Study—Public Likes Libraries, But Leaders Need a Push
-- Library Journal, 6/13/2006
A new study suggests that, despite general public approval of library services, library advocates must do more to remind political leaders of the importance of supporting those libraries. “Long Overdue: A Fresh Look at Public Attitudes About Libraries in the 21st Century” reports the results of a national study of the general public as well as interviews with national and local civic leaders, conducted by Public Agenda with support from the Americans for Libraries Council (ALC) and The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The report notes that 78 percent of those surveyed said that, if their library shut down because of lack of funding they would feel “that something essential and important has been lost, affecting the whole community.” In fact, faced with a budget crunch, more than half favored raising taxes, about a third recommended charging for services, and only 16 percent advocated a reduction in services.
The study identified four areas of opportunity: (1) more services for teens, (2) helping address illiteracy and poor reading skills among adults, (3) providing ready access to information about government services, including public documents and forms, and (4) providing greater access to computers. Notable was that the most civically engaged people, who nearly always vote in local elections, were more likely to have library cards, give their local libraries good grades, and favor increasing taxes to support libraries. However, they were no more likely to believe their libraries are facing potential funding cutbacks. Libraries, the report states, “need to start speaking up and reaching out to the citizen soldiers who can help support and buttress this vital community institution.” ALC will convene an advocacy summit in the early fall, trying to synthesize this and other recent studies of libraries, “to put them into a message for federal, local and state decision makers,” said Diantha Dow Schull, president of ALC. A new web site, Act for Libraries www.actforlibraries.org, will go live in July.
