Library Cuts

So I am going to start this entry by posting this link to a story I was reading over a break.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/16/can-the-american-library-_n_1096484.html?icid=maing-grid7|main5|dl18|sec1_lnk2|113415

 The Huffington Post is doing this whole series of articles about libraries in crises, which I thought was interesting, but sort of misguided. As regards libraries in a physical sense, yes, maybe, but not as a concept. The article talked about libraries losing funding because, with economic times as they are, when it comes to budget cuts, libraries are seen as the easy answer. But as Maureen Sullivan (president of the ALA) points out, people don't realize how much they need the library or utilize its services until it's gone! Although I think she is trying to make a different point about the importance of libraries in a community, this type of statement actually lends itself to the argument (in my opinion) that libraries aren't doing enough. I know personally that the library at which I work just reviewed its budget for the next year, and we are dealing with severe budget cuts that will greatly impact patrons directly (e.g. our budget for new books has been cut by 40%), but when it is put into practice, patrons will simply complain about how the library isn't doing enough or they never have anything good to read anymore (some people actually do say this). Sometimes I wonder why the people I work with are not more outraged at the fact that libraries are so short changed. Instead they just deal with it and make very little fuss over the issue. Maybe that is the real problem with libraries: the people who work there are not as passionate about it as they should be. I'm not saying that if everyone in public libraries suddenly decided to quit their jobs in protest, libraries would be better off. But maybe more people in the community would take notice, and we wouldn't have to wait until it was "too late" to look back on what we used to have, and what we are now missing.