From http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6616470.html?industryid=47090
Article: San Diego Mayor Wants To Proceed with Library Closings; Budget Analyst Urges Review
Public libraries usually require tax money to run. As we learned earlier, there is no public service as utilized in comparison to the (tax payers) cost. The library is especially invaluable during tough economic times. It is a treasure trove to unemployed patrons by providing books on job searching, resume writing and internet access. Families can access books that they may not otherwise be able to afford. Reading greatly improves a child’s ability to do better in school. Ultimately it is a vital public service.
San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders has proposed the closing of seven of the 35 branches in the city. Originally the plan was for the seven libraries to be closed temporarily and open again in 2010. It was then pushed back to 2014 and now perhaps they could stay closed permanently. Nothing has been officially decided.
Already 31 of the branches are open only 41 hours a week. Library Director Deborah Barrow explains that the changing and limited services has confused and frustrated the public. Barrow feels closing some of the branches will improve service at the remaining libraries. Already library employees have had their hours cut back and turnover is high adding to the costs.
Even Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, who earned Library Journal’s Politicians of the Year award in 2005 for his innovated ways to keep libraries open, has had to reconsider closing some libraries in 2008. http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6620248.html
What do these closings mean for the public? San Diego Director Deborah Barrow has a valid point in wanting to provide the highest level of service even if it means closing some libraries. How will this affect the areas around the closed libraries? It seems certain that many patrons in the affected areas will simply not use the library anymore due to lack of access. Transportation alone could be a hindrance.
What are the answers? All avenues must be explored to avoid losing libraries. It is a highly charged political arena and some skill in this area would beneficial. The very last place governments should cut costs is at the local public library. As future librarians we must hone our skills in grant writing, federal funding applications such as the e-rate and volunteer recruiting. Not all of us will be going into the public librarian realm. These skills as well as our ability to stay on the cutting edge of technology will prove libraries and librarians as the priceless community services they are well into the future.
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5 comments:
This is definitely a frightening proposal. Like Susan said a library is a very useful tool to those facing economic hardships. Beyond job placement and training the library also serves (as much as some may hate it) as an after school program or latchkey program. Many of the public libraries I have been to are busiest between 2:30 and 5pm due in large part to an after school rush.
I'm also amazed that the libraries that are still open are only open 41 hours a week. How can that satisfy the needs of the community?
While eliminating some libraries may increase the patronage of others, I have to agree with Susan's point that transportation could be a problem. The economic situation must be considered whenever shutting down a building within a community that depends on it. If anything, San Diego needs to consider the location of all their libraries, and work out a plan that allows the greatest number of patrons to commute. However, I doubt that libraries in poor economic areas can squeeze out enough tax dollars to cover the expenses. San Diego should take a page from the Josephine County Libraries and think about becoming a cooperative until enough money can be raised so the city can support the libraries again. San Diego is a large city, and perhaps I'm being too optimistic that people will want to save it, but I can't imagine no one would care.
I wonder what would be the silver lining in this kind of situation. Would collection development actually improve? Would these libraries function better then they already do, even with a (hopefully) higher influx of users? Scout mentioned last week that libraries would need to learn how to function with a smaller budget and more users, similar to what may happen in San Diego and elsewhere. This is troublesome just in Michigan, but it can't be a bed of roses anywhere else right now. If these people are in a similar economic situation just like Michigan, closing these branches could be disastrous. These people need to relearn job training, learn how to create a resume, or in some cases change careers entirely. I wonder about the literacy rate in this area—how could it increase in such a situation? People need to have access to information, especially virtually. The librarians would need to be extremely proactive, and able to gain funding in the ways Susan already mentioned, like volunteer recruiting. These librarians will need to be up to the challenge.
Budget concerns are definitely a tricky issue. I think that communities being forced to choose between necessary services need to have creative alternatives. I think people are looking for a way to compromise, and librarians need to help them find ways that are beneficial to all. Libraries are important to communities, especially during hard times, and people don’t want to have to close them. However, they need an alternative to choose.
Regardless of the outcome, something must be cut. Is it hours of service? Or a day or two? Or some of the more costly services that are offered to patrons? Or electronic resources? Or some programming? While none of these scenarios are ideal, hopefully one can be found that still allows patrons access to the library services, even if that access is more limited. If the community can assess what is the most important service to maintain, the library may have to make sacrifices in some other areas. Librarians’ willingness to be flexible will help keep library services available during hard economic times.
“If Stalin or Hitler had spent their youth in the library, history might be rewritten (Alvarez, 2003).” (http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA267683.html)
This sentence extracted from a poem written by a faculty member Julia Alvarez for a librarian named Joy pile, express the influence of libraries and librarians on human behavior. Libraries are an essential part of the educational system. And our responsibility is to make it clear for all people in power that libraries are as important as schools.
“That road is paved with librarians,
bushwhackers, scouts with string
through the labyrinths of information,
helpers who disappear the moment
you reach your destination. (Alvarez, 2003)”
Librarians usually work behind the scenes; their work is most of the time unseen even for the people who asked for help that does not mean that it is not important. Our duty is to promote our libraries and services so people and governors will be aware of the importance of the services that we provide.
Citizens should know that having a library in their area is one of their rights like free education. It is not only librarians who should fight for keeping the libraries open but the citizens and the society served by a particular library as well. I don’t believe that closing any library is a solution for budgeting issues. The libraries are funded by tax payers as roads and user public services. Can you imagine a closed road for lack of budget? We can always find a way to keep the library open even if we want to take some measures but not closing.
I think Ibrahim made a good point that libraries are an important part of a free public education. Their absence from a community places many people from that community at a severe disadvantage. It seems the funding is drying up in lower income communities who are the very people who need libraries most. This is only going to end up a downward spiral unless something is done.
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