The Library Paradox
Sat., February 15, 12:00 PM
I’ve talked about libraries before, last year when I wrote about bookmobiles. But the local newspaper says this is Love Your Library month. I thought it would be National Library month, but what do I know?
Actually, when it comes to libraries, I know quite a bit, and I’ve looked at them from both sides now – or all three sides. As a borrower, sure. It’s fifty-five years since I took out my first library card. What a revelation – that I could have access to so many more books!
In the city where I grew up, the public library not only maintained a library downtown plus a suburban branch and a bookmobile. It also administered libraries in all the public elementary schools. Even books that were donated by a PTA were processed in the big library before they were brought to the appropriate school.
I know libraries as a volunteer. In fifth grade I began volunteering in the school library one morning a week, learning how to shelve books and file cards. I volunteered in the high school library later on (that one was not run by the public library), and my high school supervisors thus recommended me to work at the downtown library – a job. And when my kids were in elementary school, I volunteered in that library, inadequate compared to the ones I knew as a kid, but a great resource nonetheless.
I know something about paid staff in libraries too. I worked in the circulation department and later the catalogue department of the public library, and I worked the acquisitions department in both public and college libraries.
I also know something about the politics of libraries: whatever you’ve learned, whatever degrees you have, they are never enough. Salaries are low and competition is high. (I once sought a position in a research library; I have a bachelor’s degree in biology and my specialty was scientific translations. But no master’s degree in library science, so…)
By the time my kids were in school, librarians were media specialists. But when the school system couldn’t afford to pay specialists, the libraries were run by teaching aides. You explain this; I can’t. Recordings and films were more important than the books, and the kids didn’t read.
I still love libraries. Imagine having access to all those books! Besides, anyone who really enjoys reading wants to share it. Knowing that reading is the key to success in so many ways, people like me thought that the libraries would prosper with the economy. It didn’t happen.
Libraries are the kind of institution that can only increase their funding if they can prove that they’re using what they have already. It’s very important to keep statistics on who comes into the library. (In one library, the information desk was required to keep track of how many people asked where the rest rooms were.) In order to have money for more books, lots of books must be circulated. Well, as I mentioned, the kids didn’t read. Now they’re adults, and most of them don’t read any more than they absolutely have to.
When the economy is good, readers buy books rather than borrowing from a library. Public library circulation goes down. When people buy lots of new books, the used books business goes up too, and circulation goes down even more. If the circulation is down, the money for new books will go down too. When the economy hits a snag, readers want books from the library, but they aren’t there.
For librarians who entered the field because they loved books, it’s discouraging to discover that budget people only want to hear about CD’s and computers. I’m the last one to criticize computers, but I want a library that concentrates on books. I’m afraid that the great concept of sharing books through a public library may be moribund. Bookstores with lectures and speakers, or cafés where one can browse through used books, may be the wave of the future. It’s a sad thought.
