As these two Foundations show up and try to speak out in the media and social media, are they actually providing value, or is their virtue signaling taking money from taxpayers?
I think exploring the funding of nonprofits that support a library is important and I am glad you are writing about it, honestly. I am not from this area so I am going off information what you and others have written about plus some anecdotal knowledge. With that said, though, I have a few points of contention on your piece:
A key consideration you might be overlooking in your argument is that a significant portion of the Friends of the Library inventory for selling probably comes from community donations rather than the emphasis you place on book sales being generated from old library materials. At my library, the majority of books sold at these fundraising events are donated directly by the public. If Christian County operates similarly, this means the Friend of the Library is generating some of this revenue from materials the library has never purchased. While you argue that the financial return for the library is weak, I would emphasize that any additional funding stream, even if it is not a significant chunk of a large system budget, has value. Even more so when it requires minimal library resources and is largely facilitated by local volunteers who, from what I see through the websites, have care for your community.
Say the non-profit (Friends of Library) related to the library ceased to exist or dissolved. What does the alternative look like? Without a non-profit group partnering with a library, the old books no longer suitable for being in the library would likely be discarded, thrown away...shoot they may have to be recycled which would cost money for the library. Or, say the library wants to recoup the costs of their old books: They could start listing the books on ebay or marketplace...but there are caveats in the selling arena: Lest we forget, the library would probably now have to handle sales-tax collection, manage online seller fees, and dedicate more staff hours to selling materials that were already deemed past their useful life in the collection. I feel like the administrative overhead alone would likely swallow any marginal gains, turning into more of a net drain on taxpayer resources.
I also would say that giving the books a second life through a community sale fosters literacy in the community by providing low-cost books to the community with an eventual payback for the library through grants in return. At least in this way, some value is recaptured for the library including books that were donated to the sell that the library never spent money on before.
I would also add that a non-profit, like your Friends of the Library, could provide an extra layer related to positive stewardship of funds. With the way you have historically written about the Christian County Library mishandling funding and having less than ideal visions for the library, it would seem rather beneficial that this money from the book sales, even though it is small, would be stewarded by a group outside of the library leadership, right? This group is made up of volunteers from the community, so who better to steward the money than those in the community the library serves? For example, the library wants to buy a new desk. They would probably have to make a case to the non-profit Friend group about what they need funds for. The Friends of the Library then decides if that is something they would be willing to fund with their budget. The library has to make a case for their needs, which provides another layer of authority and approval on how money is being spent.
I’m not saying the system is perfect, but calling it inefficient or implying it’s some kind of circular, self serving model feels more misleading than not. To me, the way it was described seems like a practical way to stretch limited resources and recoup costs as much as you can to benefit a library, even if it is just for something like a service desk.
I don't say any of this in an angry or mean tone...I came across your blog whilst doing some research related to publicly funded organizations...I hope what I said makes sense
I should be clear. I think you’re a liar. L-I-A-R. I don’t care about what you think. Your account is brand new, you don’t follow anyone, and you’re pretending to be someone you’re not. I’m reporting you for it and blocking you. You can come here with your real name and your real face or you can go screw yourself.
I have a couple of follow up articles coming out tomorrow that highlight some of your concerns, so I don’t want to answer them right now. Read them and then make a more reasoned argument for the Friends continuing to exist.
I find it unlikely you just stumbled across my blog. You have provided far long a reply not to be associated with the Friends of the Library. The cost of maintaining a grant writer on staff does not warrant the return of funds to the library from either Friends or the Foundation.
If I donated $10 to the Library and then asked the Library to give that money with less value to another group and then asked them to request that money from that same group at even less value because they pay the requestor so by the time they get the money back, it’s only $2, would you call that a good return on my $10?
Books have value. They are property, belonging to the taxpayer, and you are asking the taxpayer to give up the value of that property (donated or from the collection) to reduced by being funneled through a virtue signalling charity. If you like how the government works, this is a great system.
If you prefer a common sense approach, then maybe you would prefer another option.
I think exploring the funding of nonprofits that support a library is important and I am glad you are writing about it, honestly. I am not from this area so I am going off information what you and others have written about plus some anecdotal knowledge. With that said, though, I have a few points of contention on your piece:
A key consideration you might be overlooking in your argument is that a significant portion of the Friends of the Library inventory for selling probably comes from community donations rather than the emphasis you place on book sales being generated from old library materials. At my library, the majority of books sold at these fundraising events are donated directly by the public. If Christian County operates similarly, this means the Friend of the Library is generating some of this revenue from materials the library has never purchased. While you argue that the financial return for the library is weak, I would emphasize that any additional funding stream, even if it is not a significant chunk of a large system budget, has value. Even more so when it requires minimal library resources and is largely facilitated by local volunteers who, from what I see through the websites, have care for your community.
Say the non-profit (Friends of Library) related to the library ceased to exist or dissolved. What does the alternative look like? Without a non-profit group partnering with a library, the old books no longer suitable for being in the library would likely be discarded, thrown away...shoot they may have to be recycled which would cost money for the library. Or, say the library wants to recoup the costs of their old books: They could start listing the books on ebay or marketplace...but there are caveats in the selling arena: Lest we forget, the library would probably now have to handle sales-tax collection, manage online seller fees, and dedicate more staff hours to selling materials that were already deemed past their useful life in the collection. I feel like the administrative overhead alone would likely swallow any marginal gains, turning into more of a net drain on taxpayer resources.
I also would say that giving the books a second life through a community sale fosters literacy in the community by providing low-cost books to the community with an eventual payback for the library through grants in return. At least in this way, some value is recaptured for the library including books that were donated to the sell that the library never spent money on before.
I would also add that a non-profit, like your Friends of the Library, could provide an extra layer related to positive stewardship of funds. With the way you have historically written about the Christian County Library mishandling funding and having less than ideal visions for the library, it would seem rather beneficial that this money from the book sales, even though it is small, would be stewarded by a group outside of the library leadership, right? This group is made up of volunteers from the community, so who better to steward the money than those in the community the library serves? For example, the library wants to buy a new desk. They would probably have to make a case to the non-profit Friend group about what they need funds for. The Friends of the Library then decides if that is something they would be willing to fund with their budget. The library has to make a case for their needs, which provides another layer of authority and approval on how money is being spent.
I’m not saying the system is perfect, but calling it inefficient or implying it’s some kind of circular, self serving model feels more misleading than not. To me, the way it was described seems like a practical way to stretch limited resources and recoup costs as much as you can to benefit a library, even if it is just for something like a service desk.
I don't say any of this in an angry or mean tone...I came across your blog whilst doing some research related to publicly funded organizations...I hope what I said makes sense
I should be clear. I think you’re a liar. L-I-A-R. I don’t care about what you think. Your account is brand new, you don’t follow anyone, and you’re pretending to be someone you’re not. I’m reporting you for it and blocking you. You can come here with your real name and your real face or you can go screw yourself.
I have a couple of follow up articles coming out tomorrow that highlight some of your concerns, so I don’t want to answer them right now. Read them and then make a more reasoned argument for the Friends continuing to exist.
I find it unlikely you just stumbled across my blog. You have provided far long a reply not to be associated with the Friends of the Library. The cost of maintaining a grant writer on staff does not warrant the return of funds to the library from either Friends or the Foundation.
If I donated $10 to the Library and then asked the Library to give that money with less value to another group and then asked them to request that money from that same group at even less value because they pay the requestor so by the time they get the money back, it’s only $2, would you call that a good return on my $10?
Books have value. They are property, belonging to the taxpayer, and you are asking the taxpayer to give up the value of that property (donated or from the collection) to reduced by being funneled through a virtue signalling charity. If you like how the government works, this is a great system.
If you prefer a common sense approach, then maybe you would prefer another option.
The books are donated by citizens