While our economy seems to be slowly staggering back to its feet, state and municipal governments remain hard-hit as the result of lost tax revenues, lost stimulus money and pension fund payments that have grown to monstrous size to make up for the market losses of 2007 and 2008. Those governments are cutting everywhere they can and public libraries nationwide have been one of the biggest and least deserved losers in the process.
Widespread public access to knowledge, like public education, is one of the pillars of our democracy, a guarantee that we can maintain a well-informed citizenry.
But libraries seem to be losing out in the funding battles, due, in part, to the mistaken belief that they are somehow anachronistic in an age when so many Americans have instant computer access to information through the Internet. This is, frankly, a let-them-eat-cake-attitude that threatens to destroy a network of public assets that remains critical in our country.
Millions of Americans simply cannot afford to replace what libraries have traditionally offered for free -- access to books, computers and research assistance. Ironically, the importance of these services is even greater in a time of economic uncertainty.
For Americans facing job losses, working to gain new skills and seeking assistance in an increasingly digital world, U.S. public libraries are first responders. Two-thirds of libraries report they provide the only free access to computers and the Internet in their communities. Libraries function as crucial technology hubs, not merely for free Web access, but those who need computer training and assistance. Library business centers help support entrepreneurship and retraining
For thousands and thousands of American kids, libraries are the only safe place they can find to study, a haven free from the dangers of street or the numbing temptations of television. As schools cutback services, the library looms even more important to countless children. And libraries often offer young parents the only chance they can provide to inculcate their children in a culture of books, one of the most essential building blocks for success in school.
For the elderly, libraries are often important community centers that help them escape the loneliness of old age.
Most important of all, perhaps, a library within a community stands as a testimonial to its values, its belief in universal access to literature and knowledge.
The value of all of these services has been widely accepted in our nation for at least a century. But we have now entered an era of unprecedented budget cuts.
For example, in California, Governor Brown's new proposed budget decreases General Fund assistance for public libraries by $30.4 million, eliminating the California Library Services Act, Public Library Foundation and the California Library Literacy and English Acquisition Services -- that is, access, resource sharing and adult literacy. In Texas, the cuts are even more stark, with the new budget proposing complete elimination of several programs that have either provided direct aid to libraries or irreplaceable programs, like those that created shared databases. Even in my own community, a small city on the northern edge of Chicago where a major university sits, my neighbors and I have been struggling to save a small branch library that was pivotal to the education of many neighborhood kids.
Librarians know that shrinking budgets demand hard choices, and they do not expect to be exempt as local and state governments endure the hardest times they have faced since the Depression. But it is wrong to cut library budgets disproportionately compared to other reductions, and that is what is happening around the country.
I count myself as one of millions of Americans whose life simply would not be the same without the libraries that supported my learning. We cannot take that opportunity away from so many Americans who need that help urgently now.
Scott Turow is the author most-recently of "Innocent," a sequel to "Presumed Innocent," and president of the Authors Guild.
In one respect, Mr. Turow could have gone further. Many libraries would, I am sure, be happy to supply statistics to back up the point that libraries are more important in times of economic uncertainty. Public library circulation statistics and patronage goes up in hard times. See this article for details and links to studies: http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/pio/pressreleasesbucket/libraryusage.cfm
At the same time, the particularly refreshing sentiment of Mr. Turow is the idea that "Librarians know that shrinking budgets demand hard choices, and they do not expect to be exempt as local and state governments endure the hardest times they have faced since the Depression." In hard times, even despite increased usage, libraries need to be dynamic and anticipate change. They cannot sit idly by and demand to maintain the status quo.
We need are own revolution against the oppression of Republican's against the poor. Dem's, get off your behinds and start fighting!
http://www.libraryjournal.com/lj/home/888540-264/labor_of_love_best_small.html.csp
Here's a short excerpt that shows how this library enriches its community:
"NCL offers four days of after-school programming every week. Programs include homework help, monthly teen nights, and a new Children’s Learning Garden tended by kids. In partnership with the Uncompahgre Board of CoÂoperative Services, NCL delivers weekly summer programs for preschool kids to second graders to build cognition, language, and social/emotional skills.
NCL’s seven public computers clock 200 uses a week; a recent grant from the Colorado State Library will add a dozen laptops to the array. Library staff help people conduct online searches for jobs and benefits like unemployment, since many have neither transportation nor home computers to get access to such services from offices in faraway Denver.
NCL has partnered with University Centers of the San Miguel—a nonprofit that provides access to secondary education—to offer library videoconferencing for a variety of classes. The goal is to increase access to higher education for the population."
Via such partnerships & services, libraries often provide proven Return on Investment (ROI) in the range of 500 - 600%. Not many other public services can say that!
So privatize them, or let wealthy philanthropists step in and support them.
Why? That's the federal government's constitutional responsibility.
>>>Or the police force?>>>
We don't have a federal police force.