It all starts with a question, or three:
Are libraries dying?
Are libraries obsolete?
Should we replace libraries with Amazon?
I'm Peter, and this is stacks and Facts.
[musical intro]
The short answer to all three of these questions is, unequivocally, no.
First, Libraries are not obsolete -- in fact, they've been evolving to keep pace with
the changing information needs of their communities.
They offer access to advanced technology, wifi at the library AND in the home, downloadable
e-Books and Audiobooks, classes on everything from cooking to programming, and that's
just the start.
When the Great Recession hit in 2008, libraries were there to help people find jobs and get
access to welfare, so that they could keep food on the table and a roof over their head.
Just as important, libraries were there to provide affordable entertainment in the form
books, music and movies to people whose lives were torn apart through no fault of their
own, and needed to escape into a good story, even if just for a little while.
All of this, at a time when the cost of education is skyrocketing, personal debt is right there
with it, and access to technology is totally dependent on how much money a person makes.
While US inflation has doubled in the past 30 years, the cost of tuition at a public
university has tripled, and it's only getting worse.
Meanwhile, libraries provide their communities with access to job training, professional
development, and a whole mess of entrepreneurial resources so that folks who can't afford
a university education, or don't want it, can still improve their lot in life.
So if you think that Google has somehow made libraries obsolete, maybe you should go to
your local library and see what it's got on tap.
Next, under no circumstances should we be replacing libraries with Amazon, or any other
for-profit institution -- in spite of what a poorly-written op-ed in Forbes might want
you to think.
Amazon, Starbucks, and Netflix all share the same priority: Make money, and provide shareholders
with return on investment.
Any social good that might come from this is either incidental, or a PR move.
Corporations don't care about you, or the societies they exist in, except for how those
societies keep them afloat and make them money.
The people who run the corporations might -- if we're lucky, but the corporations
themselves do not.
And that's apparently by design: when it comes down to profit versus social benefit,
we've seen countless examples of companies prioritizing the former, not the latter.
Libraries, on the other hand, exist only to serve their communities and societies at large.
If you go into a library, the librarian won't call the cops on you for not buying anything.
You shouldn't feel obliged to borrow a book before you take advantage of the free WiFi.
And you don't have to tip the librarian if you plan on taking up some space for a
few hours, or all day -- because that is literally why it exists.
It is there, for you.
Finally, Libraries are not dying.
Period.
The Institute of Museum and Library Services found in 2010 that visits to libraries increased
over 30% from 2001 to 2010.
And in 2013, a poll by the Pew Research Center found that 94% of people feel that having
a public library in their community improves quality of life!
Yes, the number of people who visit libraries each year is going down as of late -- but
that's because library budgets keep getting cut.
Let me explain:
When a library's budget gets cut, its staff and leadership are going to do what it takes
to preserve the services they give to their community as best they can.
But something has to give, because libraries are an easy target.
So what gets cut?
Usually, staffing, and then hours of operation.
Let's talk staffing first:
If you have a library that has 5 librarians, and you take away one of them, the other four
will do their darnedest to pick up the slack -- but librarians already do way more than
people realize (hence requiring a master's degree), so 4 librarians might only be able
to do the work of 4 and a half.
Core services like collection development, literacy programs, and technology services
will be protected -- hopefully -- but that other half has to come from somewhere.
Oftentimes it ends up being things like marketing or community engagement: you know, things
that bring patrons to the library in the first place.
This starts a vicious cycle: Cutting the budget reduces its capacity to do good, and people
point at that lost capacity and say, "are libraries dying?" before cutting the budget
again.
On top of that, libraries also lose library technicians, the folks who do a lot of the
day-to-day operations like sorting, shelving, and customer service.
Losing library techs means librarians have to pick up the slack, or rely on unskilled
volunteers with potentially high turnover (both of which means time not spent on strategic
library operations).
Second, libraries are forced to cut hours.
Shrinking staff means that libraries just don't have the money to be open as much
as their communities need them to be.
So, librarians are forced to choose who gets to use the library based on when the doors
are open.
Do they push their opening hours later in the day so that students can come to after
school programs, at the cost of not serving the elderly, unemployed, or homeless?
Do they give up certain weekdays so that they can be open on weekends, when folks are off
work, and how does that affect after-school programs?
Should the library cut winter hours that give people someplace warm to be, so that they
have more hours during the summer, when school's out and the temperature's boiling?
These are, literally, questions of life and death, and every time a library's budget
gets cut, hard decisions have to be made.
Now, the argument that the author of the op-ed makes in favor of replacing libraries with
Amazon is that it's cheaper.
Basically, he says, if we get rid of libraries, we're saving taxpayers money while giving
a boost to corporations, and making jobs.
[visible eyeroll].
If folks want books, they can buy them, or borrow e-books from Amazon.
My reply is, no.
We're not saving taxpayers money.
Libraries aren't free -- they're mostly paid for by taxes and private donors, but
the return on investment that they provide is astounding: for every dollar spent on libraries,
communities get more than that back, on average about $5 dollars but up to $10.
That's right, every dollar spent on a library is worth up to 10 dollars to its community.
This comes in the form of greater buying power, saved money; improved employment, health,
and education outcomes; and so much more.
Amazon isn't going to do that for us, especially since they do whatever they can to get out
of paying the taxes that fund libraries in the first place.
Second, not everyone can afford to buy books, and not everyone has access to the technology
that you need to read an e-book.
People with money tend to forget that people without it even exist, except when they're
an inconvenience, and research by Dr. Paul Piff from UC Irvine has shown that the more
money you make, the less likely you are to be invested in humanity -- and perhaps, to
be aware of what it's like to be poor in the here and now.
There are, of course, exceptions to this, but mostly there aren't, and this op-ed
is just another example of that, whether we like it or not.
---
So, the next time someone asks, "are libraries obsolete?"
You can tell them, resoundingly, "absolutely not" and explain why.
Or better yet, send them a link to this video!
If we value libraries, we have to make sure that people know about the good that they
do, not just for the least of us, but for all of us.
And that's what I'm trying to do with this channel!
If you want to support me in this, subscribing is a great first step!
Click the Stacks and Facts logo on screen, or the button below!
You can also click the little bell next to the subscribe button, so that you get a notification
whenever I upload a new video, ideally about twice a month.
That's all I've got for now -- but I want to hear from you: why do you like your library?
Let me know in the comments below, or tweet at me!
Thank you so much for watching, and for caring, and until next time, don't forget to ask
questions.
Okay bye.
OH AND if you have lots of money, maybe give a bunch of it to your local library!
They can always use the help.
Okay, bye for real now.
[Musical Outro]
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