This Administrative Essential
covers:
- Benefits of library
system membership
- History of Library
Systems in Wisconsin
- Membership requirements
for libraries
- Membership requirements
for counties
- Required system
services
- How to be a good
system member
Before the development of Wisconsin's
public library systems in the 1970s, many state residents had no legal
access to any public library. In addition, the service available to
many other state residents was substandard at best. The goal of library
systems has been to provide all Wisconsin residents with access to the
high-quality library service needed to meet personal, work, educational,
and community goals.
Benefits of library system
membership
The basic dynamic of library
system membership is simple, yet the results can be powerful: a public
library agrees to certain membership requirements, including the agreement
to serve all system residents equitably; in return, the library system
provides a wide range of primarily state-funded services that enhance
local library service. Ideally, through this relationship, all residents
of the state gain improved library service, as well as the ability to
use whichever library or libraries best serve their needs. Municipal
libraries participate in library systems because residents benefit from
this arrangement.
In return for agreeing to the
membership requirements, membership in a system brings benefits to libraries
and their patrons because state aid:
- expands and improves
the interlibrary loan network and other resource sharing
- provides specialized
staff assistance and continuing education opportunities to local library
staff and trustees
- facilitates delivery
services and communications
- guarantees mutual
borrowing privileges
- expands the use
of new technologies
- supports various
other cooperative services and projects
History of Library Systems
in Wisconsin
Wisconsin's library system
law, providing funding for coordinated regional library services, officially
went into effect in 1971 when Senate Bill 47 was signed into law. The
creation of public library systems fostered the establishment of a strong
network of resource sharing and mutually beneficial interdependence.
The actual creation and development of public library systems in Wisconsin
was a voluntary and gradual process. No county or public library is
required to be a member of a library system; yet, as of this writing,
all of Wisconsin's 72 counties and over 380 public libraries are library
system members. Wisconsin's seventeen public library systems developed
in distinct ways in response to the needs of their member libraries
and area residents. The systems have continued to evolve as changes
in society, resources, and technologies create new demands and opportunities.
The seeds for regional library
services had been planted years earlier and several regional services
had coordinated cooperative services. In 1956, the American Library
Association published Public Library Service: a Guide to Evaluation
with Minimum Standards, which introduced the library system concept.
That same year the United States Congress enacted the Library Services
Act (LSA) to provide federal funding for extending and improving public
library service to rural communities. The Wisconsin Library Association
and the Wisconsin Free Library Commission submitted a plan for LSA funding.
Also in 1956, twenty-five public libraries joined together to form the
Southwest Association of Public Libraries. In 1959 they obtained LSA
funding to establish an ordering and processing center serving five
counties, the predecessor to the Southwest Wisconsin Library System.
Also that year, a regional library system was established in northwest
Wisconsin serving five counties, the precursor of the Northern Waters
Library Service.
In 1963, the Free Library Commission,
WLA and the Wisconsin Library Trustees Association adopted A Design for Public Library Development
in Wisconsin: Standards for Measuring Progress.
The following statement from that document helps to convey the vision
"Simply stated, the library
system concept means that only by working together, sharing services
and materials, can libraries meet the full needs of their users. Each
public library, whatever its size, is an important link in a system
of libraries joined together either formally or informally."
That document described a shared
vision of public library systems that ultimately led to the development
and adoption of 1971 Senate Bill 47 through a series of events.
- In 1965 the Wisconsin
Library Commission was folded into DPI and became the Division for Library
Services.
- In 1966 WLA approved
a legislative study program calling for legislation to "implement
the library system concept and interlibrary cooperation in Wisconsin.
- In 1968 the Library
Development and Legislative Committee (LD&L) of WLA developed a
report for the legislature.
- In 1969 that report was introduced
as Senate Bill 363.
- The Senate Education
Committee recommended the bill be revised, and
- In 1971 Senate Bill
47 was introduced and, after extensive legislative efforts by WLA, was
passed by both houses.
The bill included the following
declaration:
"Recognizing the importance
of making quality library resources and services readily available to
all of the citizens of Wisconsin, the legislature, through this act,
seeks to modernize library laws for public and school libraries, to
promote development and improvement of public libraries through library
systems and to provide maximum opportunities for cooperation among all
types of libraries in order to encourage the most effective use of the
library resources in this state."
Membership requirements
for libraries
Membership in the library system
has considerable benefits to the public library, but member libraries
also have certain requirements and responsibilities. In addition, library
systems provide a wealth of resources to assist public libraries and
their directors in library administration and operation.
Your library must meet these
six statutory requirements to be a member of a library system:
- Your library must
be established and operated according to the requirements of Wisconsin
Statutes Chapter 43. Among other things, Chapter 43 requires that a
properly appointed library board control the library building, library
expenditures, library policies, hiring and supervision of the library
director, and determination of the duties and compensation of all library
staff. (See other Administrative Essentials for details on these requirements,
including Administrative Essential #3: Who Runs the Library?; #11: The Library as Employer; #14: Managing the Library's
Money; #15: Policies and Procedures; as well as Trustee Essential #18: Library Board Appointments
and Composition.)
- Your county must
belong to the library system and must meet the system membership requirements
for counties (see "Membership requirements for counties" below).
- Your municipal governing
body (or county board for a county library) must approve a resolution
authorizing your library to participate in the library system.
- Your library board
must approve an agreement with the library system to participate in
the system and its activities, participate in interlibrary loan of materials
with other system libraries, and provide to all residents of the system
the same services, on the same terms, that you provide to local residents.
- Each year, your
municipality (or county for a county library) must provide funding to
your library at a level not lower than the average of the previous three
years.
- Your library board
must employ a library director with the appropriate certification from
the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (see Trustee Essential
#7: Library Director Certification for details), who works in the library
at least 10 hours per week during which the library is open to the public.
- The library must
be open to the public a minimum of 20 hours per week and must expend
at least $2500 per year for library materials.
Membership requirements
for counties
Your county must meet these
three statutory requirements to be a member in a library system:
- Your county must
approve a county library plan that meets the requirements of Wisconsin
Statutes Sections 43.11(3) and 43.13(1) (see http://dpi.wi.gov/pld/coplan.html for details of these requirements).
- Each year, your
county must provide total funding for library service at a level not
lower than the average of the previous three years.
- Your county board
must approve an agreement with the library system to participate in
the system and its activities and to furnish library service to county
residents who do not live in a library municipality.
Required system services
Library systems must provide
the following in order to receive state aid:
- Technology and resource
sharing planning
- Referral or routing
of reference and interlibrary loan requests
- Electronic delivery
of information and physical delivery of library materials
- Training for member
library staff and trustees
- Professional consultant
services
- Support for library
service to users with special needs
- Backup reference,
information, and interlibrary loan services from the system resource
library
- Planning with other
types of libraries in the system area
- Service agreements
with all adjacent library systems
- Agreements with
each member library that require those libraries to serve all residents
of the system area on the same basis as local residents
The Division for Libraries,
Technology, and Community Learning monitors compliance with these requirements.
Each library system is allowed considerable flexibility in developing
specific library system service programs so that each system can best
meet the needs of the residents of its particular geographical area
and the needs of its member libraries. For example, a system in a largely
rural area with many small libraries will probably need to devote more
resources to professional consultant services than a system in a largely
urban area. Each area of the state will have unique needs that the library
system can help address.
How to be a good system
member
Having an effective library
system is a result of not only the system staff but also the member
libraries. You will get the most value from your system, and make the
system more valuable to all the members, by being aware of system services,
utilizing them when necessary, participating in system projects and
programs, and contributing to the system by serving on committees or
advisory boards. There are four components to effective system participation:
Evaluate:
Find out what your system has to offer and determine how those services
might be useful to your library. Also learn the roles of the system
consultants, and what role the system resource library provides through
its contract. As you use the system and become familiar with other libraries
in your region, you will be in a better position to contribute suggestions
for system services in the future.
Participate:
Systems not only provide direct services to libraries, but also provide
a framework for collaborative activities among the member libraries.
Besides delivery, training and interlibrary loan, systems have also
leveraged developments in technology and communications to maximize
the benefits of library automation through sharing of integrated library
systems. Some systems have discount purchasing agreements with vendors
for databases or technology support; others coordinate group purchase
and rotation of certain collections among smaller libraries such as
large print or audio books.
Cooperate:
Be prepared to work as a team. Remember, while system participation
is optional, the benefits can be substantial for your library and your
library users. But a system cannot be all that each of its members desires.
In order to maximize the benefits from limited resources, you and other
members of the system will need to cooperate on services and may need
to compromise to find a common ground.
Also, library systems are a
vehicle to explore and develop cooperation among other types of libraries
in the region. In order to foster resource sharing with special, academic,
or school libraries, your system may ask its member libraries to consider
resource sharing or services that have appeal to a broader constituency.
Contribute:
When possible, be willing to assist your system by serving on special
committees or on the system advisory board. Or your system may coordinate
mentor or advisor programs among its members, to help direct requests
for expertise to members who can offer help. You can also help your
system by staying aware of developments in the library field and suggesting
how they might be incorporated by the system or its member libraries.
Finally, your library can also contribute to an effective system by
having your board members or members of the community participate on
the public library system board.
Sources of additional information
Contact your library system
staff. Contact information is available here:
http://dpi.wi.gov/pld/wisysdir.html
For questions about this information, contact John K. DeBacher (608) 266-7270
Last updated on 3/13/2009 1:07:36 PM
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