From georgia at corpsie.com Sat Mar 6 17:09:01 2004 From: georgia at corpsie.com (Georgia Clark) Date: Sat Mar 6 17:09:35 2004 Subject: [BHC] Kresge challenge Message-ID: <404A762C.3766C94B@corpsie.com> Does anyone on the list know what the Kresge Challenge is? The Saginaw Public library is soliciting donations to match this challenge and I was wondering if this was something that the Detroit Library/Burton Historical Collection could be involved with. Georgia Clark From rwcosgrove1 at yahoo.com Sun Mar 7 05:17:29 2004 From: rwcosgrove1 at yahoo.com (Bob Cosgrove) Date: Sun Mar 7 05:17:00 2004 Subject: [BHC] KRESGE CHALLENGE GRANTS Message-ID: <20040307131729.57297.qmail@web80212.mail.yahoo.com> Georgia Clark asked about Kresge Challenge Grants for which the Saginaw Public Library is appealing for matching funds. Kresge Challenge Grants are part of the Kresge Foundation's philanthropy. Browse for Kresge Foundation for more information. They are usually restricted to bricks & mortar projects and require the recipient to raise matching funds. Bob Cosgrove -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://aries.lunarpages.com/pipermail/bhc_habitant.org/attachments/20040307/6dbc5d79/attachment.htm From georgia at corpsie.com Sun Mar 7 09:46:58 2004 From: georgia at corpsie.com (Georgia Clark) Date: Sun Mar 7 09:47:23 2004 Subject: [BHC] Kresge Challenge Message-ID: <404B6012.18696B7A@corpsie.com> Thanks for all the replies. I did a search this time using just the Kresge name and found the information about the challenge. I had searched using Kresge challenge and had gotten too many hits. Following website explains what they do. I don't think that the Detroit library system needs more buildings. If I remember correctly, there are still neighborhood libraries that are closed. http://www.kresge.org/ Georgia Clark From dulongj at habitant.org Thu Mar 11 17:27:47 2004 From: dulongj at habitant.org (John P. DuLong) Date: Thu Mar 11 17:27:11 2004 Subject: [BHC] Short Update on the DPL and BHC Message-ID: Hello Advocates, It has been some time since I have written to you all. I must say I am enjoying my vacation from rabblerousing. My blood pressure is down and I have stopped grinding my teeth. I wish I could report that the Detroit Public Library and the Burton Historical Collection were doing as well. I do not know if any of you saw the following Detroit News article regarding an essay contest to sing the praises of the library: http://www.detnews.com/2004/metro/0403/09/b01-86070.htm It is sad that they only had one person come forward with an essay in support of the library. It is my understanding that since this article was published they have had at least five more essays turned in. This is still a sad turn out. This apathy worries me greatly. The millage renewal for the Detroit Public Library has to be voted on before the end of this year. I have been told that the Detroit Public Library is seeking two millages: the first one a renewal of their previous millage, and the second a new millage to replace the money taken away by the state. The plan is to have these millages on the August ballot. The way it has been explained to me is that if these millages do not go through in August, then there will be a period of several months before the millages can be placed back on the ballot. Meanwhile the current millage would run out. The result could be the drastic reduction of hours and services of the Detroit Public Library and even perhaps its closure. The library can not directly lobby for these millage votes because it is a public charity. However, they have hired someone to work with local politicians and other movers and shakers to get these millages on the ballot. The administration is moving on this issue. My fear is that too little is being done too late. I blame this on the Detroit Library Commissioners (but not the two newest members). These commissioners should have been earnestly working on this millage two years ago and not just a few months before the citizens of Detroit have to vote on the issue. But what can you expect from a group that runs incredibly short meetings, often come late, and sometimes do not even have a quorum. Ideally, I would like to see the four commissioners who have mismanaged the library into its current troubles resign and be replaced. Realistically, this is simply not going to happen. And even if it did, at this late date, it would be extremely hard to find new and qualified commissioners to replace them. Moreover, given the current situation, who would want to replace them. So folks, we are stuck with what he got. When I have talked with Detroiters many of you have expressed your disappointment in the way the current millage was used. You were promised several things including expanded hours (not shifted hours). The library has delivered on the promise for new bookmobiles. And there have been some improvements to the branches and system facilities. But we still have a system with not enough librarians to go around and with curtailed services. You know I share all your concerns and skepticisms about the Detroit Public Library, but putting all of this aside, I would still urge you Detroiters to vote in the affirmative for the millages and to encourage others to do so as well. Keep in mind, if the library closes so too does the Burton! Once the millages are passed, we will have to keep a close eye on the spending to insure it is not wasted on frivolous projects. With Dr. Wheeler now gone and the commissioners feeling some heat I think this is less likely to be the case in the future. For you non-Detroiters, I would encourage you to contribute to the Friends of the Burton Historical Collection. Anything you contribute will go to the Burton. As for the Friends of the Burton Historical Collection, I really have nothing significant to report about them. As you know, I am now one of the trustees of this group, so in a sense I have been co-opted. Obviously, I am still willing to speak my mind on issues regarding the library, but anything in the Friends of the Burton Historical Collection meetings I am asked not to share I will not. With that said, there are no great secrets that I am holding back. I would say that this group is still in the process of formation, that we are tossing ideas around to raise money for the Burton, but discussing these ideas in public would be extremely premature. I promise you that I will keep my eyes open and that I will continue to encourage openness and transparency, but I will not violate a trust. Frankly, this is awkward for me, but I hope you will be patient. In the long run, I think that the Friends of the Burton Historical Collection is going to be a very important resource for our special collection and I have faith in it. I can tell you that the Rare Book Room on the second floor is going to be converted into office space for the Friends of the Detroit Public Library. I understand that the room will remain much as it was before and that there is a chance that some of the rare books will be on display in this room. I know that many of the Rare Book patrons will be disappointed with this news, but I am glad to hear that these rooms will not be gutted and turned into a teen center as Dr. Wheeler had planned. Lastly, I am hearing mixed reports about the new Skillman Library branch. A few people have told me that its usage is growing, but others have told me that the National Automotive Historical Collection and the Children's Library are both extremely underused. Does anyone out there have any solid numbers on the number of patrons at the NAHC and the Children's Library before and after the move? (It still makes no sense to me to place a library for children in a demographic zone with very few children.) Well I rambled on long enough. As I learn more about the millage, etc., I will keep you posted. (This also works the other way around, if you hear anything about the millage, etc., then please let me know.) Regards, JP John P. DuLong, Ph.D. Acadian and French Canadian Genealogy 959 Oxford Road Berkley, MI 48072-2011 USA Tel.: (248) 541-2894 Web: http://habitant.org CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This email contains information from the sender that may be CONFIDENTIAL, LEGALLY PRIVILEGED, PROPRIETARY or otherwise protected from disclosure. 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If you do not believe that our policy gives you the privacy and security protection you need, do not send e-mail or Internet communications to us. From ChristieTrapp at aol.com Fri Mar 12 08:42:00 2004 From: ChristieTrapp at aol.com (ChristieTrapp@aol.com) Date: Fri Mar 12 08:42:10 2004 Subject: [BHC] Short Update on the DPL and BHC Message-ID: <104.4140a1b9.2d834258@aol.com> Thanks for letting us know the current progress about the library. I only have one thought that ran through my mind about the milage issue. Perhaps it will take a failure to pass at the ballot and the resulting closure of ALL the libraries in the Detroit area for people to get the real sense for a need to pass bond issues in whatever term it is called when they lose their access to a library; be it to get to a computer for reading their email, or checking out the latest mystery book or doing genealogy at the Burton. When something is closed down people finally realize how important something is. The state of California is experiencing something of the same issue, which Gov. S---- saw the need to put two measures on our most recent ballot and got out the message that if it failed, drastic measures would happen, specific benefits would cease, senior centers would disappear, services which have become the norm or were established in the glut time period of California would not longer exist, etc. Needless to say, people were up at arms about the proposed ideas for closures, they felt it was their "right" or their "due" or that they were somehow "entitled" to have all these programs only because they had been around so long. Many of them probably thought that he was bluffing. Well, more voters saw through the message and the good it would do to help the state resolve its problems and passed the two measures. Perhaps, even though the library, which was indicated that it was a "charity" couldn't push to get the measures on the ballot to get the funding, I don't understand how a public library is a "charity." When is a library ever a charity? Sure Carnegie probably helped establish the libraries lo those many years ago, I really don't think his intention was to make itself a charity. We have libraries here in California that were underwritten by Carnegie, but they are on the "public dole" and the funding to support the libraries come from either state money or local money through property taxes, sales taxes, or bond funds. If it is run purely from private funding, then perhaps a change needs to be made by getting the libraries made part of the state library system or part of the Detroit local government system so that the issue of funding support is lessened because now the main funding base comes from property owners, sales taxes and bonding. Perhaps if someone could explain to me how the Michigan libraries work in regards to its funding, I might be better informed as I am not from Michigan but hope, one day, to visit Detroit and visit the Burton in my quest to tie up my 1000+ ancestors who landed in Michigan before it became a state by availing myself of the many volumes housed within its walls as well as other information I have no idea even exists there! I think if I come to Michigan to visit, it will take me a month or more to accomplish this, so I hope that when I get the opportunity to visit that the library will still be there. Christie Trapp -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://aries.lunarpages.com/pipermail/bhc_habitant.org/attachments/20040312/1d68c83b/attachment.htm From dulongj at habitant.org Sun Mar 14 05:06:03 2004 From: dulongj at habitant.org (John P. DuLong) Date: Sun Mar 14 05:05:21 2004 Subject: [BHC] Short Update on the DPL and BHC In-Reply-To: <104.4140a1b9.2d834258@aol.com> Message-ID: The closure of the Detroit Public Library for any period of time would be a tragedy. First of all, there is no guarantee that it would reopen at all much less in a short period of time. Secondly, even if it did reopen just a few months later, many of the staff will have moved on to other jobs. This would be a hard blow to an institution already short staffed. We already have an example of a closed library in the area. For any of you who have driven down Woodward Ave. I am sure you have seen the boarded up McGregor Public Library in Highland Park. It has been this way now I think for over a year. The closure of the Detroit Public Library might be shock therapy that simply does not recover the patient. It is better for all concerned that the millages pass and that the library continues to function. Sorry for not being clear about the charity status of the library. It is a public non-profit agency that simply cannot lobby for the passing of a tax millage in its favor. Perhaps someone else can better explain this feature of the law. Lastly, for those who have asked or would like to ask, no the Burton Historical Collection cannot be moved, at least not pragmatically. The city of Detroit would be justifiably reluctant to release this important and valuable collection. There would have to be a huge and expensive legal brawl to win its release. We would then have to come up with an institution willing to take the collection (and its pesky patrons) and millions of dollars to move it. This is just not a feasible plan. Just get use to the idea that so goes the Detroit Public Library, so goes the Burton Historical Collection! In the next few months we have to become supporters of the millages. We have all heard that politics makes for strange bedfellows. Well this is a perfect example, for now we have to climb into bed with the Commissioners. I am just afraid that we might have to wake them up first to get anything done! John P. DuLong, Ph.D. Acadian and French Canadian Genealogy 959 Oxford Road Berkley, MI 48072-2011 (248) 541-2894 http://habitant.org From dulongj at habitant.org Sun Mar 14 16:42:00 2004 From: dulongj at habitant.org (John P. DuLong) Date: Sun Mar 14 16:41:23 2004 Subject: FW: [BHC] Short Update on the DPL and BHC Message-ID: I received this interesting email today and forward it to the group with the permission of the writer. I think her she makes an eloquent case for supporting the library. JP Dear John, Let me fill you in on some history about support of libraries by Detroit. I worked at DPL for over 13 years and lived in the city for over 14 years. In the 80's. it was the citizens of this great city that worked to get the library board ask for the first millage. It was not the library's idea but the users. When I came in 1988, I found the citizens very supportive of both education and libraries. I remember being asked how they could help more. Did we need more money? Should there be another mill? I remember the upraising that keep 5 branches from being shut by the administration. They went to state hearings to get more money from the state. Why do Detroiters do this? DPL branch library users know how much this is needed. Did you know that most elementary schools do not have functioning school libraries? If it wasn't for the branch libraries, school children would not have any library service. This is why the same Detroiters fought to get the bookmobiles back in action. (Believe me, it was not the librarians' or the administration's idea) In some areas, the local branch library is the rock of the neighborhood, the only city service that is visible to the area. I have found that Detroiters love their libraries. ARE they upset with the past administration? Hell,yes, but they have not been happy with the way the library have been run for years. Money has been a problem for years. With Lansing pulling out money after the last election, the administration does have an answer for broken promises. I lived in the city longer than any place I have lived in my life. I miss it dearly. Why do you ask? I found the my follow Detroiters believe in working together to give their children a better chance. I know you don't see that in most new stories, but it is there. Detroiters care about the city and want it to come back. Do not judge the people by the way main library is used. Just go sit in the branches after school to see how alive the libraries are. Finally, unlike the suburbs and rural areas of this state. Detroiters do pass millages. My house in Detroit was taxed at about $18 a mill. It got most of the growth in valuation after Prop A. I sold it for $90,000, so the new owner will be taxed at $45 a mill. At that price, it is easier to pass millages. The library is not a charity. Friends of DPL is a non-profit so it is by law can't be used to pass millages. The administration if trying to play by the rules. Instead of complaining, email the administration and see how you can help get the word out about the millage. I hope to help, even though I now live in Monroe. Anni LaPrise p.s. If memory serves me correct, the last millages passed by 83% for and 17% against and most politicians will sell their first born for that. From ChristieTrapp at aol.com Sun Mar 14 19:52:40 2004 From: ChristieTrapp at aol.com (ChristieTrapp@aol.com) Date: Sun Mar 14 19:52:49 2004 Subject: [BHC] Short Update on the DPL and BHC Message-ID: <1ab.218d21a0.2d868288@aol.com> Is the Detroit Public Library the only one that relies on "charity" or do all the libraries rely on the milage in order to get is financial support? My idea about closure, while it may be a wild idea and the fact that it may never reopen may open up some eyes when something has been around so long. People sometimes don't realize how valuable an asset is until it is gone. As to the Highland library which is closed, per the previous email, the question then comes to what has been the effect of this closure on the entire populace? A little inconvenient for those who used to go to that library? A lot of inconvenience? If there is another library nearby that can pick up the slack by the closure of the Highland library, perhaps then it was meant to be that this branch closed. However, I have no idea of the size of the Detroit Public Library in relation to the Highland library, but in my mind it must be a sizeable institution. Is it in the same stature as say the New York Public Library? Or the Allen County Public Library? As I indicated before, I am from California and there are a variety of library sizes. The San Francisco Public Library just got a brand new building which is much grander in scale than its previous location, but its previous location is now the Asian Museum of Art. So basically one thing opted for another of equal size. Now, moving to some other locations around the San Francisco Bay Area, the Sutro Library which is part of the California State Library System is small in comparison to the San Francisco Public Library, but it only houses genealogical material for everything but California history, genealogies, etc. The Sacramento library which houses the California State library picks up the rest of the genealogical collection and covers the state of California. Anyway, local county libraries or city libraries are much smaller and tend to cater to the local populous and is more general in nature as to the type of books it has on its stacks. They all participate in the lending library system, so one library can get a book from any other library for its patrons. As to a lawsuit to get the Burton removed from the Detroit Public Library may be what it will take to get it a house of its own. As I am not familar with Mr. Burton's bequest of his collection of genealogical material at the time it was donated from his estate, perhaps argument can be made that because adequate funding could not be had through the passage of the milage, that perhaps it is time to move the collection to a house of its own and establish the proper funding base to continue to make his collection available to the public. Since I presume that Michigan has a state library system similar to California, that the Burton Collection could be made part of the state system rather than the local library system of Detroit. This is just a suggested argument in favor of getting the Burton out of the Detroit Public Library and out of the hands of unscrupulous commissioners who have seen to the present condition of the library in general. It may take a wealthy benefactor to help with this avenue of removal, but if that is what it will take, then that is what may need to be done and not keep digging a bigger hole than there already is in the system. I still don't quite understand why the Detroit Public Library can't solicit for the passage of the milage. It is to their benefit to do so. To get the word out to the public so that they will vote favorably for it. The Detroit City Council or Commissioners what ever public title they call themselves that are in charge of supporting public institutions such as this library should get out and talk about the milage and it's importance. Just like Governor S--- here in California did to get his two propositions passed on the recent March primary elections. He got out and talked to people, he ran political ads and he appeared on talk shows and in the news, all speaking on behalf of his idea for this state. At your end of the country, I would think that if the public officials thought that the Detroit Public Library was an important asset that they would get out and talk the talk to get the bond issue passed. Some form of communication needs to be made public so that the public has an inclination as to what it takes to run a library. If the public is apathetic to the issue, they will vote it down because it is "just one more means of getting a dime of of my pocket" and they will vote against it. For many years the public was apathetic about education bonds here in California. Many a local school district would put a bond issue on the ballot ask the homeowners to vote in its favor for such things as new schools, pay for teachers salaries, fix up the old schools and the like. For many years those bond issues went down to defeat because people just didn't want to pay any more than they already are. Now they are seeing the results of this apathetic voting and they are seeing good schools turn to bad schools - overcrowding, loss of good teachers, schools falling apart and needing fixup. They have turned the corner and are now voting the other way -- for school bonds for whatever it will take to turn the schools around. California used to be #1 in education. It is no longer. But with the new bond funds, perhaps this decline will reverse itself. The same could be said for the Detroit Public Library. It is going to take some effort on someone's part to get out the word to the public. Will the passage of the milage keep the Detroit Public Library solvant? If so, for how long? Will another vote be required next year to create additional funding? Maybe the sales tax needs to be increased to pay for the library system. At my local level here in California we did just that. We voted to raise the sales tax by a quarter percent. It passed because people realized that it was very little in the whole skeem of things for what we pay for these days and it spreads the "deep pocket" effect to a greater tax base than just homeowners. Perhaps some of these ideas that I have thrown out here will work at that end. Food for thought however. Good luck in the election. As I am not a Detroiter, I have no say in the local politics, but I hope that the library will still exist when I get the chance to visit and see where some of my pioneer roots lived when they came to that state and lived in Oakland, Lapeer and Wayne counties back in the 1830s. Christie Trapp -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://aries.lunarpages.com/pipermail/bhc_habitant.org/attachments/20040314/45ae04e2/attachment-0001.htm From cmorse at tln.lib.mi.us Mon Mar 15 07:59:26 2004 From: cmorse at tln.lib.mi.us (Celia B. Morse) Date: Mon Mar 15 08:00:15 2004 Subject: [BHC] Short Update on the DPL and BHC In-Reply-To: Message-ID: As a longtime public employee (and library director), I wanted to clarify some issues about the structure and funding of public libraries in Michigan. Detroit Public Library is part of the City of Detroit government structure. It is not a nonprofit charity. No unit of government is allowed to take a position on any issue being placed before the voters, and tax dollars cannot be spent to encourage the voters to support any ballot question. Governments are allowed to print and distribute "fact sheets" that educate the voters as to the reasons for placing an issue on the ballot and the possible consequences if it fails, but it is illegal to say "vote yes." We can only say "vote." In fact any Friends of the Library group that is incorporated as a 501c3 nonprofit cannot give money to an election campaign (even if the successful passage of the issue will benefit the organization), because it is illegal for nonprofits to use their money for political purposes. Public libraries in Michigan are either supported by millages, by general fund appropriation, or by a combination of the two. Historically DPL was funded by the city's general fund, but when the city cut the funding, the millage was placed on the ballot to keep the operation going. 90-95% of public library funding comes from local support. We receive a minute amount of money from the state--less than $1 per capita. Average public library support is about $20 per capita, but it can be as high as $100 per capita in wealthier communities. The maximum millage a library can ask for is 4 mills. This creates an unequal mix of libraries throughout the state. Libraries like Berkley, that are dependent on general fund appropriation, have suffered greatly in the past two years because we compete with basic services like police, fire, and trash collection for a shrinking amount of dollars. In the past two years this library's budget has been cut 25%, but our neighbor to the west, Southfield, just passed an additional millage and built a new building and increased services dramatically. While this budget was cut, that budget more than doubled. There is no "state library system." There is a state library in Lansing that is now part of the Michigan Department of History and Libraries. It has received severe budget cuts in the past two years and has curtailed services. I do not think it is in any position to take over the Burton Historical Collection. In fact, closing the state library has been suggested as one way of balancing the state budget. Detroit Public Library has historically been considered a statewide resource and research library. In recognition of that it had received as much as $7 million annually from the state in past years. That subsidy has now been cut to nothing, and the DPL administration has responded by limiting access to anyone who is not a city resident. I apologize for the length of this, but I hope it clarifies some issues for the nonlibrarians on the list. Please contact me if you have any questions, and I will do my best to answer them or refer them to the proper person. Celia _______________________________________________________________________________ Celia Morse, Library Director Berkley Public Library 3155 Coolidge Highway Berkley, MI 48072 248-546-2440 (voice) 248-546-2447 (fax) cmorse@tln.lib.mi.us From ChristieTrapp at aol.com Mon Mar 15 08:18:24 2004 From: ChristieTrapp at aol.com (ChristieTrapp@aol.com) Date: Mon Mar 15 08:18:54 2004 Subject: [BHC] Short Update on the DPL and BHC Message-ID: I have a question and hopefully someone can answer it. Which Michigan library is considered to be a Federal records respository. Is it the library in Lansing or is the Detroit Public Library a Federal records repository. If the Detroit gathers records from the Federal government, then I would think there should be some funding coming from the feds to help keep the library open. If it is the library in Lansing then this becomes a moot point. Just a thought. Christie Trapp -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://aries.lunarpages.com/pipermail/bhc_habitant.org/attachments/20040315/ff23d118/attachment.htm From dulongj at habitant.org Mon Mar 15 08:25:33 2004 From: dulongj at habitant.org (John P. DuLong) Date: Mon Mar 15 08:25:35 2004 Subject: [BHC] Short Update on the DPL and BHC In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <1079367933.4055d8fd09c61@login.aries.lunarpages.com> Thank you Ms. Morse for so clearly explaining what I was failing to communicate. JP John P. DuLong, Ph.D. Acadian and French Canadian Genealogy 959 Oxford Road Berkley, MI 48072-2011 (248) 541-2894 http://habitant.org From cmorse at tln.lib.mi.us Mon Mar 15 08:34:59 2004 From: cmorse at tln.lib.mi.us (Celia B. Morse) Date: Mon Mar 15 08:35:48 2004 Subject: [BHC] Short Update on the DPL and BHC In-Reply-To: Message-ID: There are several federal depository libraries in Michigan. A US Congressman or Senator can request to have a library designated a depository library, and that request is approved (I think) by the superintendent of documents. The libraries can be either partial or full depositories. If they are partial depositories, they receive a list of federal publications monthly and select what they wish to receive from the list. Full depositories receive everything published by the federal government (both print and electronic formats). There is no charge for any of the material, but the library is expected to supply the staff to catalog the materials and the space for the collection. There is no additional federal subsidy for this. The public libraries in this area that are federal depositories include DPL, Livonia, and Madison Heights. I'm sure there are others. Most major universities are also federal depositories. Public libraries receive no funding whatsoever from the federal government for basic or ongoing services, although grants for special projects are available. Celia _______________________________________________________________________________ Celia Morse, Library Director Berkley Public Library 3155 Coolidge Highway Berkley, MI 48072 248-546-2440 (voice) 248-546-2447 (fax) cmorse@tln.lib.mi.us On Mon, 15 Mar 2004 ChristieTrapp@aol.com wrote: > I have a question and hopefully someone can answer it. Which Michigan > library is considered to be a Federal records respository. Is it the library in > Lansing or is the Detroit Public Library a Federal records repository. > > If the Detroit gathers records from the Federal government, then I would > think there should be some funding coming from the feds to help keep the library > open. If it is the library in Lansing then this becomes a moot point. > > Just a thought. > > Christie Trapp > From ChristieTrapp at aol.com Mon Mar 15 13:18:02 2004 From: ChristieTrapp at aol.com (ChristieTrapp@aol.com) Date: Mon Mar 15 13:18:19 2004 Subject: [BHC] Short Update on the DPL and BHC Message-ID: <9e.5c99ae2.2d87778a@aol.com> Thanks for the insight about Federal repositories. I was unaware that the library receives no financial support to do keep the records. I thought that might be one way to get funding for the Detroit Library, but I can see it is not. It becomes a "privilege" to house the records and I can see too that the individual library can pick and choose what it wishes to house within its walls. Christie Trapp -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://aries.lunarpages.com/pipermail/bhc_habitant.org/attachments/20040315/d7c8aa36/attachment.htm From dulongj at habitant.org Tue Mar 16 15:42:17 2004 From: dulongj at habitant.org (John P. DuLong) Date: Tue Mar 16 15:41:40 2004 Subject: [BHC] Do the Math Message-ID: ello Advocates, I have been doing a little math on what is somewhat old data but I think it will demonstrate the millage issue. If you go to http://www.michigan.gov/hal/0,1607,7-160-18835_18894_19664---,00.html, then you will find the Michigan Public Library Statistical Report for 2002. That year the Detroit Public Library reported an operating income of $44,921,755 and of that $25,922,265 came from the millage. That means the millage in 2002 was 58 percent of the budget. However, the library also received $7,116,153 from the state in 2002 and that money is all gone now. Thus the millage would be at least 69 percent of the budget. I think you can see the devastating effect to the library if its budget was cut by 68 percent. The Burton Historical Collection could not be sheltered from the outcome of the loss of these funds. Also, I have heard from several people now that in the 1980s, during the last crises, a community coalition was formed to lobby for the library millage. I am hearing conflicting things about the role of the past Commissioners in that millage campaign and the formation of this community coalition. Perhaps one of the Advocates who worked on that effort could give us the history. Regards, John P. DuLong, Ph.D. Acadian and French Canadian Genealogy 959 Oxford Road Berkley, MI 48072-2011 USA (248) 541-2894 dulongj@habitant.org From dulongj at habitant.org Wed Mar 24 17:22:34 2004 From: dulongj at habitant.org (John P. DuLong) Date: Wed Mar 24 17:21:58 2004 Subject: [BHC] Good News for a Change Message-ID: The Detroit News had a story today that Ernie Harwell, the retired Detroit Tigers announcer, will donate $2 million to the Detroit Public Library. See http://www.detnews.com/2004/metro/0403/24/a01-101684.htm. The library will dedicate a room to Mr. Harwell. The Burton Historical Collection already contains many items previously donated by Mr. Harwell and also has a general sports collection. John P. DuLong, Ph.D. Acadian and French Canadian Genealogy 959 Oxford Road Berkley, MI 48072-2011 USA (248) 541-2894 dulongj@habitant.org From ChristieTrapp at aol.com Wed Mar 24 21:06:00 2004 From: ChristieTrapp at aol.com (ChristieTrapp@aol.com) Date: Wed Mar 24 21:06:15 2004 Subject: [BHC] Good News for a Change Message-ID: <30.52746b4d.2d93c2b8@aol.com> Great news! How does this money effect the millage question that is suppose to go on the ballot? Any? None? Cancel it? Is there going to be an accounting of how the $2M is going to be used? Is there going to be an oversight committee to make sure it is used honestly and wisely? No more taking folks out for expensive meals, drinks, trips on the funds? Having a room named after him is fine, but if he is going to have the money mostly dedicated to his sports stuff, how does that really effect the Burton Collection, if at all? Any clarification on this donation would be of great benefit to all of us, I believe. Christie Trapp -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://aries.lunarpages.com/pipermail/bhc_habitant.org/attachments/20040325/86e02a44/attachment.htm From dulongj at habitant.org Thu Mar 25 15:36:19 2004 From: dulongj at habitant.org (John P. DuLong) Date: Thu Mar 25 15:35:38 2004 Subject: [BHC] Good News for a Change In-Reply-To: <30.52746b4d.2d93c2b8@aol.com> Message-ID: I hope I did not give anyone the wrong impression that Mr. Harwell's $2 million was going to the Burton Historical Collection. Frankly, I do not know how the monies are designated except to go to the Detroit Public Library in general. This donation has not direct effect on the millage issue. It is only $2 million, the money lost if the millages fail is far greater. However, it does have an indirect effect in showing that at least one important Detroit personality is still willing to back the library. I think we should all give Mr. Harwell a big thank you. Perhaps it will motivate other people to come forward and help the library. As for how the money is going to be accounted for and what oversight there will be, I frankly do not know. All I can say is that with the recent trouble the library has been in I think all of the administration is much more aware of these issues and more cautious. Also, the new financial officer, whose name escapes me now (I am getting very forgetful lately), seems to be very earnest in reforming procedures for handling funds at the library. I have been trying to learn more about the millage issue but my email to one of the library administrators has not yet been answered. As soon as I learn more I will pass it on to you. Or even better, one of the library administrators might want to post the basic facts here on this list. I know several of them subscribe to it. My understanding is that the library can prepare a general statement of the facts surrounding the millage and the positive and negative consequences of the millage passing or failing. This statement should be shared with the public as soon as it is available. Take care everyone, JP -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://aries.lunarpages.com/pipermail/bhc_habitant.org/attachments/20040325/f0b27745/attachment.htm From dulongj at habitant.org Fri Mar 26 16:27:35 2004 From: dulongj at habitant.org (John P. DuLong) Date: Fri Mar 26 16:26:54 2004 Subject: [BHC] Harwell's Gift Message-ID: OK, I got the message, several of you emailed me and let me know that the newspaper botched the Harwell story. Mr. Harwell is NOT donating $2 million to the Detroit Public Library. What the newspaper should have said is that Mr. Harwell had donated his collection in the past, which resides in the Burton Historical Collection, and that it is now worth an estimated $2 million. When he donated the collection he was promised it would be housed in a special room. The library is finally fulfilling this promise. What does this mean for us? The Harwell room will be in the space next to the old Rare Book Room on the second floor. It will probably be locked most of the time, but if someone wishes to work with the materials, then someone from the Burton Historical Collection will have to open the collection. This means that the already short staffed Burton will have another responsibility added to it. I suspect that this will not be an onerous responsibility, but I really do not know how often the Harwell collection is currently used. Now does anyone have any information on the ultimate fate of the Map Collection? I am getting some very imprecise rumors about this valuable collection. Does anyone know what is going on with it? Regards, JP John P. DuLong, Ph.D. Acadian and French Canadian Genealogy 959 Oxford Road Berkley, MI 48072-2011 USA (248) 541-2894 dulongj@habitant.org From dulongj at habitant.org Fri Mar 26 17:25:17 2004 From: dulongj at habitant.org (John P. DuLong) Date: Fri Mar 26 17:24:34 2004 Subject: [BHC] How to Run a Millage Campaign for a Library Message-ID: Hello Advocates, Today I learned that the Detroit Public Library point person for the millage, Pat McClary, wrote an interesting paper on how to do a millage campaign for a library a few years ago. Point your browser to http://www.infotoday.com/mls/dec01/mcclary.htm. I like her point about "Talk[ing] to Anyone Who Will Listen" and I want her to know that we want to talk. I called her office and left a message today. Hopefully she will call me next week. JP John P. DuLong, Ph.D. Acadian and French Canadian Genealogy 959 Oxford Road Berkley, MI 48072-2011 USA (248) 541-2894 dulongj@habitant.org From dulongj at habitant.org Tue Mar 30 16:41:39 2004 From: dulongj at habitant.org (John P. DuLong) Date: Tue Mar 30 16:40:59 2004 Subject: [BHC] Map Collection in Danger Message-ID: Hello All, A few emails ago I mentioned that I was hearing rumors about the Map Collection. Now I have heard more solid information from several sources. It appears that the library administration wants to get out of the business of being a Federal Depository for topograhical maps. In a few weeks the fate of the Map Collection will be discussed and decided. On the table is if the Map Colleciton should be "dumped" as one of my informants put it. (I do not know if it is legally possible to stop being a Federal Depository for maps and still be one for other government documents. Nor do I know what the laws and rules are regarding being a Federal Depository in general.) Now keep in mind that a few years ago the Burton Historical Collection maps were moved to the Map Collection. Also, the Map Collection contains many valuable non-Burton maps. Apparently, these will be saved according to one of my sources. What would happen to all the other maps, atlases, and gazetteers is unclear. The Map Collection space is being considered for use as a Media Center. The Map Collection has not had a map librarian assigned to it for several years now. If you have tried to use the map collection since the departure of the map librarian, then you will know how frustrating it has been to access the maps. There is a pattern here. The library administration fails to support a department, patrons become frustrated with it and usage decline, and then the administration decides to shut it down because, in a self-fullfilling prophecy, the collection is no longer relevant. This is why I strongly encourage you to use the Burton so that it is not put on the endangered list like the Rare Book Room, the Foreign Language Department, and the Interlibrary Loan Department have been. I have used the Map Collection numerous times in my genealogical and historical research. Once this collection is dumped, I will have to go to the University of Michigan to find a Map Collection as good as what the Detroit Public Library has to offer. Once again, the library administration is putting its desire to be a trendy urban library with all the bells and whistles before one of its most important functions, that is, being a research and reference center. Do not get me wrong, I love technology, my job is to do computer and network support in a medical library, but I also understand that not everything is on the Internet or a CD. We have to cherish our libraries and their collections and not rush to dump them for new technologies. Trading the Map Collection for a Media Center is a bad deal for Detroit and Michigan. I know the library is facing tuff financial issues, but dumping the Map Collection is not a wise decision. It is one of the finish map collections in the state and should be preserved and protected. If a map librarian can not be found or hired at this time because of money, then let the map collection stand as is until better times. When things improve the library should invest in the collection by hiring a qualified map librarian. In other words, the library administration should be looking for ways to save special collections and not kill them off! If you are disappointed by this threatened change, then I suggest you send an email to Ms. Nancy Skowronski at nskowro@detroit.lib.mi.us. Ask her to not dump the Map Collection. On a different topic, several of you asked me to verify where the Harwell Room will be located. As I reported, it will be on the second floor next to the old Rare Book Room. It will take up the space that use to be used as a smoking lounge next to the bathrooms and south of the old Rare Book Room. Apparently, access to the bathrooms will be through a new hallway. Also, the Burton staff will have to staff this room, but access to the Harwell collection will probably have to be by appointment only. Regards, JP John P. DuLong, Ph.D. 959 Oxford Road Berkley, MI 48072-2011 (248) 541-2894 http://habitant.org From ChristieTrapp at aol.com Wed Mar 31 13:12:52 2004 From: ChristieTrapp at aol.com (ChristieTrapp@aol.com) Date: Wed Mar 31 13:13:07 2004 Subject: [BHC] Map Collection in Danger Message-ID: <1ec.1cbab8d5.2d9c8e54@aol.com> Topographical Maps - Most topographical maps that I have seen show the rise and fall of the land, it shows where mines, cemeteries, railroads, and some old structures are located and points of references like mountains, valleys, hiking trails and such. They generally aren't street maps, though they might show the old dirt roads and little used county roads. Of course, my frame of reference is maps my dad collected for his many hiking trips. I've never seen any that incorporate towns and cities. If there are several maps made over a number of years, you can see what changes have taken place to the landscape. I suppose these would be a valuable resource to a genealogist who is looking for old cemeteries and the like that have disappeared from the landscape. As I am not familiar with the map collection at the Burton perhaps someone can put an approximate date of the first of these particular maps and what the most recent are? Do they cover only Michigan? Or the entire US. The USGS sells topographical maps to the general public so most people can obtain at least a current map if they really wish to look at one. I personally don't use them for genealogy. I prefer the other maps that show where people lived, the names of the streets, war movements, border changes, and those maps that mention point of references cited in history books. I do agree that the Map Collection per se should not be destroyed until a Map Librarian can be found to catalogue the maps. Perhaps a decision needs to be made by the library that only those maps that pertain to Michigan and the states that surround Michigan should be maintained and the rest sent elsewhere if they cover other areas of the country. Or, perhaps they should still be maintained but perhaps spread around the library to where the books of the same area are located for ease of access. But I don't know the space problem the library may have in doing as I just suggested. Perhaps the maps could be located in a specific space in the library. I suppose they already are, but only have my experience to draw on from attending the University of Arizona. At the University they have set aside the basement area (subfloor) of the library for housing the following: microfilms of newspapers, microfilms/fiche of company 10K's, maps. There is a photocopy service also located on the same floor so that if someone wants a copy of a map they can either print it off on 8x10 or 11x14 pages (to scotchtape together if bigger) or if a full copy of the map is wanted they have the service available that uses the blueprint type machines that will make an exact duplicate of the map. It is not a blueprinter, but something like it that can handle the larger sheets of paper. Those copies are sometimes not available on the same day basis because they also handle other duplicating requests so they may have to mail them to you, but they provide this service if you can't come back to pick up. Does the Burton have this kind of set up? I do think it is important that we contact the librarian and express our thoughts on the subject about the federal repository of the topographical maps. Definitely need to keep all the old maps intact and not have them disappear. If space is becoming a problem in the library, perhaps a drive to build a new library needs to be started or a second library built that is built specifically to house the Burton, the old maps and books that pertain to genealogy or history specifically. If these departments are removed and housed separately with their own funding, etc. wouldn't that make life so much easier for the Detroit Public Library system as a whole? Anyone have any thoughts on this idea or subject? Would like to hear from others on this. Christie Trapp -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://aries.lunarpages.com/pipermail/bhc_habitant.org/attachments/20040331/2f26b488/attachment.htm