At 04:34 PM 10/17/00 -0500, McDonald, Lisa M wrote:
>Two questions I would like answered on the referendum. If indeed having all
>these books accessible means less librarian time inolved in finding them,
>will we be able to make some staff adjustments, ie. less staff or will we be
>able to extend hours? What exactly is the trade-off?
Having more books accessible to the public has more benefit than simply the
reduced amount of staffing it might take to page materials in the stacks.
Researchers and browsers alike will tell you that there is really no
substitute for serendipity when it comes to finding materials -- online
catalog searching, or using the old fashioned card catalogs is incredibly
useful, of course, but they simply don't compare to browsing the shelves in
a particular author or subject area and being able to see the range of
materials available.
While I don't want to discount the importance of bringing the library into
the modern computer age, I'm really happy that the plans for the new
library include an increased focus on making the physical collection more
accessible to the public. In our rush to embrace all things digital,
especially when it comes to making information accessible to all, we tend
to forget that not EVERYTHING is digitized yet, and it's going to take a
lot of time and money to make that happen. Working at the University
Libraries, it's interesting to note the number of students who assume that
if the information isn't online, it doesn't exist . . . . which really
limits the broadness and validity of their research.
As far as the value of spending money on the libraries, I'm biased, of
course, because I've chosen to work in a library. The issues of preserving
knowledge and history and heritage, and the free and democratic access to
information are terribly important to me. But for me, it's also a matter
of value for money. In my ward (11), I'm guessing that the yearly tax hit
would be under $100.00. Some of the folks who are screaming loudest about
yet another tax increase would think nothing of dropping $100 at Barnes and
Noble, or Amazon.com, because they can afford to do so. I can't. But I
can go to my local public library, request a book from another branch or
the central library, have it arrive there for pickup within a week, and get
a phone call telling me it's arrived. Or check out a book that's on the
shelves. Or get expert reference assistance in person or over the phone.
Or free homework helper tutoring for kids. Or help in learning how to
navigate the internet. I'm a geek, and probably use these services more
than the average person, but when I think of what that kind of service
would cost on an individual basis in the private sector, I think my taxes
are well spent.
That's why I'm on the side of those who have pointed out that the library
referendum shouldn't be penalized simply because there is a lot of dubious
city spending out there right now. Wouldn't it be nice if Block E and
Target had come up for the same kind of public debate, scrutiny and value
analysis?
Sara Strzok,
Ward 11
