By Gretchen Garrity
While the board made slight adjustments to the job requirements and pay scale for an executive director at a recent meeting, Brumett felt that a Masters in Library Science should continue to be required. Brumett has a Masters of Arts degree in Information Science & Learning Technology/Library Science. A difference in focus, although both degrees should qualify one to take an executive director position. Still, a MLIS is not the same as a Masters of Arts.
Brumett said, “Having the foundation of...philosophically, what are libraries supposed to do for communities, what are the values, the basics of intellectual freedom of access for everyone, of organization, of information and the technology that supports that. Those were very important things that I learned in library school, and you can learn that on the job, but it takes a lot longer.”
Brumett’s quote brings up several points:
What are libraries supposed to do for communities?
What are the values?
What is intellectual freedom of access for everyone?
How should libraries be organized?
How does technology fit into a library system?
J’ACCUSE!
Of course Hohl would accuse the citizens of Christian County of calling for censorship. That’s the ALA shtick. She knows that censorship and book banning are not really a thing. But that’s her story and the ALA is sticking to it as they and their comrades spend more and more dollars on lawfare to try and stem the rising tide of local control over public and school libraries.
Additionally, Hohl noted that an advanced degree in library science would equip an individual to know how to operate a library. Is that so? We’ll address that momentarily.
“There are so many different ways that libraries continue to grow and evolve in their communities, and librarians need to be very versatile in knowing what is the current technology,” Hohl is quoted as saying. What is this emphasis on “current technology?” Is current technology the most important thing a library provides the community?
What else, besides “technology” should a library do for the community? Should libraries reflect community values? Why does the ALA and their librarians insist that children enjoy the same rights as adults when it comes to access of ALL materials? What about actual literacy—the ability to read well? Several local school districts in Christian County have abysmal reading scores.
Perhaps falling literacy rates around the country is a reason the ALA focuses on technology. It’s much easier to stick people in front of a screen than address the problems with reading scores, right? And anyway, libraries are always evolving and growing, according to Hohl. To what they are evolving is something to investigate.
And just why is the president of a national organization sticking her nose into a local affair? Unless her organization might have a vested political interest in controlling what happens in schools and libraries? Of course the ALA does. It’s a Marxist organization that is dedicated to transforming our nation.
They’ve been training workers and infiltrating libraries for decades. Their goal is to demoralize and destabilize families and ultimately our nation. They would love to censor the voices of parents and citizens who object to children having access to age inappropriate and sexually explicit materials. It gets in the way of their indoctrination of your children.
One significant way the ALA maintains political control over local libraries is to make a MLIS degree a requirement for a position like executive director. Here is the overview of an MLIS degree from AI:
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| From: Google AI |
The Christian County Library has a $4 million budget and four branches, with all that entails. Being a technology expert is not the same thing as managing infrastructure. Glaringly absent are the responsibilities to maintain facilities such that building systems are well cared for, and space planning allocates existing square footage for maximum public use. The Nixa library branch has approximately 12,000 square feet of space that is not being used for patrons. It’s almost like another Nixa library!
Former director Brumett admitted that she “didn’t have a director of operations or even an assistant director.” As the executive director, she could have created a position to help with the business and facilities end of the Library District.
DO WE NEED DOGE?
Budgeting is another very important aspect of running a $4 million operation. It came out at the last meeting that the library has a zero dollar budget, which means they spend every cent they take in. According to the News-Leader, “...in the past two years there have been no surplus, or carryover, funds.”
And just to let readers know, the budget was not changed when the pay scale for the executive director was raised by $1 per hour. This means that if a new executive director is hired at the top end of the pay range, it would be about a $2,000 difference over 12 months.
Let’s get back to the lack of surplus or carryover—the zero dollar budget. Mary Miller, the director of Finance and Business Operations, admitted at the January 31 meeting that there is a bond payment of $709,511 coming due in 2028. Go to page 6 of the Board Packet HERE.
Government entities such as public schools often go to the taxpayers for new bonds when existing debt is due to be paid off. By getting voters to approve a new bond, they are able to roll over the rest of the existing debt into the new bond, thus not having to make the final payments while enlarging their coffers (at taxpayer expense) to do capital improvements and maintenance they should have been budgeting for.
It looks like the plan may have been to get a new bond approved to pay for needed infrastructure maintenance at the branches (specifically a roof and HVAC system) as well as remodeling of the Nixa branch.
Additionally, is it good business practice to have a zero dollar budget with no reserves or savings? To be concerned about an annual difference of about $2,000 for a new pay scale for one position speaks to a startling issue. That there are possibly no funds for savings or contingencies is shocking. If a new bond is not sought and voted in by taxpayers, the library must nevertheless make that $709,511 payment in 2028. That means the library is going to have to budget in that bond payment over the next couple years.
Here is the relevant discussion at the January 31 meeting (about 1:15:00 minute mark):
While an MLIS degree may be a factor in hiring a qualified executive director, advanced degrees have apparently not prevented the CCL from experiencing financial and facilities issues. The MLIS degree seems in many cases to create a mindset that supports and carries out ALA policies and agendas, such as the "Library Bill of Rights and access to ALL materials regardless of age.
A library's purpose in the community is much more than a growing and evolving interface with technology. It means a place to find great literature and a connection with one's community and its values. It means getting one's hands on actual books. It means learning to read well. It means appreciating the vital role of literacy in individual lives as well as the community. It means providing a warm and welcoming place for families of all kinds where children are protected and safe from indoctrination and sexualization. It means a physical structure that is beautiful and well maintained, and that attracts patrons. It means programs and meeting spaces that meet the needs of citizens. It means planning and budgeting and maintaining that indefinable comfort and attraction of a public library. And that is so much more than a MLIS.
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