It’s the end of the year as we know it, and I’ve got three very interesting articles to dive into. We’ve got the state of Maine telling rural libraries they have to pay their directors a regular salary, an unusual contested library budget vote, and good news on the IMLS front. Let’s dive in!
Maine Libraries May Be Required to Pay Their Directors
We’re coming in hot with this first item. Basically, the Maine Library Commission is considering a proposal that would require all public libraries to pay their directors a regular salary, and require them to stay open a minimum of 12 hrs a week, or risk losing access to key services, such as internet and interlibrary loan. This, to me, is wild. I recognize there are a number of rural community libraries that operate on a primarily volunteer basis and pay a stipend to the director, but, like…labor laws! But also, I recognize that these libraries can’t wave a magic wand and make the budget dollars for a regular director salary appear.
I also recognize that this hits me in the feels because I served as an interim executive director at my last job, while also doing the work of a department manager, and it was the most exhausting five months of my career. Even if I had been paid properly (which I wasn’t), it still would have been too much to manage. I can’t imagine being a director of even a tiny volunteer library with no regular pay. Also, the commitment to information access is commendable, but there’s also the issue that library work is pretty consistently devalued, and we need to be paying library workers an appropriate salary. Ugh. Such a complicated situation.
A Contested Library Budget Vote
Here’s another interesting article: the Stephentown Memorial Library (NY) had a budget proposal on the November 4th ballot asking voters to approve a $15,000 increase in the town’s annual contribution to the library’s operating budget. The results came back 528-60 against the budget increase, but over 150 people have come forward saying that they voted in favor of the budget increase, and now the Board of Elections is reviewing the final results. Granted, the budget measure would still be defeated even with 150 people voting yes, but that big a discrepancy is certainly odd.
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District Court Prevents Dismantling IMLS
Let’s end on some good news for a change! The US District Court of Rhode Island has issued a permanent injunction to prevent the dismantling of the IMLS! There was a preliminary injunction to halt the damage back in May, and the defendants (aka Donald Trump and Co.) asked for a stay, which was denied in September. The defendants asked the judge to reconsider, which brings us to this current moment when Judge John J. McConnell Jr. said, “lol no” and issued the permanent injunction. It feels good when the courts do what they’re supposed to do, doesn’t it?
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