Over the course of the semester I’ve come across ‘crisis’ talk in readings about in regards to libraries and not just in this course. This is interesting, as I wouldn’t say all the issues are necessarily a crisis. There are many challenges and changes that libraries have faced and have to face. It certainly hasn’t been easy for libraries and librarians, but many libraries have risen to the challenge, sometimes successfully and sometimes not. In the US the challenge has been greater than in Canada. Nonetheless as could be seen with current cuts to government libraries and Doug Ford in 2011 complaining that there are more libraries than Tim Hortons (which is not true) in the Ward he represents you get the picture of the challenges out there. Libraries along with other public institutions have not been immune to market forces. They have had to do more with less and have to keep proving their value. Efficiency, standardization and the deskilling of labour along with technological changes and postmodern consumer capitalism have all affected libraries. For the most part libraries have tried to juggle between what rules management / government implement with what patrons actually need.
Libraries are being run more and more like businesses. John Buschman points out that “gone are the areas of funding for buildings and collections – those now must be accomplished locally, with no hope for federal funding” (2005, p. 5). “In, sum library funding has been tied to the agenda of the “new” economy through the logic of the new public philosophy embedded in blue-ribbon panels, government reports, and public policy over the last 25 years” (Buschman, 2005, p.5-6).
Within this new public philosophy technology has also driven decision-making and budget allocating. Ed D’Angelo notes that “during the New Economy era most changes were attributed to information technology. But machines don’t manage change. People in positions of power do…Technology merely gives management to tools to carry its policies” (2006, p. 113). This is how the idea of New Public Management (NPM) entered libraries in the 80’s and 90’s. NPM advocates outsourcing, using part-time/ contract employees, flattening hierarchies of responsibilities and a reliance on technology. These points remind me of Taylorism and simply being a cog in the machine. For libraries NPM still plays are role how they are run today.
Within this context we find the example of public officials like Doug Ford questioning the value of libraries. Some of these officials ask, “Why do we need libraries? Everything is online!” This is why libraries need to push back and why advocacy has to go beyond repetitive lip service. Constantly repeating that libraries are wonderful when public officials are dealing with budget cuts, will not be enough of an argument to keep funding (Jaeger, Gorham, Bertot & Sarin, 2013). Showing that libraries are important to their communities is a difficult task, but the willingness to do so is the first step in what will continue to be an uphill battle (Jaeger, Gorham, Bertot & Sarin, 2013). Libraries are more than just buildings. They are places where the community meets, where discussion takes place, where various information on various topics representing various arguments can be found and where people that might be marginalized or new to Canada can feel safe and welcome. The library “[embodies] an essential element of democracy: a place where the ideal of unfettered communication and investigation exists in rudimentary for, allowing for critical and rational discussion of the issues of the day” (Buschman, 2005, p.9-10). It is that essential element of democracy librarians have to continue to push and fight for against all odds.
Buschman, J. (2006). Libraries and the decline of public purposes. Public Library Quarterly, 24(1), 1-12. doi:10.1300/J118v24n01_01
D'Angelo, E. (2006). Postmodern consumer capitalism and the public library. In Barbarians at the gates of the public library: How postmodern consumer capitalism threatens democracy, civil education and the public good (pp. 113-120). Duluth, MN: Library Juice Press.
Jaeger, P. T., Gorham, U., Bertot, J. C., & Sarin, L. C. (2013). Neutrality, and value demonstration in the age of austerity. The Library Quarterly, 83, 368-382. doi:10.1086/671910
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