If you're going to suggest something as asinine as defunding public libraries, you better hope the Angriest Librarian doesn't find out about it.
The online argument started when New York Observer columnist Andre Walker suggested on Twitter that public libraries should be closed and their books donated to schools, because "nobody goes to" them anymore.
The Angriest Librarian became even angrier (angriest-er?) after reading this.
Not surprisingly, the Angriest Librarian is right. A Pew Research study last year discovered that 76 percent of Americans believe that libraries serve the needs of their communities well. Although there has been a decline in local library and bookmobile use (from 53 percent to 44 percent by 2016), it isn't because people don't need libraries but rather because libraries' budgets have been cut.
In other words, Walker's solution to the so-called "problem" of people not going to libraries is actually the cause. People appreciate and want to go to libraries but are less able to do so when funding is cut. As the Institute of Museum and Library Services learned after conducting a 2012 study:
We found that as investments, such as revenue, staffing, and programs, increased, so did critical use measures, such as visitation and circulation. . . . Another important finding is that even though investments might have declined, any decreases in use did not drop by the same magnitude . . .
The Angriest Librarian is also correct for stating that libraries provide a wide range of other services besides simply lending books. As a graduate student, I can vouch from firsthand experience that librarians are experts at helping you navigate through databases for information that you may not be able to easily uncover on your own, as well as in general provide access to a wide range of technological services (such as computers with internet access or copy machines) that may otherwise be unavailable.
The Angriest Librarian is also correct that libraries help serve the underprivileged.
"People experiencing poverty or homelessness constitute a significant portion of users in many libraries today and this population provides libraries with an important opportunity to change lives," explained the American Library Association website. "As the numbers of poor children, adults, and families in America rises, so does the urgent need for libraries to effectively respond to their needs."
The ALA added, "Access to library and information resources, services, and technologies is essential for all people, especially the economically disadvantaged, who may experience isolation, discrimination and prejudice or barriers to education, employment, and housing."
Shares