I Have Options

I've been a cataloger for many years and I love the precision and detail. I also keep in mind the desired end result. I want to make sure I catalog items in a way that people will be able to find them. I try to bring out important aspects so that if someone is doing research on a particular topic and the item I'm cataloging could be of use, the researcher will find it in the search.

Overall, I believe in Libraries and their immense benefits to everyone. To that end, I'm Chair of the Board of Library Trustees at my local public library. Before I was elected to that board, I was President of the Friends of Hatfield Public Library.

In 2000, I was asked to serve on the Board of the Friends of UMass/Amherst Libraries. I'm a UMass/Amherst alum and UMass/Amherst is where I began my library career (quite by accident, but that's another post). Two years ago, I was elected President and I've just begun my second two-year term.

Being on this board has really opened my eyes to a whole area of libraries that I'd never much thought of before: Development. For as long as most of us can remember, the state or municipality financed the library. That is no longer the case. While I firmly believe that Libraries (and state universities) should be publicly supported, those institutions also need to take some of the responsibility for their financial support. Libraries are beginning to do just that.

Library Development is one of my options. Using my local library online catalog, I discovered a slim book called Becoming a fundraiser : the principles and practice of library development / by Victoria Steele and Stephen D. Elder. I borrowed it, read some of it, liked what I read, but had to return it by its due date. I borrowed it again, but again, didn't finish reading it by the due date. Yesterday, I ordered a used copy from Better World Books via Amazon. Now I don't have to return it. And I can write in it, too.

I plan to read this entire book, talk with people who are in this line of work and spend more time with the development staff at the DuBois Library at UMass. I had the great fortune of seeing Emily Silverman, the former Director of Development, in action. Emily's become my role model for fundraising. While asking for money may be onerous to some, I can do it for something in which I truly believe.

Development is so much more than just asking for money. It involves building relationships with people and working toward a common goal. When people are looking for a way to "give back", to make a contribution, to help ensure an education for others, a good Director of Development can help them find something that meets those needs - just like a good cataloger.

I can't finish this post until I've documented my attempts to file a claim with the Department of Unemployment Assistance. I called two more times during the day, listened to the polite recorded messages, entered my SSN, listened some more, entered my year of birth, listened some more and heard that there is an "unusually high number of calls" and to try again later or on Friday or Saturday. To be continued.