Library Cuts: UK Closures Ahead Of US, And More To Come For Both

February 5, 2011 was Save Our Libraries Day in the UK, complete with interactive map to find the nearest protest. And in the US, this video of a grown man crying over the closure of a local library went viral. UK libraries chief Roy Clare was shamed into an apology to nine-year-old Jessica Trueman for comparing her campaign to save her local library to "tears shed by teenagers over the break up of boyband Take That."

Another plan to keep book lending alive takes the practice out of libraries and suggests, according to The Independent that it be brought to unexpected venues:

Libraries axed under coalition spending cuts could be resurrected in pubs, shops and GPs' surgeries if radical proposals being studied by ministers are put into action.

Councils have already invited Starbucks to open coffee bars between the book shelves to generate funds, while people in rural areas are being told that they can keep up their reading by borrowing e-books.

If your blood is starting to boil at the shoddy treatment of the sentiments of book and library lovers, you're not alone. Anti-cut and anti-library closure protests are popping up on both sides of the Atlantic and spreading to the Pacific. The protests are having no effect. Libraries are being shut, and those left open are operating on slim budgets after deep cuts.

With ebook and ereader penetration growing ever deeper, does it even matter if we have libraries?

The answer seems to be a resounding "yes." eBooks is still in its infancy. In the US, 75 percent of a publisher's business is print books and in the UK, though ownership of ereaders doubled over Christmas, according to The Bookseller, ereader ownership is still only 13% of the population. Additionally, not every publisher has made a decision over lending ebooks: HarperCollins had put a cap of 26 times for ebook lending.

In the US, libraries now serve a crucial function--they are job research and resource centers, providing free computer and Internet access for those seeking employment. It's an unexpected side-effect of a difficult economy and is detailed in this report by the president of the American Library Association.

What's your opinion? Are you joining the fight to keep libraries, or will you be happier reading in a pub?

Quick Poll

Will you miss your local library?

No. Haven't been since I was a kid.

Yes. Save them for our kids and the community.

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Comments

[chompie]

04:28 PM on 07/29/2011

Only 4 comments now. I realize that the internet has changed the way we get our information, but not everyone has access. This is sad. This is wrong. This is happening right here. It already happened in wonderful Santa Clarita, CA. The privatization of libraries is something I never dreamed of. I remember in the 80's when there were cutbacks which resulted in less personnel, less hours, and building maintenance was shotty. This made it difficult for students to do research and people to find resources for work & employment. Now, this movement to privatize everything is out of control. Did you know there are states where they are privatizing Special Ed, robbing students & parents of a free & appropriate public education? It started in Chicago with parking meters and is spreading quickly. Many of these operations fail. Those that are ongoing are charging YOU more and more for less. Here we are stuck talking about a manufactured crisis about the debt ceiling, while all this is happening beneath the radar. I wonder what it will take for people to get ANGRY and do something. Oh yeah, what about ALEC?

[LoftyDreamer]

05:28 PM on 07/06/2011

School libraries are in danger too. For students without home book/computer resources or transportation to public libraries, they are the only places to get recreational reading or database access. And schools with well-funded libraries staffed with credentialed librarians have higher test scores than those without.

[chompie]

04:32 PM on 07/29/2011

School libraries were endangered a long time ago. I went to work as a teacher in 1992. For many years I thought we had a school librarian, only to find our that she was an "assistant." There was a major shortage of books. Many of us donated the books our own children had outgrown. There was never enough money in the school budget for more books.

[tswift4evar]

10:28 AM on 07/06/2011

Nobody cares, but that's a good thing. It means when we finally arrive at our imminent dystopian future, it will hopefully be more of a "Brave New World" scenario where people don't care about knowledge as opposed to a 1984 thing where the higher-ups forcibly keep us from knowledge. At least they got drugs in Brave New World.

[topkatnc]

09:54 AM on 07/06/2011

I go to the library twice a month and that's not counting if I take my granddaughter .. I would hate to see any library close .. Why would someone want to close down knowledge ? ..

[moflard]

09:02 AM on 07/06/2011

Guy Fawkes come back and have another go, all is forgiven.

Seriously though - are the Lib Dems THAT intent on political suicide to go along with this?