnerships for Change (PFC)³   libraries to determine the extent of impact on communities and library services and share findings statewide. This should be done with the idea that it may result in future grant projects (Community Collaboration). 
   
   
6. Library schools, the State Library, the California Library Association, and all public libraries should publicize the library's unique role in lifelong learning, both to the profession and to the public (Lifelong Learning). 
   
   
7. Library schools should sponsor research on the implications of lifelong learning on collection development - e.g., career and job changes, welfare reform, the technologically illiterate (Collection Development). 
   
   
8. Library schools, the State Library, the California Library Association, and all public libraries should recognize and respond to the need for continuing education in the areas of managing technology (Technology).

1. The State Library should take a leadership role (working with the California Library Association and membership, ALA⁴ , CALTAC⁵ , Friends, and partners) to develop a statewide public relations campaign. This would include a grant to develop a 3-5 year plan of ongoing activities, and a millennium conference. The campaign should tap major metropolitan areas of San Francisco, San Diego and Los Angeles and include messages that could be replicated locally, with a cost/benefit analysis (Promoting the Value of Libraries). 
   
   
2. The State Library and public libraries should develop collections and programs for ages 10-18 years, beyond homework assignments (Collection Development). 
   
   
3. The California Library Association should take a leadership role (with the State Library providing funding) to develop opportunities for internships, models and programs that develop managers into directors. This would include release time grants to go to school plus tuition, while working to remove local restrictions (Staffing). 
   
   
4. The State Library and public libraries should establish LSTA⁶  minigrants for promoting local libraries and community awareness activities (Promoting the Value of Libraries). 
   
   
5. The State Library should implement a grant program for organizational joint ventures (institutional) to raise awareness of libraries in the community (Community Collaboration).
   
   
6. The State Library should establish and maintain an Internet site that includes core lists of selected multicultural resources, plus hard-to-find materials, collection development policies, etc. (Collection Development). 
   
   
7. Barriers to access should be addressed as follows (Access): 
   
   
• The State Library, the California Library Association and public libraries should address the issue of disparities in funding. 
  
  
• The State Library should address the inequities of TBR⁷ subsidies. 
  
  
• The State Library and public libraries should work together to improve the literacy  level of all Californians. 
  
  
• The State Library should address the problem of "haves/have nots" in technology ownership by potential patrons. 
  
  
8. The State Library and library schools should provide comprehensive technology training in a "train the trainers" format (Technology)
   .
9. The State Library, the California Library Association and library schools should continue to develop tools for organizing the World Wide Web to support language and cultural diversity in California (Technology). 
   
   
10. The State Library, working with library schools, should train all library staff on the value of community joint ventures, using regional workshops, a manual, and a "train the trainer" approach (Community Collaboration). 
    
    
11. The State Library should expand Internet access in local public libraries through the InfoPeople project and other appropriate initiatives (Technology). 
    
    
12. The State Library and all public libraries should support and facilitate community-based planning to determine their individual community's priorities for access (Access). 
    
    
13. The State Library should repeat the Immigrant Grant Program ⁸  with small, easy-to-implement grants (Collection Development). 
    
    
14. The State Library and library schools should survey Partnerships for Change (PFC)⁹   libraries to determine the extent of impact on communities and library services and share findings statewide. This should be done with the idea that it may result in future grant projects (Community Collaboration). 
    
    
15. The State Library, the California Library Association, library schools and all public libraries should publicize the library's unique role in lifelong learning, both to the profession and to the public (Lifelong Learning). 
    
    
16. The State Library should introduce at a public library directors' forum the concept of managing organizational change, followed by a series of targeted programs that would enable libraries to receive customized assistance (Community Collaboration). 
    
    
17. The State Library should create and fill a principal librarian position that specializes in development, public relations, networking and fundraising (Promoting the Value of Libraries).
    
    
18. The State Library should provide technology consulting services to public libraries, including a list of qualified consultants Technology). 
    
    
19. The State Library should develop "Recommendations for Effective Library Service to Asian and Pacific Island Americans to complete the recommendations series on serving California's major ethnic populations" ¹⁰ (Collection Development). 
    
    
20. The State Library should encourage the formation of a task force to create new performance measures for electronic library services (Technology). 
    
    
21. The State Library, the California Library Association and all public libraries should provide training for all library staff in customer service, technology, and working with diverse communities, particularly but not exclusively ethnic communities (Staffing). 
    
    
22. The State Library should bring library schools and public librarians together for discussion of core competencies (Staffing). 
    
    
23. The State Library, the California Library Association and public libraries should develop bilingual, bicultural staff and work to empower a "feminine" profession (Lifelong Learning). 
    
    
24. The State Library should develop a needs assessment template for collection development and distribute it to all California public libraries (Collection Development). 
    
    
25. The State Library and public libraries should expand the PFC methodology to include children, young adults, aging baby boomers, seniors, etc. (Community Collaboration) 
    
    
26. The State Library should fund internships for high school students at local public libraries (Staffing). 
    
    
27. The State Library, the California Library Association, library schools and all public libraries should recognize and respond to the need for continuing education in the areas of managing technology (Technology).

¹ The Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA), a federal grants-in-aid program for local libraries, is the successor to the Library Services and Construction Act (LSCA), and is administered in California by the State Librarian. Each year the California State Librarian awards approximately $16 million for local assistance awards on a competitive basis in response to locally initiated proposals which meet the purposes of the Act. The program extends LSCA in the area of information services to special populations, expands the emphasis on technology in libraries, and encourages resource sharing and interlibrary networking and cooperation.

² Americans with Disabilities Act.

³ The Partnerships for Change (PFC) Program was designed to help public library staff to reach out to their changing communities, to better understand them and their information and recreation needs, and then to restructure their library service plans to meet the needs of these changing populations. The California State Library worked with 26 public libraries between 1989 and 1995 and provided grants and training to assist libraries in creating public library services that were meaningful and relevant for their communities.
⁴ American Library Association.

⁵ California Association of Library Trustees and Commissioners.

⁶ The Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA), a federal grants-in-aid program for local libraries, is the successor to the Library Services and Construction Act (LSCA), and is administered in California by the State Librarian. Each year the California State Librarian awards approximately $16 million for local assistance awards on a competitive basis in response to locally initiated proposals which meet the purposes of the Act. The program extends LSCA in the area of information services to special populations, expands the emphasis on technology in libraries, and encourages resource sharing and interlibrary networking and cooperation.

⁷ The Transaction Based Reimbursement (TBR) program reimburses local libraries for a portion of the costs they incur when they extend lending services beyond their normal clientele. There are three types of loans supported: equal access, universal borrowing, and interlibrary loans. Equal access and universal borrowing are loans made directly to individuals who are not residents of the jurisdiction of the lending library; interlibrary loans are loans made from one library jurisdiction to another in order to fill a patron’s request made at the borrowing library.

⁸ From FY 1990/91 to 1993/94, the State Library’s Immigrant Grant Program provided training and $5,000 grants to public libraries for collection development to enable them to better serve their immigrant populations.

⁹ The Partnerships for Change (PFC) Program was designed to help public library staff to reach out to their changing communities, to better understand them and their information and recreation needs, and then to restructure their library service plans to meet the needs of these changing populations. Th California State Library worked with 26 public libraries between 1989 and 1995 and provided grants and training to assist libraries in creating public library services that were meaningful and relevant for their communities.

¹⁰ The State Library has already published recommendations for African-Americans (Keeping the Promise), and Spanish-speaking communities (Adelante).