Want To Defend Democracy? Start With Your Public Library. via WP

@EveryLibrary 

Want to defend democracy? Start with your public library.

WP:  9.18.2018 by Katrina vanden Heuvel

In “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets,” the character Ron — channeling his friend Hermione — says to Harry Potter: “When in doubt, go to the library.” In the United States today, there is plenty to doubt.

Complex arguments are being whittled down to 280 characters. And of course, the president has made more than 5,000 false or misleading statements in about 600 days. Just last week, he falsely claimed that 3,000 Puerto Ricans “did not die in the two hurricanes.”

Lies have become too commonplace in the United States, so the American people need a place where they can go to get the truth. Ron is right. Go to your public library.

Public libraries provide information in an era of misinformation. They offer facts and nuance. They offer the opportunity for enlightenment. They offer every visitor the resources they need to find answers. The American Library Association reports that many public libraries are, for instance, “developing programs to help community members spot ‘fake news’ and evaluate information online.”

It’s not surprising, then, that in a time such as this, people are turning to their local library for information. Pew Research Center recently found that 87 percent of millennials say the library “helps them find information that is trustworthy and reliable.” Seventy-four percent of baby boomers say the same.

It’s also not surprising that the Trump administration doesn’t seem to like libraries. Earlier this year, the administration moved to cut funding for the Institute of Museum and Library Services. In late August, the Senate, rebuffing the administration, approved a funding increase for the institute. As Sue Halpern, a scholar in residence at Middlebury College, explained in the Nation, the institute has been “crucial for sustaining libraries, especially those in struggling urban neighborhoods and rural areas.”

In communities across the country, local libraries are struggling to stay open, and funding for local libraries is on the chopping block.  READ MORE >>

Library / Literacy Funding

2018

From Awareness to Funding: Voter Perceptions and Support of Public Libraries in 2018, OCLC

2017
Library & Literacy Funding Chart: FY 2017 -by President, House, and Senate, ALA (excel file)

2011
Public Library Funding & Technology Access Study, ALA

2008
From Awareness to Funding: A Study of Library Support in America, OCLC

2007
Worth Their Weight: Assessment . . . Library Valuation, Americans for Libraries Council

Return On Investment - ROI

Economic Impact of Public Libraries (various ROIs), WI Dept Public Instruction

Libraries Matter: Impact Research: Bibliography, ALA

Public Libraries – A Wise Investment - Library Research Service