Director has seen much change -- for the good -- during career

The library has 191 employees and a $14.3 million budget.
By NANCY TULLIS
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- In the more than 30 years since Carlton Sears, director of the Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County, began his career, much has changed.
Sears began his library career at a time when the latest technology was an electric typewriter with a built-in correction ribbon. Books on audio cassette were the latest craze, and vinyl record albums were among the items that patrons could borrow from their public library.
"Thirty years ago, only a handful of very large libraries had computers," he said. "Now only a handful do not. People who used libraries were familiar with the card catalog. Many people today have never even seen one."
Now, armed with a library card, patrons can search for books and other materials from their home computers. They can renew materials or request items be placed on reserve. Patrons can also have books downloaded to an MP3 player, or onto a computer.
"Thirty years ago, who would have envisioned that people would be checking books out in the middle of the night from the comfort of their home?" Sears said. "Who would have guessed that on some quiet morning before everyone else in the house is awake, they would be finding the book they are looking for in some branch library in Toledo and that they would be able to order it for delivery to any branch in Mahoning County?"
With the exception of a few services that the library delivers directly to users, the only way that most people used a library 30 years ago was to go to one, Sears said. Today, electronic offerings present an entirely new means of access.
Sears said libraries were once primarily made up of printed items and film. Today, library collections mirror society. It is a multimedia environment housing numerous formats, such as print, CD and DVD.
There are even some formats that the general public can't put in their hands, but that the library can offer, such as licensed electronic databases and electronic books, he said. The scope and variety of this has transformed the way people do research, Sears said.
"The business of operating library reference services today is as much about negotiating and managing digital rights as it is about selecting authoritative sources," he said.
Branching out
Sears said the biggest change during the span of his career is that libraries now partner with many community organizations.
"Thirty years ago, I would not have imagined that the library would have been faced with the issue of how to manage so many partnership offers," Sears said. "Each takes an investment of our staff time and resources. Developing criteria to evaluate partnership opportunities is actually an element of our strategic plan."
Sears said there are many local examples of library partnerships. He noted two.
The library system has partnered with organizations that do blood pressure screening, and during screenings at the various libraries, those groups have identified people at risk and helped them seek medical treatment.
The library system has also partnered with Mahoning County Commissioners' Reuse and Recycling Program, better known as The Green Team.
"The last I heard, household batteries equivalent in weight to several automobiles had been collected through the library's collection points," Sears said.
Cause and effect
Today's libraries also have an ever-increasing impact on their local economies, Sears said.
The Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County has 191 employees and a $14.3 million budget.
In recent years there have been two thorough studies on the economic impact of libraries, and although neither study was done in Ohio, the methodology used would apply to any state, Sears said.
A study by the state of Florida in 2004 concluded that each $1 invested in public libraries produced a return of $6.54.
Of particular note from the Florida study -- one of the most comprehensive on this topic -- are that for every $6,448 spent on public libraries from public funding sources, one job is created, and for every dollar of public support spent on public libraries in Florida, gross regional product increases by $9.08, Sears said.
He said South Carolina conducted a similar study and found that each dollar spent on public library service returned $4.48.
Sears also devotes much of his personal time away from the library investing in the community.
Sears is committed to several community organizations as a volunteer, Rotary Club, Wick Neighbors and the Salvation Army to name a few.
"These organizations all do a wonderful work making the Mahoning County area a better place to live," he said. "I get involved with them because I think this is indeed a really nice place to be and want to do what I can to make it even better."
His career
Sears came to Youngstown from Broome County Public Library in Binghamton, N.Y., where he had been director since 1984. He was also director of Wheeler Basin Regional Library in Alabama, and coordinator of adult services at the Ashville-Buncombe Library System in North Carolina.
He earned a master's degree in library science at the University of Michigan and a bachelor's degree from Wittenberg University in Springfield.
Sears said he was born in South Bend, Indiana but didn't stay there long. His father was in the chemical industry and his family moved frequently.
Sears and his wife, Elaine, have two daughters. One is a children's librarian in Virginia. The other is pursuing a career in sound and audio engineering in the New York City area.
Sears said although his work at the library and his activities with many community groups consumes much of his time, he would like to make time to pursue an interest in woodworking.
Perhaps he could find a book or two on the subject at his local public library.
tullis@vindy.com