Has Charlotte Survived? | LJ Feature Story
The library that once set the bar for innovation nationwide cautiously envisions its own recovery May 15, 2011“Because of the deep cuts in funding and services, the award-winning Library of the past no longer exists.”
Those few words, included in a citizen’s report on North Carolina’s Charlotte Mecklenburg Library (CML), sum up what is a painful reality for the system after it lost roughly $12 million in county funding since spring 2010. The library has a $25.4 million budget this year, compared to $41.2 million in early 2008-09.
The cuts last year led to four branch closures and nearly 180 layoffs, or about a third of the staff. Hours were slashed in half at the remaining 20 branches, with 12 sites open just 32 hours a week.
“It’s heartbreaking,” says Robin Branstrom, chair of the library Board of Trustees. “The most heartbreaking part was seeing the staff be just decimated...and the remaining staff struggling to keep this library system together with reduced resources. They’re working twice as hard and training volunteers just to maintain a minimal level of service.”
But Branstrom and others say there is room for optimism.
A citizens’ task force formed last year has outlined what many hope will be a plan toward more sustainable funding for the libraries while also describing how the system could make the best use of the money it receives. Among the recommendations: ask the county to implement a per capita funding model for the libraries and boost hours at the six regional libraries starting July 1.
Still, the task force report acknowledges that the financial picture isn’t yet settled and there is potential for even more tough choices ahead. Without more money, the group said, the library should shift around staff and resources to increase the hours at the regional libraries. But that could mean closing up to six neighborhood branches.
“Do we recommend [closures]? Absolutely not,” task force chair Jim Woodward said at a recent presentation. “We think the library services currently provided are not adequate.”
Instead, he said the task force wanted to show how the library could run more efficiently in the event funding and staff levels remained flat.
Library trustees and county commissioners recently agreed to back the task force plan, though they said the county should make increasing the library’s budget by up to $2.5 million a goal in 2011–12 and not a set rule. They haven’t yet made any decisions about long-term funding for the system.
Meanwhile, county manager Harry Jones will present his 2011–12 budget recommendations this month. [On May 17, Jones recommended a budget that included an additional $2 million to expand hours and support operations.—Ed.]
Library interim CEO Vick Phillips—hired when longtime director Charles Brown announced his resignation effective this summer—said he and staff are planning as if they will need to begin implementing the task force recommendations on July 1.
It’s a gamble, in part, because commissioners won’t approve the next county budget until early June. If they don’t provide the full $2.5 million increase in funding the library is requesting, the administration will have a three-week scramble to figure out how to adjust—including what other branches might close.
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FEELING THE IMPACT The need for the library remains high, as does the community response in support of the library. The leadership (headshots l.–r.): trustee chair Robin Branstrom, interim CEO Vick Phillips, avid volunteer Cristina Shaul, and outgoing director Charles Brown. Clockwise from upper l.: teens mob ImaginOn’s technology during the branch’s shorter hours; the Charlotte Bobcats basketball team and Sprite partnered to donate 20 books to the library each time the Bobcats block a shot in an advocacy effort dubbed Blocks for Books that included a book drive; a sign noting a branch closing (inset) remains in place long after the closing; Friends of the Library continue to push for every dime with events such as this recent book sale |
A library that once pushed boundaries
Just two years ago, the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library was looking for ways the system could extend its footprint in the community—not simply trying to hold onto the services it already offered.
A long-range construction plan created in 2009 proposed adding eight branches while renovating other locations within two decades. Staff were expanding programs, including opening a new Job Help Center for residents searching for work. The system also was rebranding itself, changing its name from the Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County.
It was the type of reinvention and growth that had long made Charlotte a model for other libraries and won it LJ’s 1995 Library of the Year Award.
Helene Blowers, who spent a decade in Charlotte and now works for Ohio’s Columbus Metropolitan Library, says library administrators such as former longtime director Bob Cannon encouraged staff to be creative and take risks.
Over the years, the library added programs for everyone from babies to senior citizens, and it broke ground for many services on the web. The popular Novello Festival drew thousands of attendees over its run and helped to showcase local authors. The system built more than a dozen facilities since 1996, including the 102,000 square foot ImaginOn, which houses the children’s library and Children’s Theatre of Charlotte.
“They pushed the boundaries of what libraries could do,” Blowers says, “and ImaginOn was a good example of that.”
Private fundraising helped to cover some expenses. But the library owes the lion’s share of its budget to one source: local tax dollars. Mecklenburg County government provides 90 percent of its operational budget. At its peak in the past decade, in June 2008, county commissioners approved some $35.7 million for libraries, and millions more were spent to build and renovate library facilities.
Starting in 2009, though, there were already some signs of big changes ahead. The facilities master plan—originally envisioned as a 15-year blueprint for growth—was stretched to an even longer time frame as the county put new construction projects on hold. And Mecklenburg budget reductions in the wake of the recession led to cutbacks in materials and maintenance spending, staff furloughs, and branch closures on Sundays that summer. Still, many said they were unprepared for what lay ahead.
“Devastating” cuts
In early 2010, with some county revenue sources still not hitting their marks, Mecklenburg leaders were prepping for another round of midyear reductions. Departments and some other services were told to define how they would cut up to five percent from their budgets. For the library, that was as much as $1.56 million.
At the library, staffers were outlining their options. While library officials said they previously tried to reduce spending in ways that wouldn’t be as visible to users, the size of the potential cuts meant layoffs, and even branch closures seemed inevitable.
Personnel costs make up about 75 percent of the budget, so leaders said they needed to figure out how many employees they could keep on board and to delve into the process for layoffs. The library already had a reduction-in-force plan, but it needed to be strengthened, according to David Singleton, director of library services. Employees were identified for layoffs based on four criteria: job classification, performance, seniority, and the organizational impact of their position.
They next needed to determine how many branches could be operated. Preliminary planning showed that up to four branches would need to close, along with layoffs of at least 43 FTEs, if the library budget was cut by five percent.
In early March, as sales tax receipts showed money collected over the holidays was lower than expected, the county announced $20 million in cuts. Of that, nearly $2.1 million was from the libraries, more than the “worst-case” scenario library leaders had originally planned for.
Brown said hearing the figure was a jolt.
The next day, at a previously scheduled trustees meeting, Brown would deliver another one: staff recommended coping by closing half of the system’s 24 branches and instituting 148 layoffs.
Initially, library officials said they wanted to offer as many services as possible at the 12 branches that would be open. But the news that neighborhood branches would close sparked immediate reaction from residents. On the day of the announcement, Friends of the Library president Harriet Smith challenged the community to raise $2 million to prevent the cuts. Trustees also said they would consider other ideas.
Donations poured in, from money raised by kid-run lemonade stands to an online fundraising drive. Brown recalls a woman bringing a $10,000 check to a branch last year, admitting she hadn’t yet told her husband about the donation. Meanwhile, many residents said they would be willing to have fewer services if it meant their neighborhood branch would stay open.
A week later, a new plan was announced: all branches would stay open but at sharply reduced hours. “It was in reaction to community feedback,” says Frank Blair, CML director of research, innovation, and strategy.
Still, the work wasn’t over. On the same day the midyear cuts were announced, the library also was told to plan for a possible 50 percent, or $17 million, cut in its county money as Mecklenburg officials tried to deal with a projected $85 million shortfall for 2010–11.
The severity of the library cuts led many in the community to question the motives of county leaders. They thought commissioners and county administrators didn’t care about libraries, noting libraries were ranked in the fourth tier (of seven) of board priorities.
But the county says the recession meant tough decisions about where to spend money, and leaders noted they have certain mandated services and fixed costs. The county has cut nearly $147 million since 2009, with discretionary services like parks, libraries, and communications taking the bigger hit. But even top-ranked services saw losses. The public school system, for example, lost about $50 million in county funding in two years.
The library didn’t escape criticism either. Some wondered whether the first announcement of closings was just a way to pressure commissioners to ease the library cuts. At times, the relationship between county and library leaders appeared strained.
Library leaders brush off any notion they were trying to force county leaders’ hand.They say they had to act quickly in order to give notice to workers losing their jobs, with only three months to absorb the cuts.
“That clock was ticking,” says Brian Beavers, former director of organizational resources, who left in February. “We had to do something because each day (we waited) was a day closer to June 30.”
At one point in the spring, some library managers worked 21 days straight, Brown says.
While he tried to put on the best face possible, Brown says, the stress took a toll. He lost his appetite and dropped 30 pounds in three weeks, drawing serious concerns from his doctor. On April 3, the final day of work for 120 employees who were laid off, Brown didn’t leave his house. He says it will remain one of the more challenging times of his life.
But, he said later, “As difficult and painful as the unprecedented challenges have been here, I feel confident that I have done my absolute best in this situation and have gained both unparalleled experience in crisis management as well as been personally ‘toughened’ by [it].”
Scrambling for dollars
Meanwhile, the planning for 2010–11 and its deeper cuts continued.
The manager’s budget proposal included nearly $17.7 million for libraries, a 45 percent reduction from the prior year. But the county also would take over maintenance and security for the system, shedding about $1.9 million from the library’s costs.
Library trustees made plans to close three branches. The sites were selected based on a variety of factors, including that all three were leased facilities, their proximity to other branches, usage, and operational costs. A fourth branch would close temporarily for renovations.
One of the sites that closed was the CheckIt Outlet branch in uptown Charlotte, a popular spot for workers at the banks and other nearby businesses. A year later, a red sign asking for money to save the libraries still appears in the window. Inside stand empty bookshelves.
Even as they approved the closures, trustees and library staff had been working on a plan to prevent more branches from shutting down. The so-called Sustainability Plan sought an additional $8 million for the system. The bulk, $5 million, was being requested from the county, but the rest was being looked for from the city of Charlotte and Mecklenburg’s six towns.
It was ambitious, in part, because of the requests of the municipalities. The city typically only gave the library $2500 each year, the amount first required by philanthropist Andrew Carnegie when he awarded a charter to the library more than a century ago. The towns hadn’t ever been asked to support the system.
Branstrom recalls that she and other trustees worked constantly to sell the plan. Ultimately, they received another $5.6 million, pushing the library budget to more than $25 million. “I’m proud of what the trustees did in that time period because it took a lot of energy and a lot of time and a lot of focus,” Branstrom says.
The money meant the library wouldn’t need to close any additional branches and could call back more than 100 employees who had received layoff notices. In the waning weeks of the fiscal year, the system made plans to close the four branches.
In other parts of the country, all eyes were on Charlotte. “When budget cuts hit a system that among your peers has always been a benchmark for what you strive to be...it reverberates among the library systems [nationwide],” Blowers says.
A study prepared for the Future of the Library Task Force showed Charlotte took a much larger hit than other systems in recent budgets. It showed revenues at libraries in Charlotte and 13 of its peers fell by an average of 14 percent between the 2008 and 2011 budgets, but Charlotte fell by 35.6 percent.
Only one other system, the Dallas Public Library, saw its revenues decline more proportionally than Charlotte, according to analysis by the Urban Institute at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
Service compromises
The parking station where Singleton, the director of library services, leaves his car is within eyeshot of both the main branch and ImaginOn. The budget cuts keep both branches open 46 hours each week, down nearly 50 percent from before but the most hours of service currently for any location.
Singleton often sees families go up to the branch doors on Mondays only to walk away disappointed when they realize it is closed. He says he knows many library users are able to travel to other branches, but he worries about how those without transportation are coping.
A longer wait for materials comes as the collections budget was decimated by 42 percent between the 2009 and 2010 fiscal years. For popular titles, the library used to order one book for every three copies requested. Now the ratio is one to six.
Programs also have been cut significantly. Early literacy initiatives and other activities geared to children were made a top priority, but programs for teens and adults, including popular book clubs, have been pulled back dramatically. Branches are expected to offer a minimal level of programs, though staff have flexibility to expand when possible.
A healthy roster of volunteers allows the Cornelius branch in northern Mecklenburg to offer more programs. Meanwhile, at the Mountain Island Lake branch in the western part of the county, programs are sometimes held in the middle of the floor of the library instead of in a room so more people can attend.
Despite the cuts, library usage remains high. From July to February, the library saw slightly more people at its branches than a year ago when it had more branches open and for longer hours, Singleton says. The number of books checked out fell by 24 percent from last March to December, even though hours had been cut 53 percent.
Volunteers stretch to span the gap
All this activity has left staff stretched. Every employee now helps with checking in books because of cuts to the circulation staff. On days when a branch is closed, some of its staff work at other locations.
Volunteers like Cristina Shaul have helped to fill in the gap. Shaul lives in the town of Davidson in northern Mecklenburg, where her family often walks or bikes to the library.
When news broke that their branch could close, Shaul says, she and her neighbors looked for ways they could help. Town residents raised more than $211,000 through a brick campaign and recruited more than 40 volunteers, including Shaul’s ten-year-old son. They shelve books, pick up materials from other branches, and run computer training.
The extra person-power allowed the branch to add one day of service. Shaul wants to go for more. “My goal is definitely to get the library open an extra day,” she says. “I think we can do it.”
Across the system, volunteers logged in more than 28,000 hours through the end of December, says community engagement director Karen Beach. In exchange for training, the library asked people to commit to at least two volunteer hours per week for six months. All branches have volunteers, though the engagement is stronger at sites like Davidson.
The library also stepped up its search for private dollars. Nearly $1 million was raised after the cuts were announced in March, Beach says. Fundraisers were also held by major Charlotte companies, including Bank of America and the Carolina Panthers football and Charlotte Bobcats basketball teams.
Still, many cautioned that the increase in volunteers and the bumps in private giving do not constitute a sustainable solution to the library’s funding woes.
For that, all eyes were on a group of 17 men and women.
A task force maps a future
As part of the budget negotiations, the county and library agreed to create a citizens’ panel to look at how to stabilize future funding for the system. More than 80 people applied to serve on the Future of the Library Task Force, and its members, ultimately, represented the diversity of the community.
The task force spent five months combing through data on the library, including how its budget and services compared with other systems in the state and nationally. It tackled issues from the best way to generate money to whether the library should keep an independent governing board or become a county department.
In March, the task force presented a 369-page final report to county commissioners and library trustees. It offers some 39 recommendations on topics like funding, programming, the use of volunteers, and how to improve the relationship between the library and county.
For starters, the task force proposed the county begin funding the libraries on a per capita basis so as local population grows so would funding. It benchmarked Charlotte Mecklenburg against other systems. Currently, the system receives $25.84 per capita, the task force reported, versus an average and median of $27.89 to $28.66, respectively, for 13 peers.
The task force suggested the county increase library funding to a level that’s comparable to its peers, which would mean an additional $1.8 million–$2.5 million. Branstrom notes that this wouldn’t restore all the money cut from the system but would represent an “incremental bump.” It would allow the system to keep all of its branches open, while increasing weekly hours of service at each regional branch from 37 to 54 hours.
Should county funding remain flat, the task force said the library should still increase hours at the regional branches by reassigning staff from other locations. That, in turn, would leave the system with too few people to keep all its branches open, so up to six sites could close.
In deciding what to close, the task force recommended the library should keep open three branches located in “fragile areas” where, task force chair Woodward has said, residents don’t have as ready access to printed materials or technology or cars to travel to other branches. It said the library and county should work together to decide which of the other branches should close using data like distance to a regional and branch use.
The community responds
The prospect of more closings has some residents rattled. On a Tuesday evening this spring, more than 120 people filled the Matthews Town Hall to ask questions and give suggestions for next year’s budget. The event was attended by the county manager and county commissioners’ chair, among others.
The town hall building also houses the local library branch. On the way to the meeting, about a dozen library staff, volunteers, and other supporters held up a banner that read, “I (HEART) Matthews Library,” while handing out buttons with the same slogan.
One woman asked about how the branch closings might work, including the recommendation to keep sites in “fragile neighborhoods” open. A branch volunteer, she says she sees people of a variety of backgrounds at the library. She said she knows Matthews isn’t considered a fragile community but that many folks face challenges. She also pointed to the branch’s high circulation numbers and community outreach efforts as a reason why it is important. “I just want to make sure Matthews isn’t overlooked,” she said.
Others also stressed the importance of the library for themselves and other residents. Kevin Carpenter called the library a “core essential service” for many, including his five children, who are homeschooled.
The library’s proposed budget for an additional $2.5 million starting July 1, in alignment with the task force recommendations, has most of the additional money going to boost staff. But part of the money also would go back to the materials budget, said Phillips, the interim CEO. Before July, staff also will study which programs the system should offer next year and how to pay for them.
County commissioners have said they’d like to find a way to give the system additional money this year, though as of press time no formal plans had been outlined. One significant change: library services was moved up in the annual ranking of priorities, which could put it in line for additional money.
Preparing for a new leader
As the wait continues on what money and services will be available in 2011–12, other changes are under way. One of the biggest may be the change in leadership.
Brown announced in January that he would step down this summer after nearly eight years; he came to Charlotte in late 2003. He was there as ImaginOn opened and cites as one of the highlights of his tenure a 2006 trip to the White House where then First Lady Laura Bush honored the system. He’ll stay on through June, helping Phillips transition into his new role.
Phillips, who spent more than 30 years with Bank of America, has no prior professional library experience. A longtime user of the Charlotte libraries, Phillips was approached last fall to do a diagnostic study of the library. Then, on Christmas Eve, he was offered the interim post. He mulled it over with his wife, a schoolteacher, and accepted the offer within a few hours.
Phillips says he sees himself as a transitional manager, helping prepare the new budget and respond to the task force recommendations. He has spent time talking with employees, including a series of staff meetings with Brown nicknamed the “Charles and Vick Road Show.” He notes an “expectant” mood among employees for change but also for clarity about the library’s funding and their roles. He’s also met with elected leaders and managers in the county, the city, and the towns.
Meanwhile, the search for a new leader likely won’t start before July. “We don’t know what we can offer,” Branstrom says. “We don’t know what the final situation with the governance and the funding will be. We need to get through this budgetary cycle and see how all this shakes out before...starting a search.”
While she knows it may take some time before the library returns to its level of service and funding from the past, Branstrom thinks the task force recommendations offer a good plan for the future. “When I think about the situation we were in last March and compare it to this March, it feels much better,” Branstrom says. “We’re on the right road now.”
And a year from now?
“I want [the system] to be innovative and forward-thinking and have stable sustainable governmental funding,” Branstrom says. “I want services to be restored and data outcome measures to be established and to build on this task force’s road map to success.”
“I want it to be a national model for how to survive a crisis and come back strong.”
IDEAS FROM THE TASK FORCE
The recommendation for per capita funding for the library was just one proposal included in the Future of the Library Task Force. Others include:
Limit programming to activities that promote literacy, including access to information. Trustees should approve programs as part of budget planning and get a year-end report on how they worked. Fees and fundraising, not tax dollars, should pay for the programs.
Set a $1 million annual fundraising goal. The task force recommended that about $200,000 be raised each year to support basic services like circulation. Other money would support new and expanded programs and build an endowment.
Keep recruiting, retaining volunteers. The task force recommended recruiting enough volunteers to cover at least five percent of staffing hours needed to provide basic library services. This year, volunteers are expected to contribute 54,000 hours, or the equivalent of up to 24 FTEs, or nine percent of staff. But the task force says this level may not continue to be viable, so the library should work to recruit and retain outside help.
Strengthen the relationship between the library and county leaders, including having both sides work together to create long-term strategic plans for the libraries. Also, add the county manager as a nonvoting, ex officio member of the library’s board as well as to the search committee for Charles Brown’s successor.
SOURCE: Future of the Library Task Force
LESSONS FROM CHARLOTTE
Charlotte Mecklenburg Library leaders offer these pieces of advice for those at other systems possibly facing cuts:
KNOW YOUR IMPACT Keep consistent data to show how many people are using your services, and, where possible, find personal anecdotes to illustrate how the library is helping residents. This data will be key in making your case for funding to governments and private sources of money.
MAKE SURE YOUR LAYOFF PLAN IS IN PLACE AND CLEAR A reduction-in-force plan should spell out the procedures for how any layoff would occur, and the plan should be distributed to staff so they know what to expect. Also, don’t be afraid to refine the plan as needed.
COMMUNICATE, COMMUNICATE, COMMUNICATE with staff, residents, and funding partners. Share what you know about pending cuts with employees and invite them to offer recommendations on how the library could save, or raise, money. Let the community know how residents and businesses can get involved with the libraries, whether through volunteering at a branch or helping to advocate with local leaders.
| Author Information |
| April D. Bethea has covered Mecklenburg County government, including the library, since 2008. She is a native of Charlotte |
