The Hennepin County Commissioners have approved the consolidation of the Minneapolis and Hennepin County library systems by a 7 - 0 vote. The consolidation will be effective on January 1.
All of the commissioners spoke optimistically and ambitiously about the unified library system's future. In addition, the county budget was passed with $30 million in capital dollars for Minneapolis' Webber Park and Walker libraries.
This important vote clears the way for Minneapolis’ Roosevelt, Southeast, and Webber Park community libraries to re-open their doors after one year being shuttered. Beginning on January 3, the three libraries will be open Tuesdays and Thursdays from 12:00 pm – 8:00 pm and Saturdays from 10:00 am – 6:00 pm. Re-opening celebrations are scheduled for Saturday, January 12.
The City Council is scheduled to ratify the consolidation on December 21. No difficulties are expected. Here's to an exciting new chapter for Hennepin County libraries beginning in 2008!The Friends of the Minneapolis Public Library announced today that Anita S. Duckor has been named their new Executive Director, effective December 3, to lead The Friends through a 12 to 18 month transitional period. Duckor is the current President of the Minneapolis Public Library Board and was instrumental in negotiating the consolidation of the Minneapolis Public Library and the Hennepin County Library. She will replace Colin Hamilton, who is stepping down on November 27 after seven years with The Friends.
“Given Anita’s unique skills and experiences, I can think of no better leader to help integrate The Friends into the new Hennepin County Library system,” says Friends Board President Glenn Miller. “We have incredible opportunities before us, and Anita can help us seize them.” Duckor has more than 30 years of business experience helping organizations grow and prosper, culminating in her current position as President of Duckor & Associates, a business consulting company. She is widely respected across Minnesota, having been appointed by Governor Arne Carlson and St. Paul Mayor Norm Coleman to serve economic and community development commissions.
Duckor has also served on The Friends’ Board of Directors for eight years, and was part of a core volunteer group that led the New Central Library Capital Campaign.
“The pending consolidation of our library systems positions the united Hennepin County Library to be one of, if not the, premier public libraries in the country,” says Anita Duckor. “Achieving that potential will require strong private partnerships and committed library advocates throughout our community, and those are things The Friends can deliver. I look forward to helping put one of the final pieces of the puzzle in place.”
As Executive Director, Duckor’s primary responsibility will be to facilitate The Friends’ anticipated consolidation with the Library Foundation of Hennepin County and to develop partnerships with our new colleagues at the Hennepin County Library. She will also have responsibilities for fundraising, advocacy, and new program development.
Hamilton joined The Friends in 2000 and led the organization through an unusually complicated time that included the library referendum, the New Central Library Capital Campaign, and the public funding debates that helped spur MPL’s pending consolidation with the Hennepin County Library. Under his leadership, The Friends annual fundraising grew by more than 600% and membership has tripled. Hamilton has accepted a new position as the Director of Advancement at Artspace, with responsibilities that include helping to complete the Shubert Theater, just a block away from the Central Library.
The Friends of the Minneapolis Public Library support our libraries through fundraising, advocacy, and free cultural programs. The Friends have 5,200 members. In their last fiscal year, The Friends contributed $9.3 million in grants and services to the Minneapolis Public Library. This summer, The Friends received the Baker & Taylor Award for the nation’s most outstanding Friends group.
On September 6, county staff briefed the Hennepin County Commissioners on progress made on a wide range of logistical issues essential to merging the two systems, including the transfer of assets and personnel. One of the more complicated issues remains the finalization of Hennepin County’s employee contracts, which would cover MPL employees in a consolidated system. Those contract negotiations are expected to be completed in late November.
In November, public hearings are expected to be held by the Minneapolis City Council, the Minneapolis Public Library Board, and the Hennepin County Commissioners. When dates and locations are available, The Friends will circulate them to our e-mail list. From a user perspective, the most evident change on January 1 will be the reopening of three currently shuttered Minneapolis community libraries – Roosevelt, Southeast, and Webber Park. Other changes in service, such as a common library card or integrated card catalog, will follow, although no exact timeline is currently available. It is also expected that in 2008 additional funds will be generated through the stadium tax to support a modest increase in hours at locations to be determined.
While we have a long way to go to achieving library hours equal to the needs of our community, bringing together the Minneapolis and Hennepin County libraries is a strong step toward better library service across the county. The 5,000+ members of The Friends are continuing to support our libraries through general financial support, funds for new books, exciting cultural programs, and advocacy.
This is why so many Minneapolitans are disappointed with our libraries’ limited service hours and the closure of Roosevelt, Southeast, and Webber Park community libraries in December 2006. Thanks to an outpouring of public support and the work of staff members and elected officials, there is good news to report.
The Minneapolis and Hennepin County libraries on planning to consolidate to form a new, premier library system across the county.The state legislature approved the consolidation in the last legislative session. Bringing the two library systems together will make the most of their complementary strengths. Minneapolis’ strong tradition of developing a broad collection of books, AV materials, and research resources will continue. Integrating the libraries will be a gradual process, but Minneapolis libraries will be on more stable financial footing if the County Commissioners assume control, as is expected in January 2008. The Commissioners have an excellent record in supporting libraries – indeed, a Hennepin County library has never closed.
Roosevelt, Southeast, and Webber Park libraries are set to reopen.On the current timeline, the libraries will reopen in January 2008, albeit with limited hours. Roosevelt and Southeast libraries will be open 23 hours a week. Webber Park will be open 20 hours a week. Facility improvements at these libraries, paid for by funds overwhelmingly approved by Minneapolitans in 2000, will go ahead. Reopening these libraries is a step in the right direction and momentum to build upon.
Minneapolis needs a strong library system.Much more than a book depository, public libraries are our society’s great equalizer. Libraries give everyone free access to information, entertainment, a wide range of classes, the internet, help with homework, and more – all within a safe and supportive environment. Some believed Google would make libraries obsolete. The opposite is true. With every new way to find and use information, libraries become more relevant. Since 1994, library use has increased 61% across the country.
The Friends of the Minneapolis Public Library are committed to our goal of seeing all Minneapolis libraries open at least 6 full days a week.Thanks to the generous support of over 5,000 members, The Friends will continue all aspects of their work, including advocacy, raising funds for our libraries, and presenting great public programs.
Today the Minnesota legislation approved historic enabling legislature that will allow the Hennepin County Library and Minneapolis Public Library systems to merge. The merger can happen as soon as Jan. 1, 2008, and no later than Dec. 31, 2008.
The merged system, to be called Hennepin County Library, will include 15 Minneapolis and 26 suburban libraries and will provide more streamlined services to all Hennepin County residents. The two systems share a heritage with common roots in their early years. A consolidated library system would bring together two complimentary collections, a popular array of programs and classes and nationally acclaimed services to the community.
"Taking this united action to bring together two nationally recognized library systems to create a premier library system will benefit all residents of Hennepin County, including families, new immigrants, job seekers, and small business owners," stated Randy Johnson, Hennepin County Board chair.
In the next six months, a variety of legal, property, and labor issues must still be negotiated. After this, the consolidation must be approved by the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners, the Minneapolis City Council and the Minneapolis Public Library Board with advisory review by the Hennepin County Library Board.
"The time has come to unite our city and county libraries and create a premier library system that maximizes the best of our Minneapolis and Hennepin County libraries," Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak said. "Libraries are critical to our community and provide essential service to our residents, and a unified city-county library system will help to ensure that residents have access to one of the best library systems in the nation."
Pending final approval of the library unification, Mayor Rybak also reiterated the City's intent to give the Library Board additional funding to re-open Roosevelt, Southeast, and Webber Park libraries closed last year.
Negotiations with four of Minneapolis Public Library's five unions will continue as merger details are worked out. An agreement with AFSCME, which represents the largest number of Minneapolis Public Library employees, was approved by membership on May 16. The united library system will be a department of Hennepin County with an 11-member citizen advisory board appointed by the County's Board of Commissioners, with three members initially designated as Minneapolis residents.
"This merger moves us from a 20th to a 21st century structure for financing and governing our libraries. It is essential if we are to continue the high quality of library services that we are accustomed to and need in the future," said Hennepin County Commissioner Peter McLaughlin.
The City of Minneapolis will initially contribute the current library share of Local Government Aid ($6.8 million) and will fund the first three years of any increased service hours at libraries, including reopening three temporarily closed libraries. The city's contribution to operating expenses will phase out over 10 years.
Minneapolis Public Library Board President Anita Duckor added, "As the library board has discussed this issue over the past year, our shared goal has been a library system open and available to everyone, offering the best technology, the best programs, and the best employees - something this consolidation would bring to all of Hennepin County."
Over the past six months, two advisory committees - the Committee on the Future of Libraries in Hennepin County and the Library Advisory Committee - examined options for providing the best 21st century library services to all Hennepin County residents. Both concluded that one united library system was the best solution. The Minneapolis Public Library Board, the Minneapolis City Council, the Hennepin County Library Board and the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners approved guiding principles and support for state legislation enabling the merger.
Hennepin County Library is nationally recognized as one of the top libraries in the United States. Located outside of Minneapolis, it serves a suburban population of 762,000 through 26 libraries, Children's Readmobiles, Outreach Services and an extensive website, hclib.org Hennepin County Library customers checked out more than 13 million books, magazines, CDs and DVDs, logged onto the website more than 10 million times and placed more than 2.8 million reserves in 2006. More than 77,000 new library cards were issued last year. The library is a service of Hennepin County.
Founded in 1885, the Minneapolis Public Library provides service through the downtown Central Library, community libraries, technology centers, and online. The library's mission is to link people in the city and beyond with the transforming power of knowledge. The members of the Minneapolis Library Board are: Anita S. Duckor, president; Alan Hooker, secretary; Rod Krueger; Sheldon Mains; Hussein Samatar; Laurie Savran; Gary Thaden; and Laura Waterman Wittstock.
The Minneapolis Public Library Trustees, the Minneapolis Mayor and City Council, the Hennepin County Board, The Friends of the Minneapolis Public Library Board, and the Star Tribune have all recommended moving forward with a consolidation of the Minneapolis Public Library and the Hennepin County Library. All these groups agree that consolidation is the only feasible way to avoid further library closures and ensure that all county residents have access to great libraries. But there is a very real chance that consolidation will be stopped at the state legislature in the coming days.
Help to keep our libraries open and restore lost services. We need people like you who care about libraries to contact your State Representative and State Senator as soon as possible, encouraging them to support consolidation to keep our libraries open.
Here is what’s at stake. If the consolidation goes forward, additional funds will be provided to re-open Roosevelt, Southeast, and Webber Park Libraries. In addition, we will join with the larger and more rapidly growing county tax base, helping to ensure quality library services over the long term.
If the consolidation is voted down, Minneapolis is almost certain to close another three or more libraries by 2009. There will also be layoffs and further cuts to hours, collections, and services.
Here is the issue.All parties are committed to a consolidation in which there are no layoffs, no loss of accumulated benefits, and no loss of total wages. As a Star Tribune headline declared last Monday, “City workers won’t face lower wages under the bill.” However, AFSCME has opposed Hennepin County’s proposal for how wage protection would be achieved for 10 – 20% of MPL employees. While this is a legitimate issue, it’s resolvable. It cannot be allowed to derail legislation when so much is at stake. We may not get a second chance.
Don’t let another Minneapolis library close. Take this chance to contact your State Representative and Senator, urging them to support a consolidation that will provide all Hennepin County residents with the libraries they need.
The consolidation of the Minneapolis and Hennepin County Libraries took another step forward yesterday when the Hennepin County Commissioners unanimously approved the “guiding principles” for consolidation previously approved by the Minneapolis Public Library Trustees and City Council. The Commissioners did, however, make a couple significant changes. The issue will now pass to the State Legislature and Governor. We expect action by the end of the session in late May.
Labor issues continue to be the most complicated to resolve The Commissioners’ resolution states that MPL employees transferred into Hennepin County employment will: 1) Be allocated to an appropriate job classification and will accept Hennepin County’s wage rates and conditions of employment; 2) Retain their seniority date except for Hennepin County’s early retiree health insurance benefits, in which case they will be treated as new employees.
MPL is still analyzing the impact of the Hennepin County Board’s action and seeking answers to a number of questions. How many employees will be affected? Who are they? What is the extent of the impact? What are the new job classifications for MPL employees and what is the comparable wage rate? Are there alternative ways to compensate employees for potentially lost wages?
Whatever one thinks of the progress to date on the economic issues, the Commissioners’ action is an important and historic vote for MPL. Consolidating with Hennepin County Library is the most promising solution for a strong and sustainable future for patrons and staff alike. Today’s vote was a step toward consolidation, and there is much to be understood, discussed, and resolved.
The report, prepared by The Friends of the Minneapolis Public Library at the library's request, features demographic overviews of each branch library's specific service area, with comparative and historical analysis.
As stated in the report's introduction, "The report also provides statistical backing to what library staff members have always been aware of - our libraries serve an incredibly diverse population and the demographic complexion of each community library's service area is unique unto itself.... Although the vitality and true diversity of our libraries' neighborhoods cannot be captured in numbers, it is hoped this report will be a supplemental tool toward building upon the Minneapolis Public Library's tradition of public service responsive to the needs of all Minneapolitans."
The Library Advisory Committee (LAC), chaired by retired Tennant Co. CEO Roger Hale, has joined the Committee on the Future of Libraries in Hennepin County in recommending a consolidation of the Minneapolis and Hennepin County Libraries.
The LAC report describes the cause of MPL’s financial challenges and assesses a range of alternative solutions before making its final recommendation. Among other documents, the LAC considered a statistical summary comparing MPL to peer library systems.
The LAC report concludes: “A consolidated Hennepin County Library system would be better equipped to serve the needs of our diverse and changing communities than either system alone. In fact, with the combined strengths of these two national library leaders and the broad public support enjoyed by libraries throughout the Twin Cities metro area and the state, the new Hennepin County Library would be as well positioned for the future as any in the country.”
Click here to view PDF of the Library Advisory Committee report.
The Committee on the Future of Libraries in Hennepin County (“The Futures Committee”) has now formally recommended a consolidation of the Minneapolis and Hennepin County libraries into a single, united library system. A second review committee, the Library Advisory Committee, is expected to issue its report in the next two weeks. There will be a period for public input in early March followed by action by the Minneapolis Library Board, Minneapolis City Council, and the Hennepin County Commissioners. State action would also be required to enable a consolidation.
The Futures Committee's recommendation is described in these "guiding principles." Click here to link to a printable document of CFLHC Guiding Principles.
Highlights include:
• The vision is to be a premier library system by building on the strengths and talents of both systems, and the goal is to provide better and more seamless service to the public – in buildings, on-line, and through outreach.
• The new system will be a department of Hennepin County. There will be a 10-member advisory board, appointed by the County Commissioners. When the board is first convened, it will include at least three Minneapolis residents.
• The united library system will be primarily funded by a countywide property tax. While the tax base will change over time, consolidation will not significantly shift the relative taxes currently paid by Minneapolis and suburban taxpayers for library services. Minneapolis will make an additional contribution of $7.8 million, which will be phased out over the next 10 years. This represents Minneapolis’ current commitment of LGA dollars to its library system and an additional $1 million to help cover MPL’s projected operating deficit. As these dollars are phased out, they are expected to be compensated for by the county’s expanded tax base.
• It has not yet been resolved whether Roosevelt, Southeast, and Webber Park will be re-opened. The Committee agreed that Minneapolis would need to make a multi-year financial commitment if those libraries are to be restored. Minneapolis would also be responsible for any additional increase in hours at Central or community libraries. That commitment would also phase out over time, replaced by county property tax funds.
• In the meantime, capital improvement projects in Minneapolis will continue as planned.
Stay tuned to future Friends updates for information on public input opportunities and the report from the Library Advisory Committee.