Misadventures of the Monster Librarian

Eric Carle's sloth is pretty much my spirit animal these days. I am in week 3 at the new library--I've yet to cook up a code name for it--and feel like I am slowly, painfully slowly getting things. I am still struggling with learning how to do all of the finance work, as I had a F.O. at my last job. Last week I met up with local directors and felt a little better hearing about similar concerns, but a little worse when they kept saying words and IL acronyms that I did not understand! Oh, Ohio libraries how I miss you so. I miss a lot of things in fact. I miss my Youth Services Coordinator, PrairieDawn, and our friendship and shared jokes after years of working closely and sharing an office. I miss some of my old staff. I miss my old regular patrons. And sometimes when ChicagoBoy does things that frustrate me--I mean come on, the dirty laundry bin is RIGHT THERE!!! WHY IS YOUR DIRTY UNDERWEAR ON THE FLOOR--I miss my old single life a little bit too. I came to IL to be wit...

From Ohio Library Council: "OLC to Present PLF Testimony Before Senate Finance Subcommittee    The OLC will present testimony on the state budget and in support of the Public Library Fund on Tues., May 12, before the Senate Finance Committee's Higher Education Subcommittee, chaired by Sen. Randy Gardner, (R-Bowling Green). The subcommittee hearing will begin at 9:30 a.m. in the South Hearing Room. Library directors are welcome to be in the audience for the hearing.   Kim Fender, Director, Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County and Chair of the OLC's Government Relations Committee, will be testifying on behalf of OLC.   Also, Patrick Losinski, CEO, Columbus Metropolitan Library, will speak specifically to the Tangible Personal Property (TPP) Phase-Out Proposal.    Tuesday's hearing is "Invited Testimony" only. Other groups testifying that day include the State Library of Ohio, Ohioana Library, Ohio History Con...

From Michelle Francis, Ohio Library Council:    "Budget Update – Yesterday the Ohio Senate began informal hearings on HB 64, the biennial budget bill, and later today the Ohio House will officially pass their version of the bill. As the Senate began their proceedings yesterday, they indicated that they would start with FY 2015 as a baseline and wouldn’t necessarily start with the House’s version of the budget bill. We need to let Senators know that we need to keep the House language changing the PLF percentage to 1.7% of the total General Revenue Fund (GRF). This will be our primary focus on Legislative Day and our advocacy efforts over the next 8 weeks. This is extremely important and we will need you to make contacts in the Senate – we will have to fight to keep this provision! PLF Change – The House’s version of HB 64 that will be debated this afternoon on the House floor still includes our provision changing the PLF percentage from 1.66% to 1.7%. Fol...

...sorta... more soon...? Until then, an update on the PLF, from Michelle Francis at Ohio Library Council: "RE: PLF CHANGES IN STATE BUDGET BILL Yesterday, the House Finance Committee accepted a substitute version of HB 64, the state's biennial budget bill. The House's version of the bill includes a provision increasing the PLF from 1.66% to 1.7%. In addition, the substitute bill makes numerous changes to the governor's tax reform proposal. The substitute bill contains more than 3,000 pages. We will send out additional information and talking points once we have an opportunity to review all of the changes. This is definitely a step forward, but we still have a long way to go in the overall budget process. The House hopes to finish their work next week after additional hearings and amendments. Then, the bill will move to the Senate for consideration. This change will be the primary focus of our advocacy efforts on Legislative Day on April 28th!...

An update on the Ohio State FY '16-'17, in regards to public libraries, according to OLC's Access Weekly: " Analysis Underway on Proposed FY16-17 State Budget and Potential Impact on PLF The OLC staff and consultants have begun the tedious process of analyzing the 719-pages of Gov. Kasich's proposed $72.3 billion state budget for fiscal years (FY) 2016-17, and the potential impact the proposals may have on the Public Library Fund (PLF). The budget proposal includes a combination of tax cuts and tax increases. Overall, the administration claims it amounts to $500 million net tax cut, even though it includes increases in sales, commercial activity, tobacco, and severance taxes. Some of the high points of the proposal include: Cuts the income tax by 23% across-the-board (15% income tax cut this year and 8% cut next year); Raises the Commercial Activity Tax (CAT) on gross receipts from .26% to .32%; Increases the Cigarette Tax from $1.25 to $2...

Lately I've been treading water at work; trying hard to keep afloat with the day to day, while trying to take on a few little projects. Stay tuned on those. While I try and wrap my head around those, I wanted to at least share this info from OLC's (Ohio Library Council) Access Weekly " Gov. Kasich Unveils Plans for FY16-17 State Budget On Feb. 2, Governor John Kasich released his proposed $72.3 billion state budget for fiscal years (FY) 2016-17, which begin July 1 , 2015. It includes a combination of tax cuts and tax increases. Overall, the administration claims it amounts to $500 million net tax cut, even though it includes increases in sales, commercial activity, tobacco, and severance taxes. Some of the high points of the proposal include: Cuts the income tax by 23% across-the-board (15% income tax cut this year and 8% cut next year); Raises the Commercial Activity Tax (CAT) on gross receipts from .26% to .32%; Increases the Cigarette Tax from $1.25 ...

*toot toot*