Making a case for the Otis Library

Last night was the second public hearing on the proposed 2010-2011 budget for the city of Norwich. There were large and passionate groups opposed to the level funding of the school budget and school closures, and the cuts inflicted on the social services budget, in particular the reductions at the Rose City Senior Center.

It was also an opportunity to restate our case for better library funding.I have taken the liberty of reproducing my statement to the city council in full for your perusal:

To the Norwich City Council:
First, I want to thank you for your service to the Norwich community. Fiscal oversight is never an easy responsibility, and it is even more burdensome in a difficult and contentious environment such as the one we currently face.
In crafting a final budget document for the 2010-2011 fiscal years you are faced with no easy choices, and the insuperable problem of having too few resources to satisfy the needs of every constituency.
I have attended most of the departmental budget presentations and the public hearings and heard cogent cases made for departments without whose collaboration and support the library could not function. I will not enumerate them all, but I must mention the Department of Public Works, the Norwich Police Department, Fire Department, the Department of Human Services, school department and the Norwich Parks and Recreation Department. Each renders invaluable service to the Norwich Community, and at some point during the past 12 months each has assisted the library as a service provider or collaborator.
Clearly, the library represents but one part of a complex budgeting equation, and will be judged by a set of values and priorities you must carefully consider. Perhaps one of the dilemmas in making a decision about the library’s place in the budgeting equation is that we do not fit into one easily identified category, like public safety or a school system. Art Brodsky the communications director for Public Knowledge, a Washington, D.C.-based public interest group, summed up this conundrum nicely: libraries serve a range of purposes - they help teach children to read, they help students work on projects, they provide meeting space for tutoring, they provide Internet access. They serve students, seniors, immigrants. They provide assistance to the unemployed. Libraries combine education, workforce development, socialization, recreation. But they aren't the school board, or a social services agency, and so they generally get buried in the larger budgets.
As you deliberate, I would like you to consider Brodsky’s comments and the following observations: In one forum or another I have quoted at length from local, state and national indicators substantiating the use of the library by the public. I have referred to quantifiable increases in visits, circulation and library card applications. Of equal salience, in a community where the poverty level is above the state average, over 11% compared to 7.8% across Connecticut, the need for our services is clear. It is equally clear that the envisioned reductions to the library roll back our capacity to provide services to the parlous conditions at the beginning of this decade, a time when the library facility was cramped, the collections outdated, and per capita support anemic.
Every community has a unique base of assets upon which to build its future. The Otis Library is part of Norwich’s asset base, along with schools, parks, social service organizations, and hospitals. The library is a visible and formal part of the community fabric. Reductions at the levels contained in the current draft budget diminish both the library and the community it serves. Diminished as well are the incentives for future community stability and growth, for newcomers to select Norwich as their home and for current residents to maintain allegiance to this city. I hope, therefore, that you will revisit the proposed budget and contemplate its effect on our asset base, the funds allocated to our asset base generally and the library specifically.

Libraries:Then, Now, and in the Future

I recently picked up a copy of Main Street, Sinclair Lewis's 1920 novel of life in the small Midwestern town of Gopher Prairie. What resonated with me, aside from the many personalities still recognizable 90 years hence, were the pungent comments about urban libraries. Even then, apparently, the diversity of urban patrons and their proclivities invited reproofs from commentators. When Miss Villets, the Gopher Prairie librarian disdains library methods in large cities-St. Paul, Minnesota specifically-because they afforded shelter to "tramps and all sorts of dirty persons practically sleeping in the reading-rooms" there is a tone familiar to current patrons and staff. Mercifully, some of her more belligerent comments, those about turning libraries into nursing homes and kindergartens for example, have given way to a more expansive and inclusive vision of what public(s) constitute the modern library's constituency. Very likely Miss Villets would approach apoplexy at the diversity of programs and active public engagement encouraged by the Otis Library and embedded in its mission statement. The ability of libraries in general, and this library in particular to evolve and adapt, to provide essential services and embrace new community roles gives me hope for the future.

Libraries are often labeled as quality of life enhancements, especially when the subject involves money and support. There is an unspoken assumption in that label, that perhaps things that promote quality of life are somehow less essential, less worthy of serious consideration than infrastructure, safety, and transportation. Were that so, in a harsh financial climate the reductions to the library, as articulated in the 2010-2011 city budget might appear tactically prudent. Strategically they are arguably imprudent. Every community has a unique base of assets upon which to build its future, to attract new residents and businesses and maintain the fealty of those currently situated. The Otis Library is part of Norwich’s asset base, along with schools, parks, social service organizations, and hospitals. The library is a visible and formal part of the community fabric. Reductions at the levels recommended-$100,000- for the forthcoming fiscal year both diminish the library and the community it serves. Diminished as well are the incentives for future community stability and growth.

Briefly Noted

On Friday I read a provocative article by Craig Mod entitled "Books in the Age of the iPad". It was well balanced, and a welcome relief from the hubris of the "print is dead" crowd and the angst of those who foresee the imminent disappearance of the public library and print. I do not happen to see either as imminent, although I do believe that libraries need to examine their missions and their roles as community resources. That is an opportunity implicit in Mod's article. I am also struck by his version of the book's future, one in which the formless books-the airport paperback to coin a phrase-"the book printed without consideration of form or sustainability or longevity" are the domain of the e-reader, while print volumes "embrace their physicality — working in concert with the content to illuminate the narrative."

These will be books:

◦Confident in form and usage of material.
◦That exploit the advantages of print.
◦Are built to last.

The results are, as Mod see it:

◦The Books We Make will feel whole and solid in the hands.
◦The Books We Make will smell like now forgotten, far away libraries.
◦The Books We Make will be something of which even our children — who have fully embraced all things digital — will understand the worth.
◦The Books We Make will always remind people that the printed book can be a sculpture for thoughts and ideas.

"Anything less than this will be stepped over and promptly forgotten in the digital march forward." There is some way to go until we reach this point, and I encourage you to read carefully the many comments elicited by Mod's argument. There is still plenty of room for debate, as witnessed by the points and counterpoints offered by the respondents

Libraries and Communities

Today's holiday offers a bit of thinking space, and an opportunity to comment on libraries and their roles in the community. In the case of the Otis Library, this involes a broader involvement in community affairs, and a willingness to act as an agent of change. For example, the library now works with the Norwich Community Development Corporation, Norwich city government and other stakeholders to develop an economic vision and plan for Downtown Norwich. Keep in mind that when the library decided to remain at its downtown site, one of the considerations was its ability to generate foot traffic and act as a catalyst for a renascent downtown. It is our responsibilty to help shape the municipality that Norwich residents desire. That means grappling with tough and sensitive issues of who populates the business district, what other services are present and who do they attract. The Otis Library cannot remain aloof from these matters or consciously ignore them. We must also acknowledge that finding solutions to seemingly intractable problems-empty real estate and a transient population to suggest two-requires collaboration and community engagement, the assembling of facts,planning and the foreswearing of speculation in the guise of informed opinion. The library, as a center of community activity and a public forum has an critical role to play in this process.

The Library as Thinking Space

It is snowing to beat the band today, with fierce winds and poor visibility. Rumor has it that a herd of Musk Ox has taken up residence downtown, but that remains unsubstantiated. The library is closed, as is most everything else hereabouts. This seemed like an opportune time to dig into the pile of library related articles I have been accumulating, and offer at least one of them for your further perusal. One that I especially enjoyed is Jessamyn West's interview with Jaron Lanier, author of You Are Not a Gadget: A Manifesto (Library Journal, 2/1/2010). There are many good observations to read here, but my personal favorites are Lanier's comments on the role of libraries as thinking space. That is really a very old idea, and one we tend to downplay because of the connotations it evokes. The shushing librarian, the oppressive silence and implied or active censure of those who dare to speak above a whisper. Lanier rightly points out that we are in dire need of thinking space, a refuge from digital distraction, where you can focus and organize your thoughts, free from the distracting buzz and flash of everyday life. There ought to be space for reflection, one amenable to thinking, designed as an escape from the false paradigm that being "busy" is being productive.

This latter misconception recalls a comment in another article worth reading, Heather Havrilesky's "'Digital Nation": What has the Internet done to us?'(Salon.com, 1/31/2010). Built around a critique of PBS's Frontline report "Digital Nation" which explores the side effects of "our digital immersion", Havrilesky quotes Sherry Turkle, director of MIT's Initiative on Technology and Self on the shortcomings of a plugged-in environment: "I've been busy all day and I haven't thought about anything hard, I mean the point of it is to be our most creative selves, not to distract ourselves to death." There should be room in our institutions to meet multiple requirements. Especially in a library like Otis, with patrons representing so many diverse needs, we will find ourselves balancing digital access with space for quiet contemplation and deliberation, and the desire for group interaction with individual pursuits. Identifying, assessing and responding to these challenges helps the library remain a dynamic and responsive institution, regularly in touch with the people it serves and changing community requirements.

Shifting priorities and the case for libraries

Sunday's New London Day contained an interesting piece on the front page. Entitled Buying Less, Doing More, the summary notes "Quietly but noticeably over the past year, Americans have rejiggered their lives to elevate experience over things." Among the experiences benefiting from this shift are spending time with family and friends, reading, and on hobbies. This is good news for libraries, which are designed to encourage communal activities, civic engagement and of course reading. Visit the library's home page and you will encounter reading groups for adults and teens, and story and craft activities for children. There is a link to a calendar filled with club, civic, and community events. I might add too that thanks to the support of the City of Norwich, Sachem Fund, the Friends of Otis Library, AHEPA, the Norwich Rotary Clubs and Kiwanis Club of New London, and generous individuals, there are new books and materials to read, watch and listen to.

When the library committed to maintaining its location in downtown Norwich these were the sorts of results envisioned. The Otis Library would be a destination, and a facilitator of the activities that make communities work. A library serves many functions, and its role as a forum, a gathering spot for community members to exchange ideas, interact, and learn are high on the list of priorities. I hope you will take advantage of the myriad opportunities at the library to engage with other residents in learning, discourse, and community enhancement.

Recent articles:Libraries are essential

Dear library patrons,

In her recent New Yorker review of Cass R. Sunstein’s new book, On Rumors: How Falsehoods Spread, Why We Believe Them, What Can Be Done, Elizabeth Kolbert provides more than ample evidence that we continue to mistake information for knowledge, and knowledge for wisdom. Not that library advocacy is the purpose of her essay; indeed, libraries are never mentioned. Nonetheless Sunstein’s book is a study of the Internet and other emerging technologies, and their aiding and abetting the “growing power of consumers to ‘filter’ what they see,” and I might add, hear and eventually say. Again, according to Sunstein, while many of the major Web sites remain the most popular-CNN, the BBC, and the New York Times-people increasingly turn to information in a customized form, via e-mail updates, RSS feeds, and other vehicles. These allow access to one’s favorite topics-and similarly oriented correspondents-without the discomfort of sifting through, or exposure to information and points of view which in Kolbert’s words, might be “less congenial.”

Libraries are not the sole means of addressing this imbalance and its pernicious results. It is worth noting that with its shelves of periodicals and wide ranging selection of books, DVDs and CDs, -and diverse patronage-libraries can be a counterbalance to the tendency to seek out only those people and that information we agree with, while discarding or ignoring reports and people that might raise questions. While never directly addressing the distinctions between information, knowledge and wisdom, there is ample evidence that libraries provide the resources, expertise and diversity of perspectives to encourage critical thinking, interpret and assess information and nurture the acquisition of knowledge and wisdom.

Kolbert’s review is not the only recent article which merits further consideration. First Monday’s November 2 installment features a lengthy but worthy article entitled “Public Libraries and the Internet 2008-2009 Issues, Implications and Challenges”. While the article confirms what we long suspected based on observation, namely that “patrons and communities have embraced the Internet-related aspects of library services as essential contributions of the library”, it also confirms several points we would rather not contemplate. Chief among these are: patron and community needs for Internet access are fast outpacing the ability of public libraries to meet these needs; and, while libraries in urban areas continue to experience growing demands for Internet services, the library hours of operation have decreased on average, with especially large drops among libraries in high poverty and urban areas. This second point is particularly resonant in Norwich. In each of the last 10 years, Norwich has ranked among Connecticut’s 25 most distressed municipalities. Like its peers in other urban areas, the Otis Library lost operating hours as state grants, which are essential to Norwich’s operating budget, have contracted and the city’s capacity to provide support has diminished. From an average of 59 service hours per week in 2008-2009, the library experienced a contraction to 46 service hours in 2009-2010. The timing could not be worse: “people are using library computers to apply for jobs, and assistance at record numbers, but have to contend with fewer hours that the library is open, inadequate numbers of computers and connection speed, and time limits that constrain their ability to fill out online applications, send e-mail messages to potential employers, and search and apply for assistance.” Fortunately, the Otis Library’s computers are new enough, and the connection speeds fast enough to cope with some of these shortcomings for the near future. Demand is high enough however, to require restrictive time limits of 45 minutes per session.

While the news may not be entirely felicitous, both articles provide ample evidence that libraries remain essential community assets. The multiplicity of ideas and perspectives embodied in library collections, and the provision of free access to the Internet in library computing facilities are two ways in which libraries, and ours in particular contribute to a healthy and sustainable community.