roles in library and government

A couple of months ago I started a term on our local library's Board of Trustees, and thus far it has been an enjoyable and enlightening experience.  One of the more enjoyable aspects, for someone who tends to be as opinionated as I am, is that I am in the shoes of a policy maker in this role, and as such, am free to speak my mind on relevant topics to the library.  Much of my job entails representing public bodies and agencies and making sure they keep in line, so to speak, with their statutory and other legal obligations when conducting business.  As such, it is very rarely, if ever my role, to speak my opinion on a matter of policy (in reality, the only time a situation would get close to calling for it advising on what the fallout of a particularly policy decision may be - but again, its not my opinion of whether such decision is good or bad, simply brainstorming as to what the effects of the decision will be).

Anyway, all that being said, its been nice to put on the hat of a policy maker and all that such entails - listening, discourse, reasoning through various options that are put forth.  Obviously, the scope of a library's policy decisions is limited, but I think it can be argued that a library in a small town, and a rural small town at that, through its programs and services it offers, has impact on people's quality of life.  Contemplating decisions that, hopefully, improve the lives of those in our community is a great opportunity to have.

It's also been enlightening.  While I mentioned that a library's impact may be minimal, and while that may be true, the impact our library has, particularly through the services it can offer, are greater than I had initially perceived.  Learning about the varying impact of funding decisions from the federal, state, and local level and how it affects real services is also informative.  Not being overwhelmed by the information is key, I think, in order to ensure that all the information is considered, thus helping in making better decisions.  I also believe that not just understanding the nuts and bolts of financing, but understanding how all that happens, even in a large nation like ours, is interrelated and has long ranging effects.  In part, I think that a problem with our societal understanding of government, politics, and the like, is that there is very little understanding about how government works, and what is lost or gained by certain political decisions.  And ultimately, the failure for that understanding is on both the policy makers, for not pressing to get that information and explanation to people, and on the people, for not actively engaging in the process and taking the time to think critically about the information.

In any event, I continue to be excited by the opportunity to have impact in our community; not only through library programs and services that I can support as Trustee, but hopefully through better communication and education about the role of the library, and how federal, state, and local political decision making can effect the library's role and impact.