The Library Director Crash Course program, provided by the ALA, was filled with great, useful information. My primary goal was to learn more about budgeting, but I also gained information on staffing, benefits, working with board members and capital (building and property) concerns.
Three things I learned about budgeting is that approximately 50% of our operating budget should be designated for personnel, include a reserve when budgeting for special projects and capital improvement projects, and the biggest difference between a governing board and an advisory board is that a governing board approves policy and budgets where an advisory board doesn’t.
On a non-specific to library-directors level, I learned that almost everything involved with library business fits under the Freedom of Information Act, so we need to be conscious of what we put on paper. We cannot send ranting emails to others about patrons or coworkers. We cannot give private information about patrons, including their checkout history, out to anyone, without official papers from a judge or lawyer.
