Please read FULLY, complete the survey and hit SUBMIT to ensure your response is recorded.

We know members and stakeholders want ILF to be proactive in advocacy. We need to hear from you about priorities now so that ILF can work on strategy at the Legislative Fall Forum to be effective in the next legislative session. Please help by answering the survey below.

Many questions are based on the long-term legislative priorities established over the last two years. Some relate to very specific policies. Where you do not have adequate information or if it does not apply to your work, simply mark not applicable.  Go to end and hit submit to make sure your response is recorded.

Note the survey may not include certain policies we already support or policies we would fight against (i.e. intellectual freedom challenges, property/local income tax changes that hurt libraries). It also does not include non-governmental partners, external relations or federal advocacy. 

Your input is critical to our group success.

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* 1. Contact Information - While you may remain anonymous, we appreciate your contact information, as it allows us to confirm that our input is statewide and allows us to follow up re: specific policy recommendations/ideas.

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* 2. What best describes your primary affiliation with Indiana Library Federation?

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* 3. What best describes your primary role with a library?

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* 4. What best describes your membership status with Indiana Library Federation?

Please assess and prioritize each idea from the perspective of 1) the ILF Mission to advance library service for the benefit of Indiana residents, and 2) your willingness to help advocate on the specific issue.

We thank you in advance for your thoughtful responses.

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* 5. To what degree should we continue the ILF priorities from 2018-2019 (listed below) into 2020-2021?  Do you support and at what priority level?

  Do you support? What priority?
Internet connectivity funds for libraries and schools (budget year)
INSPIRE, Indiana's virtual library (funding in budget year)
INSPIRE, Indiana's virtual library (as a service)
Certified school librarians in K-12 education
Maintain requirement of $8/student/year for School Libraries in K-12 education (budget year)
Lifelong learning - Pre-K
Lifelong learning - Adult literacy programs
Library service for all
Maintain property and local income tax funding structure for public libraries
Amend the "library services" definition in statute to reflect present-day services
Be at the table for any discussions of local government reorganization
Respond to changes in employment, compensation and retirement programs for libraries

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* 6. INSPIRE funding has remained one of the highest policy priorities for ILF during budget sessions. What level of priority should ILF give INSPIRE in future sessions?

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* 7. LIBRARY CARDS - For each policy idea below, share YOUR assessment.

  Do you support? What priority?
Provide library cards to foster children.
Revise PLAC, Public Library Access Card (explain how in comments)
Create a universal card for access statewide.
Enable student e-cards for any student under 18 or enrolled in school

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* 8. What other specific legislative proposal(s) would you prioritize related to library cards?

The next two questions relate to laws specific to public libraries, including specific features for possible changes to HEA1343 and criminal history checks. Ongoing legislative attention to public library budgets, reserves and child safety is anticipated. 
Re: HB1343, optional binding review -The final version of HEA1343 passed the House 57-39 and the Senate 29-20, and the first versions of the HB1343 passed with even more votes.  ILF supports reasonable oversight and supported the Senate-passed version of HB1343, which made binding review optional, created threshold criteria, limited cuts to budget or levy, and required notice provisions.
Re: Criminal history checks - The criminal history check requirement for public library all employees and volunteers passed the Senate 38-11 in SB64. ILF supported requiring libraries to adopt a policy related to criminal history checks for employees and volunteers with regular and ongoing contact with children.
As we endeavor to be proactive on changes, help us identify the criteria that will make sense both for libraries and for legislators.

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* 9. HEA1343 - Mark your support and prioritization for each type of criteria.

  Do you support? What priority?
Keep the criteria of HEA1343 as enacted with clarification of language
Use a calculation available through Gateway report rather than a new formula.
Limit the cuts to budget or levy by no more than 10%
Require capital improvement plans at threshold of 150% funds to budgets (similar to HEA1177 for Townships).

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* 10. Criminal History Checks in Public Libraries - Describe your experience and policy preference for each feature or prospective legislation. Note this question only applies to public libraries.

  Does your public library require already? Do you support this as a requirement for public libraries?
Require Public Library to have a policy about criminal history checks for employees and volunteers.
Require all employees of public libraries to have a criminal history check.
Require checks on employees and volunteers with "regular and ongoing contact with children."
Require a check for any volunteer, speaker or performer who has contact with children.

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* 11. If your library already runs criminal history checks, what service/vendor do they use?

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* 12. What is a reasonable timeframe to require criminal history checks for employees and volunteers?

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* 13. ILF has limited resources. Thinking of SHORT-TERM PRIORITIES FOR ILF, assign YOUR PRIORITY LEVEL for 2020-2021 advocacy (please assess by what you think ILF should prioritize)

  What priority level?
Revise library services definition
Reduce barriers to sharing resources within or among types of libraries
Encourage certain partnerships with state or local gov't
Maintain requirement to require at least 1 certified school librarian per district
Require training for library board members and directors
Update Code so that library does not need external approval to spend money it has saved for a purpose
Maintain property tax and local income tax funding structure for libraries
Enable pooling of general liability insurance
Propose a proactive response to 2019 bills (amend HEA1343 language and propose criminal history check policy)

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* 14. Thinking of LONG-TERM PRIORITIES FOR ILF to advance library services for the benefit of Indiana residents, assign YOUR PRIORITY LEVEL for LONG-TERM PRIORITIES (over several years which may drive the types of short-term policies we support).

  Your priority level for LONG-TERM priorities?
Build support for effective school libraries, supported by certified school librarians
Enable universal access by 1 library card per resident for access to any library statewide 
Require certain level of funding for school libraries by students/schools/districts/population
Simplify ways for libraries to consolidate functions
Ensure 92 counties are fully served by library systems, collaborations or sharing agreements
Simplify process to expand library services to unserved areas
Complete update of IN Code related to public libraries
Expand broadband for libraries or residents

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* 15. Learnings from other states?  Is there a legislative proposal from another state that we could model or avoid? Be specific.

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* 16. What else should the Advocacy Committee know about needs, trends or policy issues as we plan our ILF policy priorities and strategies?

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* 17. STRATEGIES - Developing the policy priorities is only the first step. Then we must implement our advocacy strategy. Please help us understand your comfort level and experience in each of the areas.

  Comfortable/experienced Not comfortable or experienced, yet INTERESTED Not comfortable or experienced and NOT INTERESTED
Talk with legislators in my district
Talk with legislators at the statehouse
Write letters to the editor/columns
Ask key leaders or influencers in my community to contact legislators
Participate in a common ILF messaging campaign

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* 18. STRATEGIES IN THE LIBRARY - Please help us understand your comfort level and experience in each of the areas.

  Comfortable/experienced Not comfortable or experienced, yet INTERESTED Not comfortable or experienced and NOT INTERESTED
Ask my board members to talk to legislators
Ask my Friends, Foundations, Vendors to talk with legislators
Organize a library tour for legislators
Post library information or an advocacy piece in my library
Communicate with patrons about library advocacy

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* 19. Is there anything else you would want to share about ILF Advocacy or ILF?

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