The lights are going off earlier and earlier in America’s public libraries these days. As hours are shortened and librarians are sent packing in growing numbers across the nation, we are losing a valuable educational asset and a staple of the American values we love so much. Georgetown students who benefited from our country’s intellectual infrastructure should remember the libraries in their home cities and states; recognizing this growing trend towards cutting library funding is the first step towards defeating it.
Over the past 18 months, federal budget cuts of more than $111.2 million across the nation have forced many of these venerable institutions to drastically reduce their operations. In some cities, this means that branches that were once open seven days a week are now open only five, while in others, the shortage of funds has cost staff members their jobs.
According to the American Library Association, our public library system provides services to more than two-thirds of the U.S. public while using less than two percent of national tax revenues to do so. Libraries give kids a place to go where they are safe from the temptations of the streets and where they just might learn something interesting while they’re at it.
Or if you don’t care about children, think of yourself. Whatever your beliefs, age, creed or literary preferences, your neighborhood book repository has something for your tastes. U.S. public libraries see an average of 1.2 billion patrons walk through their doors each year. Reference librarians currently answer seven million questions per week. That’s a lot of intellectual enlightenment.
So what is the result of this recent dearth of library funds? Last year, Erie County, PA, closed two branches of its library system; Spokane, WA, saw the reduction of hours at every location in the city and all 52 libraries in New York’s Buffalo and Erie Counties were nearly shut down before being saved in the nick of time by a one-cent increase in local taxes. The three public library branches in John Steinbeck’s hometown of Salinas, CA are facing imminent closure.
We need to save our libraries. Libraries are like a frosty glass of milk for the American soul-tasty, wholesome, mother-approved and more importantly, a necessary part of a healthy intellectual life.
