How Much Does It Take?

How much money does it take to run a national library?

Answer: It depends. The National Agricultural Library's (NAL) allocation for FY2006 was $22.8 million, but that same year the National Library of Medicine (NLM) received $315 million (PDF|8.52 KB).

How is NAL managing on a budget that is only a small fraction of NLM's?

Answer: Good question. And you're not the only one asking it. In fact, the question has been surfacing and re-surfacing for some time.

Back in 2000, USDA appointed an Interagency Panel to assess NAL's pursuit of its legislated mandate. Knowing the figures above, I'm sure you won't be surprised by the Panel's conclusion: that NAL is unable, with that level of support, to do what it was established to do.

The Panel went on to recommend annual increases to the NAL budget with a total target increase to $100 million (in 2001 dollars).

USDA then went on to ask the National Agricultural Research, Extension, Education, and Economics Advisory Board (NAREEEAB) -- a diverse 31-member panel that advises the Secretary of Agriculture on top priorities and policies for food and agricultural research, education, extension and economics -- to review the Interageny Panel's report and make its recommendations. Based on that review, along with thirty days of public comment, the NAREEE Board fully agreed with the Panel, but they took the funding recommendation one step further: The Board urged "an immediate increase of $10 million . . . to launch the revitalization process."

Sounds good. What happened?

Answer: The Library did not receive any additional funding. In fact, the stagnant appropriation yielded a net decrease in spendable dollars.

Then, in 2007, the NAREEE Board conducted a major five-year review of NAL, the first since their review of the Interagency Panel's recommendations. They released their findings (PDF|115 KB) in February 2008. Noting the intervening years of flat budgets, the Board declared NAL at a "tipping point," going on to describe the "critical cutbacks" on the table. To counteract the resulting loss of programs and services, the Board recommended "funding increases for NAL over the 'long term'" to shore up the collection and to repair or replace the Library's building.

How much of a funding increase did the Board recommend?

Answer: The NAREEE Board did not tie a dollar figure to its recommendation.

Spurred by their support, however, NAL staff crafted a discussion paper (PDF|35 MB) that brought together all the issues, figures, goals and ideas that staff had been wrestling with for over three years about where the Library wanted to go and what it would take to get there. Released just last week, the paper summarizes the Library’s programs, services, audiences and opportunities for growth and projects the costs for a variety of new endeavors.

Of course, the report does not represent the official policy or position of the Agricultural Research Service or the United States Department of Agriculture, but the Library has released it in hopes that it will stimulate discussion, evoke critical comment and spark debate about NAL's future.

Okay, what next?

Answer: Read the discussion paper, "Blueprint for Success," (PDF|35 MB) and let us know what role you see the Library taking in the future. Do our goals mesh with yours? Do you want us to expand our online resources, to restore journal subscriptions, to lead a national effort to collect the best of agricultural research?

Or tell us what value you place on the Library in the context of agricultural research. How do you use us? What more do you need us to do for you?

We are a national library, which means we're your library. What can we do to serve your needs regarding agriculture and the environment?

Posted by Mary Ann Leonard

Added to Libraries on May 05, 2008 EST | Permalink

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Lively discussions and different opinions are encouraged within the bounds of respectful civil discourse. Questionable language, personal attacks, off-topic comments, and gratuitous links will either be edited or deleted. Comments are moderated and will not appear on InfoFarm until they have been approved.

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This blog does not represent official communications from the National Agricultural Library, the Agricultural Research Service or the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Somebody Out There Loves Us

In a survey NAL took two years ago, we learned that over half of the 6,000 or so respondents did not know we existed. We're working to change that.

One way is by making ourselves more visible in our immediate community.

Last month, the Library hosted the Women in Business group from the Baltimore Washington Corridor Chamber of Commerce and shared with them an inside look at our collections and our work.

It's not the kind of thing we do every day, but we do it often enough that we might occasionally take it for granted, this showing off the place and its riches. Fortunately, one attendee didn't take it for granted. Instead, she wrote a glowing and appreciative review in a blog entry penned just a few days after her visit.

And though she finds our building to be "chunky," "distant" and "foreboding" (and who doesn't, frankly?), she discovers within it "a remarkable collection to delight any lover of nature and history."

Is it enough to say "thank you" to such effusive praise?

I sure hope so.

Thank you, Peg.

And thank you, too, to all our customers, to our USDA colleagues and to our partners across the federal government, education, and libraries. You make it all worthwhile.

Posted by Mary Ann Leonard

Added to Libraries on April 16, 2008 EST | Permalink

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Lively discussions and different opinions are encouraged within the bounds of respectful civil discourse. Questionable language, personal attacks, off-topic comments, and gratuitous links will either be edited or deleted. Comments are moderated and will not appear on InfoFarm until they have been approved.

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This blog does not represent official communications from the National Agricultural Library, the Agricultural Research Service or the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

You're Only as Young as You Feel

You've seen those lists every fall describing the experiences of that year's class of college freshmen, haven't you?

The most recent, for the class of 2011, hightlight that "they've never 'rolled down' a car window," and "never saw Johnny Carson live on television." Hard to believe, but there it is.

The annual update is meant to help bridge the generation gap, to set the historical and cultural context of the campus newbies for those about to meet them.

Sure, okay ... but what it seems to do even more successfully is to make the rest of us feel old. (Never saw Pete Rose play baseball? Jeesh!)

But if you really want to get a sense of time's furious pace, check out Steve Abram's quick recap of the Internet era:

• Web sites (as we've come to think of them) have been around only about 14 years.
• Blogs, as a form, debuted almost 10 years ago.
• Google has helped us search for the last nine years.
• Wikipedia joined the world in 2001.
• MySpace began in 2003, Facebook in 2004. [Sidebar: Abrams places MySpace back to 1999, citing Wikipedia, but more authoritative sources support the later date.]
• And YouTube joined us just three years ago, in February 2005.

Quite the reality check, isn't it?

Compare all that to the history of libraries, these august institutions that have been around since time immemorial, performing nearly the same functions through the centuries -- collecting materials and serving as a repository of knowledge.

Is it any wonder that our heads are spinning trying to integrate the young and fast-moving Web?

And yet, when looked at against the warp speed infiltration of all things Internet, libraries have adjusted rather quickly.

But what's in our future? Who knows, but take the jump to gain some street wisdom on the matter.

Then come back and offer some insights of your own. If you're a librarian, what are you doing to stay technologically young and nimble? If you're not, what do you want to see libraries do to meet your Web-adjusted expectations?

Think young. Be young. We're gonna need it.

Posted by Mary Ann Leonard

Added to Blogging and Libraries on January 25, 2008 EST | Permalink

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Lively discussions and different opinions are encouraged within the bounds of respectful civil discourse. Questionable language, personal attacks, off-topic comments, and gratuitous links will either be edited or deleted. Comments are moderated and will not appear on InfoFarm until they have been approved.

Do you know where one would find the final rule, published in the Federal Register, addressing the implementation of the Food Security Act of 1985?

Submitted by: William Arens on February 25, 2008 04:45 PM

Submitted by: Mary Ann on February 25, 2008 05:16 PM

Squawk Back

Funny librarian cartoons are hard to find. Every so often the New Yorker will have a good one, but they're still a rare breed. (And don't even mention that awful Noah Wylie movie. Embarrassing does not equal funny, and besides, it's live action, not animation, so it doesn't count.)

But then I stumbled onto a few budding collections (thanks to Stephen Abram's blog), and came across a comic strip that's just perfect for today's topic.

By Emily Lloyd at Self Check

Any chance that could be you?

If so, now's your chance. In honor of World Usability Day, I'm inviting you to tell us what you think about the National Agricultural Library. (Honestly, it's a standing invitation, but if you're one of those who needs an occasion, here it is.)

Do you like our Web site? Do we give you what you need right up front? Can you find your way around? Are there topics we're not covering that we should be?

What about our services? How'd we do answering your questions? Or getting you the article you need?

Or, dare I ask, what's your take on InfoFarm, this witty and informative blog you're reading? Are we filling a niche or missing the mark?

Friend, foe, frenemy...we'd like to hear from you.

Of course, if commenting's not your thing -- and you really just come for the edifying links -- then head on over to Usability.gov for the ins and outs of building great Web sites, or PlainLanguage.gov for tips on making your writing easier to understand. Master what's in those two sites and you'll make friends out of enemies in no time (at least on the Web).

Posted by Mary Ann Leonard

Added to Libraries on November 08, 2007 EST | Permalink

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Lively discussions and different opinions are encouraged within the bounds of respectful civil discourse. Questionable language, personal attacks, off-topic comments, and gratuitous links will either be edited or deleted. Comments are moderated and will not appear on InfoFarm until they have been approved.

I know this isn't what you're looking for, but--how fun to find my cartoon here! I grew up in DC; my sister worked for APHIS for years before heading to Georgetown Law. Thanks for "quoting" me. Best, Emily

Submitted by: Emily Lloyd on November 8, 2007 05:00 PM

Submitted by: Mary Ann on November 8, 2007 05:10 PM

Submitted by: Karl Schneider on November 10, 2007 08:46 PM