Point of View NCAL: 7.12.2017 by Gail Spangenberg
President, National Council for Adult Learning
President, National Council for Adult Learning
“Soon after the skill of writing was developed, more than 5,000
years ago, the need to save what had been written led to the phenomenon of the
library. To understand the library’s history and role in society, no
resource is more important than Marshall McLuhan’s and Robert K. Logan’s 1997
seminal text, The Future of the Library.”
An up-to-date national survey should be done to fully understand
the current role and nature of public library involvement. NCAL or some
other group could do this with only modest funding. But, in the
meantime, we hope this blog will help re-energize thinking about
the matter. We invited author Robert Logan and librarians Leslie
Gelders of Oklahoma and Greg Lucas of California to share their thoughts about
the subject. We appreciate and thank them for the prose they contribute below,
especially their call for stronger funding. As always, readers are
welcome to offer their own thoughts and experiences.
Director,
Oklahoma Literacy Resource Office,
Oklahoma
Department of Libraries
Public library
literacy programs are in a state of transformation in Oklahoma. Where
one-to-one tutoring was once the norm—and it still remains important—literacy
programs here are developing new services and partnerships to
address the changing needs of our communities and those seeking literacy
services. For example, our public libraries have two new areas of focus:
Health Literacy and Citizenship.
State Librarian
California State
Library
The most
cost-effective use of a taxpayer dollar is to help someone become a stronger
reader. No other investment of public funds comes close in terms of the
dividends paid and the yield in human capital.
Teach someone
to read and they probably won’t go to prison. In California, that saves over
$70,000 a year right there, the current annual cost of incarcerating an inmate. Teach someone to
read and they can take a written test, which means they’ll get a better paying
job. It will cost the government less to take care of their
family and that individual in the better paying job will pay more in taxes
so that more investments can be made to create stronger readers. READ MORE @
 |
Prof. Emeritus –
Physics – U. of Toronto
Fellow
University of St. Michael’s College
Chief Scientist
– sLab at OCAD
Author (with
Marshall McLuhan) of The Future of Libraries:
From Electric to
Digital Media, published 2016
Libraries are
the custodians of our historic heritage. They deserve the proper care and
support of the government because an informed public is the bedrock of
democracy.
Too often
administrators of the public purse become obsessed with balancing their budgets
and take actions that do not preserve our heritage, which is the most important
thing our society possesses. READ MORE @
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