Editorial

by Mark Smith

By the time this issue of the Texas Library Journal reaches your mailbox, I will officially be a resident of California. With both anticipation and regret I am leaving my home state of Texas to reunite my family. I have been editing TLJ since 1994, and, since 1991, I have had the privilege to work alongside a remarkable group of Texas library leaders through what I believe will be regarded in retrospect as the single most significant decade in Texas library development.

Lest we think we are not progressing fast enough, consider the following feats of the 1990s:

Resource Sharing. TexShare, which started as a great idea among academic libraries, has grown up to be a multitype resource-sharing platform that has opened up remarkable new avenues of library service while earning the respect of legislators and other key decision makers. The Texas Library Connection, operated by the Texas Education Agency, broke similar ground for school libraries and has significantly broadened the resources available to local school libraries while also raising their visibility. The Texas State Electronic Library, operated by the Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC) since 1994, provides public library access to databases and Internet resources.
Public library Internet access.
With over 95 percent of public libraries connected to the Internet, this is a rare category in which Texas public libraries lead the nation, thanks to the pioneering efforts of the TSLAC and, later, huge funding from the Telecommunications Infrastructure Fund.
School Library Standards. Developed by the TSLAC, these standards have created a benchmark toward which school administrators can measure and improve their libraries. The standards were key in establishing first ever funding this legislative session for school library materials purchases.
Library district legislation. Passed in the last session, and amended in this session, this law allows Texans the option to vote to create public library districts, thus establishing a much more lucrative and reliable stream of funding for the local library.
Direct interlibrary lending. Providing state support for public libraries to borrow and lend directly from one to another through the Texas Group has shortened patrons' waiting time for materials and empowered local libraries with direct control of their services.

These accomplishments, coupled with other recent developments like the promising evolution of public library standards and the passage of the legislation to allow the creation of the Texas Public Library Fund, have positioned us for what could be a breakthrough decade during which all Texas libraries can move toward obtaining the funding they need from both local and state sources to realize their full potential to enrich lives build communities. I believe that these goals are now within our reach, but attaining them will depend in large measure on the following strategies:

Articulate the case. Describe why library funding is an imperative.
Rest the case for libraries on the broad issues facing this state: early childhood education, literacy and lifelong learning, community development, and child health and welfare.
Get into the legislative arena. Continue to cultivate ties with legislators and lose the librarian's natural reticence to enter the political fray. If you don't advocate for better library service for your patrons,
who will?
Continually reassess programs. Just because statewide programs have always been operated this way, that doesn't mean it's the only way.
Make patron interests the guiding light. The only question to answer is, "does this method provide the best library service to our patrons?" Try to avoid letting turf issues drive the discussion.
Don't be discouraged. The kind of gains we are seeking will take time and will require a combination of short and long-term strategies.

I envy each of you for remaining in Texas to see how the drama of this great endeavor plays out. I wish I were going to be along for the ride. The coming years will be great ones for Texas libraries and the patrons they serve. I will be with you in spirit.

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