FTP data project reveals new info on public libraries across the country
Huge thanks to the volunteers who got us here!
AS FEBRUARY BEGINS…
We’re celebrating the completion of Phase 01 of our data collection project (read on for preliminary results!). We’re so grateful to steering committee member Dylan Flesch for coordinating and managing this Herculean project. A giant thank you also to the hundreds of volunteers who contributed to this milestone.
Also in this issue:
Reflections from Molly Kleinman about her experiences as an elected library board trustee in Ann Arbor, MI
The first FTP library board cohort is kicking off on 2/12!
Preliminary results from FTP’s Library Data Project (Phase 01)
Upcoming Events of Interest
Library Land Updates & Further Reading
As leftists are building local power by gaining appointment or election to their local library boards, we want you to meet the folks who are stepping up in their communities. Today, we’re sharing reflections from Molly Kleinman about her experience as a board member for the Ann Arbor District Library:
I’m Molly Kleinman and I was just elected president of the Ann Arbor District Library Board, after serving as a trustee for four years.
For people considering board service, I want to share some of the actions we’ve taken during my time on the board. Book bans are high profile, but there are lots of quieter decisions trustees make that can have a big impact.
Climate-resilient Purchasing: In my first year on the board, we decided to purchase powerful backup generators that could keep our buildings fully operational, including HVAC, through long power outages. It was a major expense, and not necessarily one you would think of as a central function of public libraries. But since we installed the generators, I have lost count of the multi-day outages our communities have experienced, and every time, our libraries have been able to provide a place to charge devices, entertain kids, and stay safe from the elements. After a devastating ice storm last February caused widespread blackouts across the Midwest, staff even worked with the city to keep one of our buildings open overnight as an emergency shelter.
Union Contracts: Last year, the unions that represented library staff expanded to include nearly all the workers in our system, and negotiated new contracts. While the library director handled the negotiations, it was the board’s responsibility to approve the final contracts. Though the process was sometimes difficult, ultimately we got a contract that everyone was happy with, and I’m proud that we were able to significantly raise the wages of our lowest paid employees.
Buildings: In 2021, the library purchased a former beverage distribution warehouse, to serve as a permanent home for our archival collections, and provide office and event space. It was a $3.7 million decision, and involved extensive research, due diligence, site visits, and closed sessions with our attorneys. Now we have a new facility that will serve our community for decades to come, long after my board service is over.
Thanks, Molly! And speaking of library board members…
FIRST FTP BOARD COHORT KICKS OFF
Beginning February 12th, our first library board cohort will kick off our twelve-week training program. We’re delighted to welcome cohort members from across the country, at various stages of their journey to represent their communities in elected and appointed library seats. Stay tuned for more news from our cohort (and some selected readings for those who might want to follow along at home!).
DATA PROJECT PRELIMINARY RESULTS
As regular readers know, one of For The People’s key goals has been to collect data on public library system governance. Although public libraries report many statistics on circulation, programs, funding, and other data, governance and library board information is a big missing piece.
Our initial goal: to find the official website and method of selection for new library board members (appointed/elected) as well as 6 other key pieces of information for every public library system in the United States.
We've now exhausted online research options for all 9,000+ public library systems, and have successfully collected both a website and the method of board-member selection for 7,000+ of them!
Thank you SO much to everyone who helped with this research! Nothing like this has ever existed before, and now it does, thanks to you!!! We still have some quality control and spot checking to do, but we wanted to share some initial results from this first phase of the project.
In Phase One of our data project, we wanted to know how library boards were selected across the country. Were they mostly elected? Appointed? A mix of both?
Our data, comprising a little over 80% of public libraries in the US, shows that the vast majority of public library board seats (83%) are appointed.
In 15 states (plus Washington, D.C.), public library boards seats are 100% appointed, and in another 20 states somewhere between 95-99% of seats are appointed.
Public library boards in the remaining 15 states range from 7-84% elected, and 0-15% mixed, and between 7-94% either elected or mixed. In no state are all library board seats elected, but New Hampshire elects the highest percentage of library board seats in the nation (84% of its library board seats are elected). The 10 states with the highest percent of (fully) elected boards are Oregon, Arizona, New York, Idaho, Michigan, Maine, Massachusetts, Vermont, Illinois, and New Hampshire.
Elected library boards are far less common than appointed ones. 35 states have fewer than five currently identifed systems with elected boards, and only 15 states (Pennsylvania, Arizona, Ohio, Texas, Connecticut, California, Idaho, Oregon, Maine, Vermont, Michigan, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Illinois, and New York) have 5 or more currently identified systems with elected library boards.
Following is a short series of maps summarizing the percent of public library boards within each state that are selected via elections, appointments, or mixed methods (where an individual board has both elected and appointed members). Follow the links below each map for an interactive version.
Call for Phase 02 Volunteers
The remaining 2,000 public library systems don't seem to present the info we're seeking online, so we’ll be targeting them in Phase 02 of our Data Collection Project with direct outreach via email and/or phone. We began Phase 02 last summer, and many of these systems have already been checked out, but we’re still looking for volunteers to help us close out the remaining libraries in Illinois and Texas.
You can sign up for Phase 02 at the link below.
Monthly Data Collection Project Volunteer Scoreboard
None of this work would be possible without the efforts of our incredible volunteers. We like recognizing them monthly - so huge congratulations to our anonymous 1st and 2nd place contributors, and to Jenna and the three other volunteers all tied for third place! Winners will receive a prize package as described below.
We really appreciate all of the amazing volunteers who have helped out with this project so far. Sign up to help if you’d like to join the fun. The prizes are incredible, as you can see below:
1st place🥇: Two items from the For the People Bonfire Store (not to exceed $70 in total value) + A signed copy of Mariame Kaba's book Let This Radicalize You (or a $10 Bookshop gift certificate)
2nd place🥈: One item from the For the People Bonfire Store (not to exceed $30 in total value) + A signed copy of Mariame Kaba's book Let This Radicalize You (or a $10 Bookshop gift certificate)
3rd place🥉: A signed copy of Mariame Kaba's book Let This Radicalize You (or a $10 Bookshop gift certificate)
UPCOMING EVENTS
We recommend checking out the events below:
February 19th: Library Freedom Project (LFP) Book Club: From the River to the Sea: Essays for a Free Palestine.
February 28th: "Social Justice, Action Research in Library and Information Science: Toward Dismantling Systemic Hegemonies and Cultural Bias"
February 28th: Library Freedom Project (LFP) Webinar: Labor Organizing
March 19th: American Library Association’s Social Responsibilities Round Table (SRRT) “Abolitionist Visions and Intersections: Centering Human Relationships and Building Institutional Connections for Social Justice.”
April 3rd-5th: Public Library Association (PLA) Annual Conference in Columbus, Ohio
May 11th: Sojourners for Justice Press is organizing a Black Zine Fair (BZF). BZF is a celebration of all things Black and publishing in New York City! Black exhibitors and educators are invited to gather, trade or sell zines, and exchange knowledge surrounding zine-making, self & independent publishing, and do-it-yourself culture.
Here’s a roundup of interesting reading and listening material that we think you’ll appreciate:
The new Standards for Library Services for the Incarcerated or Detained were approved this past summer at ALA’s 2023 Annual Conference and Exhibition in Chicago. The document is the first update to the original standards published in 1992, expanding their scope and recognizing the full continuum of incarceration. In April, US Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II (D-Mo.) introduced the Prison Libraries Act of 2023, which, if passed, would provide $60 million over six years to update materials and hire librarians in correctional institutions.
Announcing “We Here: Dream-Shaping Our Community” from we here
Abolition Can Mend Our Democracy by Angela Y. Davis for Inquest
Freedom to Read Act Reintroduced in New Jersey by Kelly Jensen for Book Riot
What You Can’t Read Behind Bars in New York by Rebecca McCray for New York Focus
Minneapolis schools added more librarians. Now books are flying off the shelves by Mara Klecker for Star Tribune
Episode 298: Q&A: How to Make Library Socialism Now from the SRSLY WRONG Podcast
Books and looks: gen Z is ‘rediscovering’ the public library by Alaina Demopoulos for The Guardian
Libs of TikTok Creator Will Now Help Decide What Students in Oklahoma Are Allowed to Read by Kylie Cheung for Jezebel (additional background here, and petition for her removal here)
Millennials, Gen Z flock to Sonoma County libraries as preferred ‘third place’ by Kathryn Styer Martínez for The Press Democrat
That Time When Moms for Liberty Came to Deep-Blue NYC by Julianne McShane for Mother Jones
Appeals Court Upholds Block of TX Law Requiring Ratings for School Library Books by Chris Walker for Truthout
Trauma, Book Bans, and Libraries: A Resource Guide for Library Workers, Library Supporters, and Beyond by Kelly Jensen for Book Riot
‘It could foster empathy’: Black archives look to preservation amid growing US history bans by Adria R Walker for The Guardian
A ‘cultural genocide’: Which of Gaza’s heritage sites have been destroyed? by Indlieb Farazi Saber for Al Jazeera
Chronically Honest: An Autoethnographic Paper on the Experiences of a Disabled Librarian by Nikki Andersen for In the Library With The Lead Pipe
How digital archives are preserving Palestinian history amid Israel’s bombardment of Gaza by Gabriele Malvisi for Arab News
NJ Governor Murphy wants 16-year-olds to vote in school board elections by Nancy Solomon for Gothamist
The Right Is Winning Its War on Schools by Melissa Gira Grant for The New Republic
California librarian Mychal Threets applauded for spreading ‘Library joy’ to others on TikTok: ‘This guy is fantastic’ by Juhaura Michelle for Blavity
Thanks for this work. Is the data accessible? I'd love to know which cities and towns in New England have elected boards so I can try to recruit some friends to run.
Fascinating research! I just discovered our state legislature has a senate study bill to remove all fiscal control from local boards to the governing city. Has this been done in other states? Would love to research outcomes to help knock this bill down.