The Illinois Library System Presidents and Directors met in Decatur, Friday February 19th to discuss the current status of system finances and library funding, the status of the NSLS/DLS merger discussions, restructuring efforts, consolidation and new sustainability service models. The group crafted a resolution that was personally delivered to Secretary of State and Illinois State Librarian Jesse White on Monday February 22, 2010 encouraging him to release Live and Learn Funds so that payments due to the library systems could be brought up to date for FY 2010. They further discussed a new vision and model of service with standards and protocols that would re-shape multitype library service in Illinois.
In talking about the meeting John Richmond, President of the Alliance Library System, said, “Libraries in Illinois are at a crossroads. Of primary concern is providing excellent multitype library service to the membership. Our discussions were open, frank and focused on collaborative actions to support and sustain our vision of the future. The decisions made in the next few months will be fundamental to our ongoing success. How we co-operate and re-envision our communal future is fundamental to our ability to support multitype library services across the state.”
The meeting closed with an enthusiastic commitment by all nine systems to continue the dialogue and forge a new framework to support their discussions. The library system Presidents and Directors affirmed their unanimous support to work together to assure the future of library systems in Illinois. The group will meet in several months to assess their progress.
Background information:Illinois Library Systems are membership-based, regional organizations consisting of academic, public, school, and special libraries.
Illinois is served by nine library systems, each providing services to participating libraries in its region. Statewide, over 2,200 libraries of all types and sizes are members of library systems. Funding for Illinois Library Systems is provided through the Illinois State Library and the Secretary of State with funds appropriated by the Illinois General Assembly.
For more information contact:
Jan Ison, Executive Director
Lincoln Trail Libraries System
1704 West Interstate Dr.
Champaign, Illinois 61822
Phone: 217-352-0047
Email: jison@lincolntrail.info
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