I think I can wrap up my impressions of this program by one thing Thomas Galante, CEO of the Queens Public Library of NY said: "Don't wait until it rains to fix the roof". Making tough decisions in tough times is inevitable. But prior to having to do this, you should *constantly* be eliciting support on all levels, whether it is financial (Friends, Foundation), political (local electeds, Library Board) or other (your user base and internal partners). Constantly work these people when times are good so that when times get tough, you have your allies lined up and ready to support you.
Based on some of the horror stories I have heard about budget cuts (30-50% is pretty common) makes me realize that in Rancho, we are doing something right (in that our cuts have not been anywhere as draconian). But if times do get tougher, I think we have done a good job of building our political base, and if we needed to unleash them, I suspect we will be pretty formidable.
Just hope we don't have to...
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This is interesting. At the Confessions of New Library Directors program, the director of Salt Lake talked about lining up her allies as soon as she got the job and asking them if they would be willing to help her if things got tough. I do think we do a good job of getting to know the right people, but we need to keep building these relationships (for tough times and for fundraising).
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