I’ve recently been informed that the Free Library of Philadelphia, the public library for that city, is being forced to shut down due to a complete lack of government funding. It’s not just a few libraries that are closing, but the entirety of the Philadelphia public library system. This is a Big Deal.
I am in no way privy to the workings of the Pennsylvania state government, nor do I have any experiences with the Free Library, but what I do know is that closing down so many libraries that you leave some people with no alternatives sends some of the worst possible messages to kids that I can think of.
I don’t think anyone will disagree with the fact that reading is important. However, what happens when those kids eager to get away from the boring books they’ve read in class want to find something they’d enjoy on their own, perhaps…manga? Yes, there are possible alternatives to getting books. You can borrow them from friends, your own school might have its own limited library, and you can even buy them new or used, but think about the message being sent to these kids. “Books aren’t that important. They’re so unimportant that the state couldn’t even provide sufficient funding for its own libraries.”
The library is a noble institution whose purpose is to provide knowledge for all, and as much as I can understand that nothing can ever live up to an ideal, it still saddens me that an entire city will lose the majority of its libraries and restrict the ability for people young and old to learn and to read. I worry about the kids especially, because generally adults can at the very least use their regular income to purchase books. On top of that, educational programs run by the Free Library are being canceled as a result of all this, giving people even fewer opportunities. Perhaps this can be made up for if most of the funding that would have gone into the public library went into public education, but even then I worry about what these actions are really saying.
Who needs a library, really?
OGIUE MANIAX 
Our library just had a huge budget slash (something on the level of $800K) due to a reduction in state- and city-allocated funds, as well as unexpected expenses surrounding the firing of our director (she needed to go, but it took a most circuitous route), but we’re hopefully going to weather this recession. Emphasis on “hopefully” as these aren’t good times for publicly funded libraries.
Philadelphia is a double-hit as it stretches back to Benjamin Franklin’s Library Company (which was more of a subscription library–you paid the company a membership fee and could borrow books), so it’s kind of like watching where it all started (although the Boston Public is arguably the first modern “public library”) cave in.
And of course (with the introduction of the Internet) the nature of public libraries is changing, even as the exact definition of what a “public library” is continues to be debated as it always has. The general consensus is “the public library is what the public that supports it wants it to be”. People can’t even agree sometimes as to whether a public library should carry “popular entertainment” media (such as bestselling fiction, comics and manga, movies and TV shows, music, video games), even though (technically and theoretically speaking) these are all legitimate forms of information and human expression.
The problem is is that the public library has to be a little of everything, and with dwindling materials budgets the issue of what any individual library should select for their collection becomes sharper and sharper. Materials selection is already an arcane process of scrying and divination, and libraries have to weed the collection for material that isn’t circulating well in order to make room for newer materials.
I don’t know what relevance this all has on anything but the point is: GO. USE. YOUR. LIBRARY. Check books out (or whatever media floats your boat). Make donations (physical or monetary–I’ve never known a library that didn’t accept outside materials donations, although they do reserve the right to determine if they want to place the item in their collection). If you aren’t using it, you have no influence (however minuscule and stats-driven) over its collection development and continued existence (except tax dollars so better pay them too).
(totally not biased at ALL)
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The sad part is that with the economy in the shape it’s in, local libraries provide a place where people can actively seek jobs, by applying for them on the public computers or getting books on punching up a resume. Library usage has gone up in the past year or so for this reason (also because users can rent dvds or books or whatnot that they might normally buy). Yet libraries are often the item which cash-strapped governments cut first since they’re not considered essential, unlike police, firemen, etc. Alas, I am a victim of these cutbacks, having been laid off from my own library position in August.
I see Philadelphia’s libraries haven’t shut down yet. Let’s hope the public outcry changes a few minds!
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I have many fond memories of spending hours in my hometown’s library as a kid. My first library card was like pure gold to me. Say, you know, I also have fond memories of my old Atari 1200XL 8-bit computer.
I don’t think the government should resurrect Atari and ask them to keep producing that computer, even though it was really great for its time and possibly the perfect platform for kids to learn about programming.
Wow, I can’t even recall the last time I set foot in a library (other than a university library). Yes, they are neat and stuff, and it sure is nice to think that I could go visit my old hometown library any time I wanted to. But realistically, the Internet is killing the public library. Maybe in some places public donations from the nostalgically oriented will keep the library in business as-is, or the library could repurpose itself, as newspapers must, to cope with the information age. But using the power of the state to prop up obsolete services that we don’t really use, but make us feel warm and fuzzy? Really?
Well, I’ve got to go, the ice man’s here with another block for my root cellar, and then I need to go into town to stock up on buggy whips.
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In regards to what OGT said regarding libraries and donations, my local branch will have none of it. I was absolutely floored when I heard that, especially since I was told that when I had about several boxes of excellent- condition books that I had to get rid of due to lack of space. But, they said that they only accepted new material and that was that. Of course, those books are still around but my local branch is…adequate at best. I think it’s because they’ve been trying to compete with Borders down the road for years and that they aren’t going to the “competition” just because of new releases. It also doesn’t help that they just went through a multi-million dollar revamp of the facilities only to add a bit more square footage. The community still remains nonplussed.
And yet I still donate, and yet I still vote “yes” on every single increase to their budget in my local taxes. I hold out hope that some of the community’s suggestions finally make it through, but the facility seems to be run in a way that is attractive only to people who have nothing to do between the hours of noon and 3 PM on weekdays. Even then it’s only interesting if you want to play a card game or a board game. I guess a book club never came to mind… *sigh*
Sorry if I ramble, it’s just that the local entity gets me depressed at times, especially having spent countless hours at so many other branches.
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But why would anyone stop funding libraries? They’re wonderful places to read books, and even though I have some rather specialized areas of interests that sometimes forces me to buy books, There’s enough books to satisfy a basic level of interest.
…Maybe this is the modern equivalent of burning libraries? D:
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This didn’t occur to me as a possibility of the economic crisis until now. I hope these types of dramatic cuts and closings don’t occur in other major cities. That would take a while to recover from and the damage done to the education of all those who rely on the public library would last a generation.
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