What We Can Accomplish When We All Work Together

Although it has been several months since the November elections, we would be remiss if we did not acknowledge the successful passage of the Library’s levy. The community again rallied around the Library, confirming its confidence in the role we play in helping to build a stronger Cleveland. When all the ballots had been counted, we learned that not only did our levy pass, but it passed with a resounding 75% approval rating—the highest in the Library’s electoral history.

We are so thankful for this ongoing support. Even with all the awards and accolades that the Library has received in the past year, it was this victory that said the most. As we look to the Library’s 150th Anniversary in five short years, we know that we face our present and future challenges with wide community understanding that the Library is important to its citizens.

Having the community’s trust and confidence is not something we take lightly. The Library’s leadership and staff are committed to supporting those who support us by meeting their needs in creative, yet fiscally responsible ways. We proved to the public that, even though we live in an era where government dollars are shrinking, we were able to manage our budget. Now we have to do even better and prove what we know. I want to thank my fellow Trustees, who serve without monetary compensation, but with much psychic reward, for leading the effort.

With the levy support, we are able to stabilize our operations for the next five years. Yet, that doesn’t mean that challenges don’t exist. On an ongoing basis we, like all libraries, are challenged to make sure the right technology is available to everyone, regardless of their financial resources. We are challenged to find ways to adapt our technology and programming to the demands and opportunities of the eMedia revolution; and we are challenged to meet the ever-growing need to help combat an array of community deficits in our region. We have the third largest public research collection to protect and preserve, while finding new ways to make it even more accessible and useful to the needs of our citizens.

In the past year, we worked hard to incorporate elements of the Strategic Plan, which we approved in 2012, throughout our programs and services. I recommend that you review this report, but also go to our website and review that 2012 Strategic Plan and give us your feedback. The challenge of doing both, that is preserving the books and meeting the demands of future technology with knowledge and skill, is our special task.

We still have much to do. Our community’s needs are great. But as we thank you for the recent levy vote, remember how much more we can accomplish when we are all working together to make the People’s University everything it can be.

Sincerely,

Thomas D. Corrigan
President, Board of Trustees

Members of the Board of Library Trustees

Maritza Rodriguez, Vice President | Alan Seifullah, Secretary | Alice G. Butts
John M. Hairston | Anthony T. Parker | Rick Werner