A few days ago in the Los Angeles Times author Marilyn Johnson wrote a great opinion piece focusing on the breathtakingly short-sighted budget cuts that are gutting our public library system.
“… cuts and close calls are happening across the country. We won’t miss a third of our librarians and branch libraries the way we’d miss a third of our firefighters and firehouses, the rationale goes … but I wonder.”
I don’t wonder at all. Anyone who doesn’t recognize the irreplaceable and absolutely vital services provided by their neighborhood library hasn’t dropped in lately. In this brave new world of non-stop information, libraries are often the only place a sizable percentage of our population can access (much less understand) this constantly changing flow of data.
“… if you visit public libraries, you will see an essential service in action, as librarians help people who don’t have other ways to get online, can’t get the answers they urgently need, or simply need a safe place to bring their children. I’ve stood in the parking lot of the Topeka and Shawnee County Library in Kansas on a Sunday morning and watched families pour through doors and head in all directions to do homework or genealogical research, attend computer classes, read the newspapers. I’ve stood outside New York city libraries with other self-employed people, waiting for the doors to open and give us access to the computers and a warm and affordable place to work. I’ve met librarians who serve as interpreters and guides to communities of cancer survivors, Polish-speaking citizens, teenage filmmakers, veterans.”
Look, in the social media world we’re all online and wired in and drowning in RSS feeds. To us, information is like oxygen. Now, imagine if that flow of oxygen was suddenly cut off. And the Catch 22 is that to get the flow started again, you need access to it. So many people need a library to get them online so they can get the job that will really put them back online. In addition, now that school is out, families are leaning on libraries pretty heavily for programs and support.
Bottom line – libraries are in critical danger and need our help. Listed below are a few local library fundraisers. If you’re in the neighborhood, drop by and put a few bucks in the kitty. Also, if your library has something special going on this summer, we’d love to hear about it.
Library Fundraisers. Go!!
Today (Thursday, July 8th) enjoy an evening of wine tasting, pupus, and entertainment under the stars on the oceanfront lawn at the Royal Lahaina Resort on Maui, all to benefit the 55-year-old Lahaina Library.
In Island Park, Idaho, there’s an arts and crafts fundraiser for the local library Friday thru Sunday, July 9-11th.
Have lunch (Cajun jambalaya!) with book editor Janet Allured on July 23rd in West Monroe, Louisiana. Ticket proceeds benefit the Friends of the Library.
On August 13th, you can enjoy an elegant garden party at Tessa Bella Gardens in San Andreas, California. A lovely evening in support of the Calaveras County Library.
LosingLibraries.org
Check out this great site on the many cuts, layoffs, and reduced hours around the country. And let us know in the comments about challenges in your community! And you can follow them on Twitter – @losinglibraries
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Tags: Island Park, Lahaina Library, libraries, Los Angeles Times, Marilyn Johnson, San Andreas, West Monroe
related link of interest:
LosingLibraries.org – The Big (Awful) Picture http://www.losinglibraries.org/
an effort to map and chronicle the full range of cuts, closings, and diminished library services nationally; from Library Journal
GREAT resource list. I'm going to add it to the bottom of the post. Thanks for the info!!