Libraries - Cornerstone of Democracy

I believe libraries are a cornerstone of democracy, providing people of all backgrounds the opportunity to learn, grow, and acquire the tools needed to succeed in life. Currently there is a digital divide that separates people without easy, affordable access to the Internet from the basic tools of educational technology.

The need to provide the public with computing technology and free access to the Internet is more important than ever if we want our educational opportunities and resources fairly and equitably available to all. Our libraries can and do provide the resources to bridge the digital divide. Library users must continue to be served by expert, capable, professional librarians, and library staff trained to manage digital information, and help people discover and use the wealth of digital resources available to them in libraries.

Diane and her neighbors working on an Internet-connected computer in the Technology Center of the Pierre Bottineau Library. As a member of the Minneapolis Public Library Board along with the Sheridan and St. Anthony West neighborhoods, we expanded the Pierre Bottineau Library into the Grain Belt Historic Building The Pierre Bottineau Library was remodeled and constructed according to LEED standards--standards that promote the greatest environmental benefit. As a result, the library has recycled soy floor coverings, introduced passive solar elements, and uses a state-of-the-art heating and cooling system. Additionally, the library includes art by local artists throughout, a special teen area, computer technology center, and a children's library. Moreover, the library has increased in size from 5,000 square feet to 20,000 square feet and reclaimed a historic site in Northeast Minneapolis. What is more, the library has new gardens, green space, and saved the majority of the mature trees by careful construction techniques. The St. Anthony West Community and Diane spearheaded the fundraising campaign to bring back the fountain and create memorial benches and memorial bricks surrounding the garden area.
The library received $500,000 from the state of Minnesota Historic Preservation Department contributions for the Sheridan Neighborhood NRP funds as well as a $40,000 matching grant from the NE Minneapolis Graco Corporation. The Pierre Bottineau Library is an example of a successful collaboration between the Minneapolis Public Library, corporate patrons, and City of Minneapolis communities. Additionally, the library is an example of Diane's work in inspiring one community's commitment to a greener environment and the reuse of a historic building that is owned by the public.

The Hennepin County Library merged with the Minneapolis Public Library, taking the former name, on January 1, 2008. It is our collective responsibility to support our neighborhood libraries with increased funding and new funding sources if our merged system is to bepreserved as the system that we have grown to love and expect. Our libraries are a cornerstone of democracy and key to a city that values literacy and strives to improve its livability. Libraries offer one of solutions we use to reduce youth violence and crime.

I was a leading member of the Library Board, serving three terms as President during the course of my 20 years on the Board. In 2000, during one of my terms as President, the citizens of Minneapolis passed a library referendum calling for the construction of a new central library. The Board followed through on the public's request and planned and constructed the new Downtown Library, which opened on time and under budget in 2006.
During one of the worst fiscal periods since the Great Depression, Minneapolis did not close any of our community libraries.
As Chair of the Library Board's finance committee, I worked with my colleagues and staff evaluating strategies to cultivate new funding sources, developing long range financial projections, and planning a financially sustainable library system for the future.
As a member of the Friends of the Library Advocacy Committee, I promoted long-range planning to expand advocacy activities for our library system and increase funding to meet our library's needs.

Libraries - Cornerstone of Democracy

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