Do We Really Need Fox "News"?
Unfortunately the UK government has pretty much the same opinion, as do a lot of local politicians. The KPMG report recently target libraries as a means to cut public service spending, for those who can't be bothered to find it and read page 19 :
Local government should seek to devolve to the most
local level possible and to encourage communities to take over services. One example would
be libraries. Libraries face funding challenges - in that they are more discretionary than other
services, usage has declined, the unit cost of lending a book can be more expensive than the
wholesale price of a book and customers have new book and information media and services
(e.g. Amazon, social networking sites, etc). The level of community resistance to closing a
library is usually disproportionate to the level of local usage, because communities believe
that a local library belongs to them, not the council, and they believe in the future potential of
the library to do great things. Devolution can allow new ideas to develop. For example - in
North America libraries are often run by volunteers not paid council staff, whilst in the UK
charity shops often have waiting lists of volunteers wanting to help them with book sales;
much of the public space in a library is badly used storing infrequently used books; e-
government has put libraries on line, but they still focus on a buildings based service; too
many community groups are spending scarce resource on premises; where some councils
have handed the library back to the community, they have often turned it into a much more
vibrant community organisation and space. Giving councils total freedom on libraries could
mean that they create huge social value from engaging a community in running its own
library, backed up with some modern technology, whilst also saving large amounts of money
on over-skilled paid staff, poor use of space and unnecessary stock.
As an "over-skilled" member of staff perhaps I have a vested interest in wanting libraries to be manned by people who a) know what they are doing and b) are contractually obliged to provide a high level of service. As a library user I know that I would expect a lot more of even the smallest branch than I would a charity-store of any kind.
Our head of service recently said during a meeting that the only services which had seen increased use were "free or of little value, such as Libraries." People have claimed that the context of the speech clearly shows that he simply meant that libraries do not bring in a lot of money, not that they are worthless. Personally I think that he meant exactly what he said and that, because libraries are not a profit-making enterprise he considers them useless. After all that's what Rupert Murdoch and the government think.
It doesn't matter that we actually help people who would never be able to buy books or newspapers or get an Internet connection without us. That's because those people (the poor, the young, the physically or mentally ill) are also considered worthless.
Fortunately libraries do have some very good champions. Neil Gaiman, Cory Doctrow, Andrew Motion and Alan Gibbons have for some time now proven themselves as well reasoned and articulate spokesmen for Libraries both in the UK and the USA. I do think that it's a shame that no-one within the profession itself seems to have taken up arms on our behalf but it's perfectly understandable why, in the current climate, no-one will risk putting themselves directly in the (literal) firing-line.
Instead of standing out I'll attempt to start a grass-roots movement. Anyone reading this, tell at least one friend how important public libraries are. If you don't have a library card then join your local library. If you have a card and never use it then look on the library catalogue and reserve a few books to pick up next time you have the time (I recommend library-elf for those of you who have trouble remembering when to return your books) or see what events are being held at your local library and go along to support one of them.
If libraries are lost now they will never come back.