I’m looking forward to 2009. I have a lot of things I want to get done in the new year, both personally and professionally, and I’m ready to get to work on them.

But I can’t ignore the fact that 2009 is likely to be a difficult year for libraries and our institutions due to the economy. I don’t think I have read many librarians’ blog posts about it, but through the less formal electronic grapevine I have heard of raises canceled, travel budgets slashed, jobs or entire departments being eliminated, and furlough days (mandatory unpaid days off) imposed. I can only assume that budgets for collections and services are suffering universally as well.

It would be impolitic to write in any detail about my own institution (which is probably why I haven’t seen others blogging around this issue). I’ll just note that even though I work at a private institution and we are shielded from state budget problems, much of our budget comes from endowments which are tied to the financial markets. We will all be feeling it this year. (See the New York Times article, Tough Times Strain Colleges Rich and Poor.)

Like most people, I try not to worry about things I can’t control, and like most people, I still end up worrying an awful lot anyway. Instead of worrying, I have been trying to think about what I should be doing in tough economic times. Both on the library level and the personal level, it seems to come down to something we–library people, not just people at my library–should be doing anyway: striving to be indispensable to as many people as possible.

As times get tougher and budgets shrink it will be tempting for librarians everywhere to want to hunker down and try to ride things out. But that would just marginalize libraries and librarians even further. Instead, it seems like we need to increase outreach, increase marketing, and increase our focus on helping people do what they really want to do. We will have to talk to our users more than ever, and look for ways we can get them the things they need, promote the things we already have, save their time, and continue to change in response to tough times. (Sounds familiar right?)

I hope that my library can be a leader in our institution during difficult financial times. I hope that we can aggressively cut expenses while remaining utterly committed to our mission, and being innovative in the service we provide. I resolve to re-dedicate myself to communicating with the people I serve, learning what makes them tick, and giving them the best service I can. My hope is that if someone asks them about the library they will say “the library makes it possible for me to do the work I do. Cutting library services or personnel would be a false economy.”

To get people to think that way about libraries, library people will need to remind them of all the great things we are doing, and that means more marketing and better understanding of the stories we need to be telling. You might see more “how we done it good” posts from me this year, not because I’m trying to market to you, dear reader, but because I’m trying to get the story straight in my head. I might also try some “how we done it bad and what we learned” posts, too (assuming not everything is perfect).

Reading this over, I’m afraid it sounds a bit preachy and/or obvious. I’m posting it anyway, because I think I need a little pep talk to get this year at work started, and maybe others do, too.