Comments on: Public libraries rarely close http://walt.lishost.org/2012/07/public-libraries-rarely-close/ The library voice of the radical middle. Fri, 13 Jul 2012 15:13:00 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=5.3.2 By: waltcrawford http://walt.lishost.org/2012/07/public-libraries-rarely-close/comment-page-1/#comment-88919 Fri, 13 Jul 2012 15:13:00 +0000 http://walt.lishost.org/?p=4247#comment-88919 My study directly addresses claims of library closures. That simple. Your second sentence involves much more detailed study, although your final clause indicates that you believe you already know the answer. I disagree: increasing library usage suggests to me that libraries continue to be relevant to their communities. An interesting but extremely difficult study would be to see how many communities have reduced library funding disproportionately to other budget cuts in difficult times (excluding, presumably, police & fire) and whether communities restore such funding as times get better. I’ve seen lots of anecdotal evidence that they do and will, but a full study would require resources I don’t possess. Public libraries are local entities–and most of those localities are small ones that don’t get a lot of national attention. I flatly deny that there’s proof that local library relevance to local communities is “declining everywhere”; I don’t believe that to be true.

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By: Steve Matthews http://walt.lishost.org/2012/07/public-libraries-rarely-close/comment-page-1/#comment-88917 Fri, 13 Jul 2012 14:50:29 +0000 http://walt.lishost.org/?p=4247#comment-88917 While these numbers seem to lessen the severity of the “library closure” outcry, it does not address the “library reduction” problem, which does appear to be significant. Seems to me that issue is even more problematic than closures, because it directly deals with the local library’s relevance to the community, which appears to be declining everywhere.

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By: waltcrawford http://walt.lishost.org/2012/07/public-libraries-rarely-close/comment-page-1/#comment-88828 Wed, 11 Jul 2012 01:58:28 +0000 http://walt.lishost.org/?p=4247#comment-88828 Absolutely–and that’s a different set of problems that needs to be addressed. But it’s not the same as closing altogether.

A significant portion of the very small communities were themselves depopulating: When a village is closing down, its library will also close down.

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By: laura http://walt.lishost.org/2012/07/public-libraries-rarely-close/comment-page-1/#comment-88824 Tue, 10 Jul 2012 23:45:09 +0000 http://walt.lishost.org/?p=4247#comment-88824 I’m more than willing to believe that they rarely close — although the closure of a library for a town of 200 is, I would say, as great a loss as the closing of a larger library.

But I am willing to bet that you’d find a lot of public libraries cutting hours, collections, or staff.

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