An Intellectual Resource Essential to Economic Recovery

We received the text of his letter to the New York Times today from Jeffrey Scherer, board chair for Libraries for the Future in New York and architect at Meyer Scherer & Rockcastle in Minneapolis. Widely known for library design and a longtime champion for libraries, Scherer asked that we disseminate the letter, which, he hopes, will appear in the Times, should they in their wisdom decide to publish it. The letter is short but supercharged and might motivate you to write one of your own: America’s public libraries are at the center of one of the most radical changes of information dissemination, use, and importance in our history. In many communities, they are the only source for individuals to connect to the World Wide Web, get reading materials and information essential to their rapidly changing lives—including employment and education materials. In these troubled economic times, they are even more critical as our citizen's purchasing power has evaporated. The proposed language of the $825 Billion Recovery Plan before the House of Representatives today does not include money for our libraries. While it includes roads and bridges to drive across our communities, it must include our intellectual bridges, the public library. It is crucial that they have the financial resources to be upgraded, expanded and renovated to fit the new era in the 21st century. I urge everyone to encourage Congress to include this crucial American intellectual resource in this recovery package. Public libraries are at the heart of America's very poorest and middle class communities. Increasingly, they are essential resources to further one's education. As importantly, they are the essential community connection. While the hardware and the buildings may already be present, their broader role in supporting people needs in gathering to discuss civic issues, brush up their resumes, or learn more about a business opportunity is ever more critical. Through inclusion in the $825 Billion Recovery Plan, libraries can improve the tools and facilities that these constituents deserve at their libraries. Finally, for any institution to be effective, it has to be open and staffed. That takes taxpayers' dollars. NOW is the time to invest in our libraries. Meanwhile, the ALA Washington Office disagrees with Scherer's assertion that public libraries are not included in the recovery plan and has posted a District Dispatch response refuting the notion that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 does not contain funding for libraries, asserting that Scherer "has misunderstood and misrepresented the bill." The Washington Office wants librarians to know that "libraries are, in fact, included as a qualifying institution for the K-12 Repair and Modernization funding and the Higher Education Repair and Modernization funding. Additionally, libraries can benefit from several other programs that benefit from stimulus funding in the legislation, including the Rural Community Facilities Program." Scherer is correct, the posting goes on to say, "that libraries should benefit from the funds included to modernize federal and other public infrastructure, and it is our job as librarians and library supporters to inform Congress and our governors of this fact." In a January 16 e-mail message, Scherer told the Washington Office that his reading still indicates "that essentially public libraries are getting shorted in this bill," from which "the 15,000+ public libraries in our society basically get nothing." He went on to say, "That does not in any way suggest that the higher education, rural (native American) and school libraries do not deserve all that they can get. I applaud you for pointing this out. However, when a huge percentage of libraries are excluded, the notion that some libraries are included is just not enough." "In my library community planning work in New Orleans, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Kentucky," Scherer added, "the way the stimulus funding is allocated, it will have no direct impact on the thousands of people who have no access to information other than in the public library." He went on to say that he recently toured Johnson County, Kansas, as part of the master plan work his company is doing for the Johnson County Library. "There was one very moving encounter as we visited all their libraries," he reported. "In Edgerton—the locals converted an old bank and have named the library “The Bank of Knowledge”—I met a young girl of about 10 years of age. We chatted while she looked through the teen paperback spinners. In the course of the conversation, I learned that she reads about 15 books a week, is home schooled, and relies on on-line courses accessed through the library to supplement her home school-work. She has four brothers and sisters. She said, 'The library is one of the most important places in the world for me and my family.' This small community has no broadband access at all—except for the pricey option of satellite connections-something this family can not afford. This is why I love designing libraries. This outweighs all other reasons. This is why I am so passionate about this topic–it is these little girls that need adults in Washington to step up. The civil engineering lobby (roads and bridges) have so much clout…it is the little guy that is being squeezed." Debate over this issue will likely continue in Denver at ALA's Midwinter Meeting this week, notably at the Membership Town Hall Meeting scheduled for Saturday evening. Stay tuned.

Latest Library Links

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Latia Ward writes: “One way to keep current with what students think of the library and its services is through Student Library Advisory Committee meetings. These meetings are a way to gather feedback and reinforce the library as a welcoming place. How do librarians create a welcoming environment within Student Library Advisory Committee meetings? Librarians create a welcoming environment through community, purpose, and dedicated space.” Also see part 1 of this blog post.

RIPS Law Librarian Blog, Nov. 13, Dec. 5
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Eleanor Hecks writes: “Few things are as frustrating to a user as when a site won’t respond. Unfortunately, it’s also an all-too-common scenario. Graceful degradation is a design approach that ensures the basics of a website will still function even if specific individual parts of it stop working. The approach removes single points of failure: just because one thing stops working doesn’t mean the system as a whole fails. A site following this principle fails in pieces instead of all at once, so the most important features remain available when some components encounter an error.”

Smashing Magazine, Dec. 6
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Camruinn Morgan-Rumsey and Lexi Lepof write: “On December 3, Knox County (Tenn.) schools received a list from the district of books to be removed from school libraries under Tennessee’s Age-Appropriate Materials Act. Knox County’s board of education voted in July, passing a policy to remove ‘explicit’ books from everyday student access in response to the new law. Some of the books on the list of nearly 50 titles might surprise parents. Among those to be removed are Shel Silverstein’s A Light in the Attic and Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five.”

WVLT-TV (Knoxville, Tenn.), Dec. 4
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Joe Foley writes: “Copyright rules vary from country to country and have changed over time. In the US, works created between 1929 and 1963 that gave notice and renewed copyright have 95 years from their first publication date. That means that on January 1, 2025, a host of works from 1929 will enter the public domain. This means that copyright will expire on Buck Rogers, Captain Easy, Horace Horsecollar, Tintin, Hal Foster’s first Tarzan comic strips and, yes, Popeye.” Other notable works entering public domain in the United States include the Marx Brothers’ first film, The Cocoanuts, contralto Marian Anderson’s first record, and Ernest Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms.

Creative Bloq, Dec. 7; Everybody’s Libraries, Dec. 3, Dec. 7; Public Domain Review, Dec. 10
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Brittany Adams writes: “The digital landscape of libraries is expanding rapidly, with an increasing shift towards electronic resources and online services. As members of the library community, we’re witnessing a transformative era where physical collections are complemented—and sometimes replaced—by digital ones. This transition offers new opportunities for enhancing accessibility and engagement, but it also presents challenges, especially for young patrons and their families. It is essential to equip children and their caregivers with the tools and knowledge they need to navigate this evolving space confidently.”

ALSC Blog, Dec. 9
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Karen O’Grady writes: “I am the embedded librarian for the Hahn School of Nursing at the University of San Diego. I am surrounded by nursing faculty, staff, and students rather than by librarians. This has proven to be an incredible gamechanger for the way I see things. Every student in my school knows me by name. I am often stopped in the hallway to answer questions. Every correct answer I give increases my authority and builds trust. Through these casual mini-lessons, this foreign animal called ‘librarian’ slowly becomes an approachable, knowledgeable person.”

College & Research Libraries News, Dec.
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ALA has selected 46 participants for its 2025 class of Emerging Leaders (EL). The EL program allows library staff and information workers to participate in project planning work groups, network with peers, gain an inside look into ALA structure, and have an opportunity to serve the profession in a leadership capacity early in their careers. The group will take part in a day-long session during the 2025 LibLearnX conference in Phoenix this January and work for six months, culminating in a poster session at ALA’s 2025 Annual Conference and Exhibition in Philadelphia in June, where they will highlight results of their project planning work.

ALA Office for Human Resource Development and Recruitment, Dec. 4