Public Libraries and the Public
Posted By Kathleen David on October 8, 2007
Public libraries have it hard. For having to fight for their budgets, including having to explain why there are computers in the library and why they need new ones after 7 years, to having to fight for the books within the library when people want to have them removed from the shelves because they don’t agree with the content.
Then there are the other services that the library provides for the community. This includes the public meeting space in most libraries. This space is used by the local government to hold public meetings, various book clubs that meet, various local clubs (I know at least 15 doll clubs that meet at various libraries all over the US), programs sponsored by the library, programs sponsored by local schools which they use the library as part of their outreach programs, and various local groups.
Recently the Supreme Court decided not to hear a case about a religious group that wanted to meet at a library for worship services. The group would have paid a fee for the use of the space but the library shut them out after one session because it was against a local county policy that had been on the books for a while that prohibited the use of libraries for religious services. Now there have been various religious groups that have met at that library but none of them were worship services so they fell under free speech and were OK. I know of a non-denominational (but mainly Christian) prayer group that meets at our local library. There is also a Pagan discussion group once a month allowed in the same room. In a library a couple of towns over there is a Muslim group that meets at the library. None of these groups are worshiping per say but it is not to say they don’t do religious things when they meet. It is sort of a fuzzy line if you ask me. My bet was that the group renting were not clear on what they were doing or planned to do and once they had one meeting, the library saw what they were doing and felt it crossed the line between discussion/expression of religion to turning the space into a worship hall. Probably the library was the cheapest game in town for this group.
I know a number of librarians including a group that bowls together as a team. They work very hard for the local community and try to be all things to all people. I talked to the bowling team about this case. They said that their libraries would have probably done the same thing after the first meeting. They also speculated as to what the group did to the room or the condition they left the room and the parking lot in. There is a very fine line that they have to tread because the library is supported by public money (taxes). One person objecting and making a lot of noise can cause them all kinds of problems and have to give length explanations to the community at large. The computer issue was a fine example of that. The computers they had were about to hit 7 years and didn’t work well on the Internet. The county system was about to upgrade the libraries to dedicated Internet lines which the computers just couldn’t handle. So they had new computers on the budget line which was a rather hefty number because they wanted to get current technology so they wouldn’t have to get computers for a while. A couple of people, who really don’t get why there are computers in the library in the first place (Libraries are for books only dammit well and maybe the audio books and CDs and possibly video tapes and DVDs on a long shot) took this up as their cause and campaigned against the budget which failed by a narrow margin. It took another year and a lot of push by the library and the librarians to prove to the township as a whole why they needed that budget. The sneaky was that they would tell parents who wanted their kids to use the Internet to find stuff for projects to go a township over and use their new computers because (and this was true) the print interface was touch and go at best at that library. Word got around about how much nicer the computer system was at the other township and how much easier it was to use. Budget passed and the computers were installed.
It is a tricky thing trying to be all things to all people and I applaud all the people I know involved in the library system for working so hard to accommodate the general population that they serve. They have a difficult job to do. Public libraries are a gift to their communities and I think those communities should thank their local librarian.
I am grateful to all those people who work in libraries.
As a Library Tech Assistant at the same library I have been a patron of for 37 years, I see all sides of the coin. We have the opposite problem: our computers are so ridiculously old, the patrons complain that they’re too slow and we don’t have enough of them. My WIN 98 gave up the ghost this year, too old and slow to handle program upgrades, and then it blew its memory and died. I’m still awaiting a replacement. We’ve finally bought new ones, but since our computer person only works 18 hours a week, I’ve got another few months to wait. Twelve of us are sharing 4 computers. Now patrons complain that we don’t have Wi-fi (it makes our systems crash, and we need another line installed to make it work right).
I don’t know of any religious groups that use our 3 meeting rooms; I honestly don’t know what the policy is, but we probably don’t allow it. We’re considering banning all meetings, since the rooms are so booked the library can’t schedule library programs.
In the face of an aging building that has been added on to twice, the last time 21 years ago, with 24 parking spaces for 29,000 people, we are in a mad push to increase our circulation as much as possible to show need to invest money – ten years from now – in a new building. My department alone – music – had a 33% increase in circulation last month over the year before. This means 33% more was purchased, processed, checked out, checked in, and shelved, without any increase in staff to handle the load. And that’s just one department. In one month, with an average of only 6 hours a week in my office (I’m supposed to have nine, but I always have to cover elsewhere) I processed 67 audio books and more than 30 CDs – a record, as far as I know.
Be nice to your local librarians. You have no clue what they have to deal with re: the public every day. The library is the one place society’s disadvantaged, disabled, and mentally ill can go to hang out – usually every day – and they can’t be thrown out because it’s a public place, supported by tax dollars, so people get irate if we offend them in the least way. What people don’t realize is that 1) we don’t set the fines, the town council does 2) We don’t set the borrowing policies, town council does. 3)all those fines don’t go back to the library, they go back into the general fund. We don’t see a penny of them. We don’t care if you pay the fines or not – we’ll even wave them half the time if you ask – just BRING THE MATERIALS BACK. We’ve had thousands of dollars of stuff stolen, mostly DVD’s, this year alone. Donate generously to your Library Association. Be patient with interlibrary loans – we can get you a book from clear across the country, but we can’t make their patron return it so they can send it to you immediately. We want you to have it as much as you want it to get there.
If your local library is filled with staff who don’t know what they’re doing, or can’t be bothered, or have a lousy collection, go to a town with a good library, and tell them why. If you’ve got a wonderful library, tell them, but more importantly, tell the town council how wonderful they are, and to send more money their way.