Library Advocates Call On Oprah For Help

Author, activist, and library advocate extraordinaire Marilyn Johnson has formed what may be the most important group on Facebook -- Oprah, Libraries Need You!. If you care about the fate of libraries in this country, you need to join the group to show the media diva just how many of us are suffering from the assault on library budgets taking place all the across the country.

Above all, please come join us, Oprah! Speak up and speak out on behalf of the millions of library users who are losing invaluable services through relentless funding cuts. Our libraries desperately need strong voices like yours to get the attention of the powers that be.

Dave Donelson, author of The Dynamic Manager's Guide To Advertising: How To Grow Your Business With Ads That Work
> a how-to book for business owners and managers.

A Small Business Success Story For Book Lovers

You can't hold down a good business idea--especially if it concerns a product as clever as In My Book bookmark greeting cards. Entrepreneur Robin Blum tells the full story of how they came about, why they've survived the ups and downs of the economy for the last ten years, and what's next in her company's future during this interview on WOR's Joan Hamburg Show.

Learn more about the product at www.InMyBook.com.

Dave Donelson, author of Heart of Diamonds a romantic thriller about blood diamonds in the Congo.

An Open Letter Of Library Support To My Town's Mayor

Mayor/Supervisor Joan Walsh
Town & Village of Harrison
1 Heineman Place
Harrison, NY 10528

Dear Mayor Walsh,

In response to your recent request for input as the town prepares its budget for 2011, I would like to point out some pertinent facts about how important the residents of the town of Harrison consider their libraries. I’d also like to discuss the economic value we receive from our investment in these important community institutions.

Few would dispute the relevance of libraries to the quality of life in our town, but I’m not sure many people realize the scope of service provided by the Harrison Public Library, West Harrison Branch, and Purchase Free Library. In addition to circulating hundreds of thousands of books, DVDs, CDs, and other materials, our libraries present thousands of programs for everyone from kids to seniors, offer tax and other government forms, provide free Internet access to the one-third of Harrison residents who do not have it in their home, and answer thousands and thousands of questions about everything from homework assignments to how to find job search resources.

It’s the sheer scope of these services that has driven the growth in usage of our libraries—a fact that demonstrates their importance to the people who live here. Last year, visits to our three libraries increased 7% to well over 200,000—with commensurate growth in the number of items circulated, reference questions answered, computer usage, and programs attended.

To put it another way, more than 500 Harrison residents visited our three libraries every day in 2009.

Another way to measure the importance of libraries to us is the growth in the number of Harrison residents who are registered for library cards. In 2009, 11,775 of us had cards—an increase of 14% over the year earlier. In other words, nearly half of us consider the libraries important enough to take the time to register. Thousands more residents use the facilities on a walk-in basis without a card.

Enclosed is a chart showing 2008 and 2009 library usage in several pertinent categories and attaching some minimal (and admittedly arbitrary) economic value to them based on what it would cost a library patron to buy the same products and services elsewhere. Please note that all data is combined for the Purchase, Harrison, and West Harrison libraries and drawn from the libraries’ annual state report for 2009. While it is impossible to put a dollar value on everything these fine libraries do for us, we can do some simple math to show what a great return Harrison resident receive on the tiny portion of their tax dollars that support the libraries.

According to my calculations based on the 2010 Town Budget, for every dollar we spend on our three libraries, we receive $2.47 in value based on 2009 library usage.

The basis for my calculation is straightforward. Harrison residents checked out 188,236 books (more adult volumes than children’s, by the way) in 2009. If they had purchased that many trade paperbacks at a standard price of $15 each, they would have spent $2,823,540—an amount greater than the town’s library budget by far! Then there are the 149,171 DVDs, CDs, games, and other materials that were borrowed. A comparable rental from a video store would cost about $5—or another $745,855 out of Harrison residents’ pocketbooks. And what about programs like the Early Literacy sessions? Attendance at them was 7,743 in 2009. To hire a tutor at just $25 an hour would have cost our town’s parents $193,575. Then there is the Summer Reading Program, Internet computer usage, other adult and children’s programs, etc.

In 2010, the town budgeted $2,467,752 for library support and operations of the three facilities. By my math, we taxpayers received $6,089,807 in value. That’s a one-year return anyone should be pleased to achieve.

You can see the complete calculations on the enclosed chart. Full detail on library usage is available from the reports the libraries file with the state through the Westchester Library System. As you may know, I represent our libraries on the WLS Board of Trustees. I would be more than happy to discuss this with you and/or the town board at your convenience.

I know hard choices must be made during these difficult times. I urge you to consider the loud vote for library funding cast by the 11,775 registered users and the tremendous economic value delivered by our libraries to our residents. Thank you for considering this request that library funding for 2011 not be subject to further cuts.

Best regards,
Dave Donelson


Dave Donelson, author of Heart of Diamonds a romantic thriller about blood diamonds in the Congo.

A Little Library With Big Impact

The fight for funding our libraries is entering a critical phase as the budgeting process for Westchester county and many municipalities begins in the next few weeks. Anne Collins, Director of the Purchase (NY) Free Library, penned this open letter to her community in response to Harrison Mayor Joan Walsh's request for input on priorities for the coming budget year. I reproduce it with Anne's kind permission:

In a letter to the community dated Friday, August 6, Joan Walsh asked everyone what services they would be willing to give up to avoid further tax increases. While it is extremely inconvenient for Harrison residents to have curtailed garbage collections, such cut-backs in services cannot compare with the negative effect of closing a library. Libraries and library services add value to a community.

In good times and bad, the Purchase Free Library performs many services beyond the ordering and circulation of materials. To promote socialization and reading readiness, we sponsor frequent children's programs, such as our Mother Goose series and Musical Munchkins. Every summer, we offer our Summer Reading Game. The Friends bring us talented children's book authors every year, like Tish Rabe, who came to the library last November to talk about her delightful Cat In The Hat young reader series. This fall, we will be initiating a free weekly play group and story hour.

The Friends also sponsor outstanding educational programs every year from the Greenburgh Nature Center and the Cornell Cooperative Extension Services. In March, 2010, the Friends sponsored a wildly successful program about Birds Of Prey from the Greenburgh Nature Center.

The number of events we sponsor is increasing every month. In April, a new Purchase Free Library Book Club was initiated by popular request.

Our newsletter, Library Links, combines details of all our outreach activities together with announcements about upcoming programs. Library Links, like the library itself, serves to educate and keep us in touch with our community and to bring the community together.

In her letter, Joan invited everyone to tell her which services they would be willing to give up and "which services and amenities are too important to forego because they enhance the life of the community." The Purchase Free Library can only be seen as providing great enhancement. I am hoping that some of you might be able to speak up for the importance of our library to the cultural life of the greater Harrison community: Harrison, West Harrison, and Purchase.

I couldn't agree with Anne more. As a Harrison taxpayer, I will be loudly expressing my opinion on the importance of these libraries as well.

Dave Donelson, author of Heart of Diamonds a romantic thriller about blood diamonds in the Congo.

Every New Book Deserves A Website

The Dynamic Manager's Guide series now has its own place on the web. The new website went live this morning with a brief introduction, information about me and my business and writing career, and detail of the first book in the series, The Dynamic Manager's Guide To Advertising: How To Grow Your Business With Ads That Work.

The website, www.thedynamicmanager.com, features a sample of the book, an mp3 audio introduction, and complete details of the contents.

The book is making its way in the marketplace, too. E-book editions are available for the Amazon Kindle and other formats. The audio podcast edition has been slated for release at Podiobooks.com on September 17, and the Audible.com edition has been produced and is in the distribution pipeline.

The next book in the series, The Dynamic Manager's Guide To Marketing, is in final editing. Look for its release October 1 if all goes as planned.

Dave Donelson, author of Heart of Diamonds a romantic thriller about blood diamonds in the Congo.

New Business Book Series

I launched a new series of books for owners and managers of small businesses today. The first book is The Dynamic Manager's Guide To Advertising: How to grow your business with ads that work. It's available now as an ebook in multiple formats.

The Dynamic Manager's Guide To Advertising is designed to help a manager create an advertising strategy suitable for a small business. Mention "advertising" to most people and they immediately think of the behemoths of the airwaves like Pepsi and P&G--and that's the kind of advertising most books on the subject are about. But this one is different. It's about the kind of advertising local car dealers do, or realtors, or clothing retailers, or home improvement contractors, or insurance agents. In other words, it talks about how small businesses can apply good advertising practices to the actual market conditions they face.

The book is based on my experiences writing and selling advertising over thirty years in the broadcasting business, which is what I did before I became a full-time writer. I drew extensively from material from my seminars and various columns I wrote for national business publications like Family Business Magazine, Entrepreneur, and Ward's Auto Dealer. Over the years, I've interviewed, consulted with, and created advertising for hundreds of small businesses. Much of that material forms the basis for The Dynamic Manager's Guide To Advertising.

The ebook is the first in a series of three related titles that will be combined and published in trade paperback. It will be available as an audiobook, too.

Dave Donelson, author of Heart of Diamonds a romantic thriller about blood diamonds in the Congo.

Oppenheimer To Lead Library Rally

NY Governor David Paterson’s proposed budget would reduce library funding to $84.5 million – a $2.5 million cut from exiting levels. Join NY Senator Suzy Oppenheimer, WLS Director Terry Kirchner, and me at the White Plains Courthouse Friday, June 18 at 11:30 AM to protest these unconsciounable cuts in library aid.

If adopted this would represent an $18 million reduction over the past three years and the fifth time state spending for public libraries has been cut since 2007. The proposed cuts fly in the face of ever-growing need and demand for library services. At a time when many individuals are struggling financially, the public library remains an important free resource for information gathering, entertainment, and career research. Senator Oppenheimer, Chair of the Senate Committee on Education, and representatives of the Westchester Library System, will advocate for restoration of library funding in the state budget.

Both the Senate and Assembly majorities have proposed restoring funding, the Senate full restoration and the Assembly a 40% or $960,000 restoration. If you can't join us for the rally, please contact your state senator and especially your state representative to let them know libraries need FULL funding restored. Visit www.protectnylibraries.org and click on VOTE for Libraries button to send message to your state elected officials.

Senator Oppenheimer will also kick-off her summer reading program for children, which is designed to prevent the regression in literacy skills that can occur during the summer months.

WHO: Senator Suzi Oppenheimer (D-Westchester)
Terry Kirchner, Executive Director, Westchester Library System
Dave Donelson, Trustee, Westchester Library System
Directors of Public Libraries in the 37th Senate District

WHEN: Friday, June 18, 2010 @ 11:30 AM

WHERE: White Plains Public Library
100 Martine Avenue, White Plains, NY 10601
Event will be outdoors, in courtyard adjacent to Courthouse; in case of inclement weather, event will move to library auditorium.

Dave Donelson, author of Heart of Diamonds a romantic thriller about blood diamonds in the Congo.

Dog Lovers at Audible.com: Hunting Elf

Dog lovers take note: My first novel, Hunting Elf, is now available from audiobook powerhouse Audible.com. Like its protagonist, Elf the Silkie Terrier, the book just won't quit.

Hunting Elf is based on a true story. We had bought a little Silkie Terrier puppy to give to my mother-in-law one Christmas. In a chain of ever-more-unbelievable events, the little dickens ran away the night we brought him home, only to return on Christmas Eve. I turned that tale into first a short story, then into a podcast that weaves many more of our experiences as dog owners into a comedic novel about dog shows and the wacky people whose lives revolve around them. The setting is Westchester County, the suburbs north of New York where the original real events took place.

One listener left this heart-warming comment at Podiobooks.com:

This is the funniest story I have had the good fortune to experience for a long time. I was at times forced to pull my car over to the side of the road for fear of loosing control at the side-splittingly hilarious scenes this story has in abundance. This really is a refreshing piece of work suitable for all ages. I enjoyed it from begining to end and found myself so completely abosrbed in in the story I was almost dismayed when it finally concluded. Dave Donelson is a master story teller and has done a fantastic job. I take my hat off to this exceptional piece of work.

The original serialized audio version drew a devoted audience of dog lovers who clamored for a print edition, so I self-published one in 2006. It also spawned a fan club of sorts among breeders and owners of Silkie Terriers who send me pictures and videos of their little darlings that I post on the book's website. Just like the little dogs themselves, Hunting Elf has been a lot of fun.

Dave Donelson, author of Heart of Diamonds a romantic thriller about blood diamonds in the Congo.

Proposed NY Aid Cuts Endanger Our Libraries

Libraries everywhere are under greater financial pressure than ever before. I testified today before the New York State Senate Westchester delegation about the impact of proposed cuts in library aid on the Westchester Library System and the 38 public libraries in our consortium. You can hear the testimony here.

Here's the original text of my testimony:

March 19, 2010

NY State Senate
Westchester Delegation
Public Budget Hearing Testimony

Good morning. I am Dave Donelson, Treasurer of the Westchester Library System. Thank you for the opportunity to speak on behalf of WLS and our 38 member libraries.

I would also like to thank you for your support of New York’s libraries in the past, but I’m afraid that would be hypocritical. While you as individuals have certainly been behind us—and we recognize and appreciate that fact—the state legislature as a whole has a long, sad record of denying the importance of libraries to our state’s economic and social well-being.

If Governor Paterson’s budget is adopted as it stands, that record will continue and libraries will find ourselves at funding levels we haven’t seen since the mid 1990s.

The budget under consideration reduces library aid for the fifth time in the last two years. The proposed $84.5 million in library aid represents an 18% cut since 2008. In the grand scheme of NY’s budget, that’s not much—only $18 million or so. But in the lives of the 500,000 people in Westchester who have library cards—and the thousands of others who use our public libraries without one—it is devastating.
Let me put the importance of libraries to your constituents in perspective: There were over 8 million visits made to Westchester libraries in 2009, which was more than the full season attendance at Yankee Stadium! Libraries are not just depositories of books. Westchester’s libraries are the places where teenagers gather after school, where seniors come for help navigating the maze of our health insurance system, and where thousands of people come for help finding a job. You know all that.

What you may not know is that Westchester’s libraries have already been forced to cut services as a direct result of funding shortfalls in the past two years. Over half of our 38 members libraries have cut hours of service, including the closure of libraries completely on Sundays in Yonkers, here in Greenburgh, and others. Some 50 staff positions in Westchester libraries have been lost in the last year alone. And these cuts have already taken place. Adoption of the proposed budget we’re discussing today will force greater reductions in service.

Declines in library service have a direct impact on the people of Westchester in many ways, but the place where this budget will hit hardest is where it will do the most harm—by chopping funding for cooperative library systems like WLS. I know you are familiar with what we do, but allow me to point out how our services save millions of dollars for Westchester taxpayers.

WLS operates the county’s largest online network, providing free Internet service through almost 600 computers plus WI-FI service and eliminating the need for each library to have full-time computer support personnel on staff. When 1/3 of our residents don’t have Internet access in their homes, this is a vital service.

WLS maintains the electronic catalog for our 38 member libraries, which means they don’t have to hire staff to do so.

WLS also delivers 2.5 million items annually in our inter-library loan program. That’s not just a convenience for the library user, but it means each library doesn’t have to purchase as many books and CDs and DVDs since their collections are essentially shared. If our member libraries had to stock just half of the items we circulate, it would cost them an additional $30 million annually.

About one-third of WLS’s operating budget comes from New York state. Like our member libraries, we’ve already laid off staff and reduced services as a direct result of previous cuts in state funding. Adoption of this proposed budget will necessitate severe measures. I must ask you, where do we cut next?

Do we eliminate our health advocacy resource centers in Yonkers and Shrub Oak? If so, where will the 2,500 seniors we assisted last year go for help with Medicare problems?

Do we cancel our job counseling service? If we do, who will help the 2,000 people who used it in Mount Vernon, Yonkers, and other member libraries?

We’ve already cut staff in our children’s department. Do we take the next step and disappoint the 43,000 kids who took part in our summer reading program last year?

Those are the kinds of choices adoption of this budget will force us to make. I am sure you will agree that none of them are acceptable—there is no “least objectionable alternative” when it comes to cuts in library service.

The solution is quite simple and really very inexpensive. All we ask is that you restore library aid to the 2008 level. That’s only putting $18 million back into the budget, an amount that’s less than a rounding error in the total.

On behalf of the Westchester Library System and our 38 member libraries—not to mention the 500,000 Westchester library card holders—I thank you for your consideration.

Respectfully submitted,

Dave Donelson
Treasurer

Dave Donelson, author of Heart of Diamonds a romantic thriller about blood diamonds in the Congo.

Heart Of Diamonds Celebrates eBook Week

As an author, I can attest that technology is a wonderful thing. I've published three books (so far) and every day seems to bring new ways to put them in front of an audience. One of the most exciting is in eBook editions, a format that's growing like crazy and reaching more and more people every day.

To celebrate eBook Week, March 7-13, I'm offering Heart Of Diamonds at half off the already-low eBook price at Smashwords.dom. This week only, the book will be available for your Sony Reader, Stanza, Palm, or just about any other device for just $4.98--a 50% discount. The special only applies to purchases through Smashwords.com.

Isn't technology wonderful?

Dave Donelson, author of Heart of Diamonds a romantic thriller about blood diamonds in the Congo.