Libraries for the Future, Citing Budget Pressure, Closes After 17 Years

Norman Oder -- Library Journal, 03/18/2009

• LFF out of money
• Many programs will continue
• Produced advocacy reports

The economic downturn has claimed not only library branches and hours but an influential nonprofit organization, Libraries for the Future (LFF), which today announced it had closed after 17 years.

“We have accomplished so many of our initial goals to re-establish the role of libraries at the center of our communities,” said LFF Executive Director Bruce Astrein in a news release. “There is more work to be done and it is unfortunate that the current economic climate has made it impossible for us to continue. That is especially true now, as we’ve been hearing from many libraries that the economic downtown has increased demand for library services just as it is squeezing library funding.”

LFF was born in 1992, during another time when libraries faced funding cuts. The organization, supported by an array of foundations and donors, aimed to both advocate for libraries nationally and to assist libraries with innovative programs and partnerships. Diantha Dow Schull, a member of LFF’s initial planning team, was LFF’s executive director until her retirement in December 2008.

“On behalf of our past and current national board and council members,” said Jeffrey S. Scherer, chair of the LFF Board of Directors (and a prominent library architect), “we want to express our sincere gratitude to the staff, consultants, and funders who have ensured that meaningful and important services and programs were delivered to the libraries of the United States."

Diverse programs
LFF oversaw programs that have run in close to 400 libraries in 33 states, and most will continue to run, LFF said today. For example, LFF said that The Middle Country Public Library, NY, will continue to oversee Family Place Libraries, a network of children’s librarians “who believe that literacy begins at birth, and that libraries can help build healthy communities by nourishing healthy families.”

Other programs include Lifelong Access Libraries, which focuses on active older adults, and the Wellness Information Zone, which aims to support free, reliable consumer health information. LFF also trained many librarians to achieve EqualAccess Libraries, a program that addressed “this ever-changing digital age.”

Advocacy efforts
Begun as an advocacy organization, LFF produced three important publications aimed to help advocates make the case for libraries:
• Long Overdue, a national public opinion study
• Worth Their Weight: An Assessment of the Evolving Field of Library Valuation
• Act for Libraries, a library advocacy web site

Institutional gyration
LFF went through its own institutional gyration. From 2004–2007, LFF served as the program arm of Americans for Libraries Council (ALC), then returned to the name “Libraries for the Future,” with the Council continuing as an advisory group to the LFF board of directors.