On April 27, Newfoundland and Labrador announced it will be closing over half of its libraries, due to budget cuts.
The viability of libraries in the digital age have some people questioning the need for libraries as books are accessible online and don't need an institution to provide a service.
In 2011, a poll found that 84 per cent of Canadians support funding public libraries. Those who continue to support libraries argue the role of the library goes beyond books — it's a place for community, for shelter and has great resources to help people in difficult times.
With city budgets in constant need of budget cuts, should the institution be saved or are libraries in this digital age obsolete?
- Beth Jefferson, co-founder and CEO of Bibliocommons in Toronto.
- Paul Takala, CEO of Hamilton Public Library.
- Bruce Fiske, social worker for the Millennium Library in Winnipeg.
PIYA CHATTOPADHYAY: It was some sad news for library workers and users in Newfoundland and Labrador this past Wednesday. The province announced it will be closing down over half of its libraries due to budget cuts. Newfoundland and Labrador isn't alone. Back in 2011 when Toronto was struggling with similar budget constraints, this young resident made a heartfelt plea to then Mayor, Rob Ford.
SOUNDCLIP:
ANIKA TABOVARADAN: [crying] This branch is so important to me. I’m sorry. If branches were taken away, branches like mine, where are most busy in the city will get even busier. People who don't have internet access at home depend on these computers and libraries to do homework and when I use a computer in a library to do my homework, I’ll be able to get a good job someday, get a good education, and when the day comes to pay taxes, I’ll be glad that years before people paid the extra taxes to keep the system going. I can pay taxes for the kids who depend on the computers in my time.
PC: That was 14-year-old Anika Tabovaradan back in 2011 and she was pleading with Toronto city council to keep her local library branch open. And it really seems that the public is on side. A poll that same year found that 84 percent of Canadians support funding public libraries, but it's not entirely clear what role the library should play in our digital age. We're joined now by two guests to share their thoughts about the future of our libraries. Beth Jefferson is co-founder and CEO of Bibliocommons, it is a company that helps public libraries improve the online experience of their users. She's here in Toronto and Paul Takala is the CEO of Hamilton Public Library and he's the vice-chair of the Canadian Urban Library Council. He's just up the road in Hamilton, Ontario. Hello to you both. Paul, let me begin with you. When you heard on Wednesday that Newfoundland and Labrador was shutting down 54 of its libraries, more than half that they're going to close, what did you think?
PAUL TAKALA: Well, I thought less reading and learning is going to happen in the province and the long term consequences are certainly not positive.
PC: Beth, where are you on this one?
BETH JEFFERSON: Well, these are definitely difficult economic time for Newfoundland, but I think everywhere we've seen is that libraries are some of the most efficient use of tax dollars of any educational institution, and this is a time when they need libraries most.
PC: Paul Takala, you said that there will be less reading and I'm wondering why you think that is if libraries shut down?
PAUL TAKALA: Part of their strategy is saying they will increase access to digital materials, and that's really important and we do that as well, but providing access to digital materials doesn't necessarily replace access to physical books and we know people that who don't have access to a library branch in reasonable proximity, a lot of them used to come into the library to actually get connected to the internet so a lot of people are going to be left without really much access.
PC: Calvin Taylor, who is Newfoundland and Labrador’s library board chair says that everyone in his province, when these 54 shut down, will still be able to access a library within a 30-minute drive from their home. I think his number was 85 percent of people. When you talk about proximity to libraries, is that good enough that you might have to go 30 minutes to go to your library?
PAUL TAKALA: Well, if you're a senior citizen that doesn't drive anymore or you're a young student that is looking for a place to go after school to do homework, a half hour drive may not be very feasible.
PC: Calvin Taylor also says that we're going to have fewer libraries, but that means that the ones that will remain open they can be better; they can be improved. They can improve resources to the remaining ones and that that will, in itself, help increase literacy rates in Newfoundland and Labrador. What do you think of that argument, Paul?
PAUL TAKALA: Well, I think certainly what they're doing though, is they are saving a million dollars cutting a lot of branches. This is an 8.4 billion dollars budget deficit or budget itself and I think what Beth said is that the small amount of money they're saving is a million dollars. Sure, they're going to increase some hours at some other locations but ultimately they are cutting service to the province.
PC: Let’s broaden out a bit. I mean, when libraries close, Beth, what do you think the impact, whether to Newfoundland and Labrador or elsewhere, what do you think the impact is on a community?
BETH JEFFERSON: Well, I think we heard that in the initial clip libraries really have a very deep impact on a surprisingly broad range of people and the local branch library is a very important community hub, like a public park for many. It’s one of the few public spaces that remains big enough to hold us all across generations, across economic divides, where you really bring people together in ways that are increasingly unusual.
PC: Paul, talk to me about that communal experience and how libraries serve communities beyond the books, in a sense.
PAUL TAKALA: Absolutely, and one of the things that makes me proudest to be working in a public library is walking around our branches or a central library and seeing people of all walks of life, of all ages, using the space together. There is a social cohesion that gets enhanced by public library experience. I think it's great that you know, someone of means is sitting at a table reading a newspaper or book beside someone from a very different background and we find, especially nowadays with our increasing senior's population, we have a lot of seniors come to the library just to read the paper, just to be around people. They attend out programs and for some people it's one of the few social engagements that you have.
PC: I mentioned it, and Beth mentioned the digital reading. That's where a lot of people are turning to and perhaps abandoning the traditional library. So, Beth, you're not a librarian, but you work with them and you work with them on hey let's fix your, improve your digital presence. Within that context, are libraries still relevant in terms of a place where you go and get your books and you get them for free and you return them every two or three weeks, or don't and pay your fines?
BETH JEFFERSON: Absolutely. First of all, I think in this era where we're all spending increasing number of hours online, we also are at the same time craving human connection, real human connection, face to face, in person in ways that are new and I think the real opportunity for libraries here is to bridge the online/offline divide and bring people together in new ways where they might meet and connect online but have a place to meet in person as well. That's something that Amazon, e-bay, Facebook can't deliver and that libraries are uniquely positioned to do.
PC: Okay, so you work with libraries on sort of making that bridge, that connection between digital and that communal social experience that many people have when they physically go into a library. What advice do you give them? What can existing libraries do to improve their value to the communities?
BETH JEFFERSON: Well, I think they're already doing a huge amount in this space. It's important to say that almost half of visits of large urban libraries today are online. So, as many visits online as in person and there really is an opportunity when people are browsing their collections online to connect them to the events of the space, to book groups, to conversations that libraries still are investing in. In fact, and Paul will know more, but increasing and increasing and putting increasing investments towards—
PC: Towards the digital stuff?
BETH JEFFERSON: Towards the physical events and using the spaces in new ways. So as you remove, in some time areas they're pulling back on the stacks, but creating greater event space, greater space for local groups to meet in person, book groups, just events of all sorts.
PC: Paul, is that what you're doing in your library?
PAUL TAKALA: Absolutely and I think Beth hit the nail on the head. As we embraced digital and, in our case in Hamilton, we've been an early adopter of e-books and last year about 15 percent of our circulation overall was digital. So, we are embracing that and helping people make the shift when they're ready, but a lot of people still love books. What we're able to do with that digital shift is, we're not necessarily buying less titles, but we're buying less copies because of the shift to digital and so that is freeing up space that's being given back to the community in terms of study space, program space, space for people to work together or study alone.
PC: Do you charge for that stuff, Paul?
PAUL TAKALA: No, we don't and what's great about--one thing about e-books is they expire. There are no fines with e-books so people that make that shift never have to worry about library fines.
PC: I ask that because, of course in Newfoundland and Labrador, this is a budgetary measure that they say we've got to save money in the libraries. People take out books for free and in some libraries, Paul, charge users an access fee to even take books out of the libraries. It's sort of like a rental thing. Do you think that's a good idea? When you think about how municipal governments, provinical governments say, well we have to close these things down because we don't have enough money and everyone has to take a hit, do you think charging user access fees is a good idea?
PAUL TAKALA: I don't and I think the important thing to keep in mind is libraries exist so everyone in the community can have access to information and reading material and things to make them feel engaged with the world around them. If you impose user fees, who are going to be the people that are going to be most hurt by that? It’s going to be the people that probably need those materials the most because they don't have the resources to go to Amazon or go to Chapters and buy books themselves, or go to the movies for that matter. So, charging fees is really counter to the whole essence of what a public library is.
PC: Beth, you do help them through modernizing, I guess, modernize the public face of libraries in the work that you do. I'm asking a broader question but in terms of cutting a wide swath across libraries, but are they willing to embrace leverage is there a tradition of libraries. Are they willing and wanting to change the way that you see that they need to change?
BETH JEFFERSON: Absolutely. Libraries are, and those who use libraries, are very aware of it. In Toronto itself, in Hamilton, all over libraries are experimenting with new models of programming all the time, investing in maker spaces and new digital programming all the time. They're very open and it's challenging though because technology investments and certainly digital experiences have a very high fixed cost of development and libraries are often very fragmented in the systems and the key is really coming together around shared infrastructure.
PC: Paul, how optimistic are you about where libraries are headed and the future of them as they adapt and adopt new things?
PAUL TAKALA: Well, I'm very optimistic and I think one of the reasons is that the world we live in is evolving so rapidly that the need for lifelong learning is certainly not going to be going down and the need as we get more into the digital age, the need for connections and communities to come together to places is just as great as it ever has been.
PC: So there's still relevance in libraries?
PAUL TAKALA: Well, certainly the numbers show us that and people love libraries and we work hard to make sure that we're always helping people prepare for the future, and that's really what a public library is, to help people understand where they are and help them prepare for the future.
BETH JEFFERSON: Just building on that, there is a tremendous need and a growing need for these public spaces, both offline and online. If you think about the kind of great wishes for, or hopes for the internet when 25 years ago when it first came to be, it was this kind of big public space, the agora, where we would all have these great conversations and connect in new ways, and I think increasingly people are seeing that it's turning into one big shopping mall, or movie cinema, and that there is a real need for a non-commercial, neutral, big public space where people can connect in those ways and I think the public library is uniquely situated to fill that role.
PC: Beth and Paul, thank you both.
GUESTS: Thank you very much.
PC: Beth Jefferson is co-founder and the CEO of Bibliocommon and she was here in Toronto. Paul Takala is CEO of Hamilton Public Library. He was in Hamilton, Ontario. Well, as Beth and Paul just mentioned, libraries are expanding. They are offering more than just books and computers nowadays. Some even have a social worker onsite providing support to anyone who needs it. Bruce Fiske is the social worker at the Millennium Library Services in Winnipeg. Bruce is with us now. Hi, Bruce.
BRUCE FISKE: Hi.
PC: So, you're a social worker in a library. What do you do?
BRUCE FISKE: Well, since June 2012, I've been there to receive people from all walks of life. Often there are vulnerable folks you know, or just people that just need help accessing resources in the community.
PC: And who is your clientele?
BRUCE FISKE: When I first started there were folks from the immediate vicinity that sort of heard that there was a social worker, may have seen a poster. Those folks often were just library patrons, regular ones, some of them were from limited means, some were folks who lived in the emergency shelter, some older folks would come in, some newcomers, or just a general person who wondered who I was and why is there a social worker at the library.
PC: And what did you tell them about why there was a social worker in the library?
BRUCE FISKE: There’s a social worker in the library? I hear that quite often. People are surprised to hear it. Most people realize it is a great idea because I think it’s such a central location. Libraries have historically been there for folks of all means and it’s a place where people of all backgrounds can use as a place of sanctuary. It’s a place where people can relax and enjoy themselves and access all kinds of resources and find themselves in times of trouble, looking for answers. It’s a good place, it’s central, it’s historically known as a place for folks to enjoy the world around them.
PC: And I assume, when you say they can access resources, they can come talk to you about whatever they want, and if there happens to be a book that might help them as well, you could refer them to take that out as well.
BRUCE FISKE: Oh well, you know I'm not a librarian per se, I collect those books myself and I find it helpful in the work that I do and when I first started, I wasn’t as much that sort of person. I think the librarian who is the area I work in now if rubbing off on me [laughs].
PC: But there is someone there to help one of your clients, right? You could pass him along?
BRUCE FISKE: Absolutely, the staff here are fantastic. They'll do whatever they can to provide information and resources to the folks I see.
PC: In a given week, how many people are coming to see you on average?
BRUCE FISKE: It fluctuates. There are some days where I might see over fifteen people or something like that, and then other days maybe less, maybe five people or so. Sometimes, I get out and I'll go visit some of the shelters or I'll just walk around the community. I'll get out and make sure that I'm not missing anyone. Sometimes I'll go through the library, a lot of times I work with security very closely. We have a great security department. They get to know the regulars and if they see someone they don't recognize or it looks like there is trouble, they let me know about it. The same goes to a lot of the branch locations of the libraries.
PC: Bruce, what would you say to someone who says, oh for goodness sakes Bruce, my province is in debt, we're in deficit, we need to close these libraries, and having a social worker like you in a library, it just doesn't add up for me. What do you say to that argument?
BRUCE FISKE: You know, I'm thinking what happens to somebody who's vulnerable and really sort of struggling in the system; of falling through the cracks these days when helping folks is networking and inter agency communication and that sort of thing, and you know what? It's often a case where people are, and the mental health system is, overwhelmed and the waiting time is actually quite long to access services for some, and so what do people do during that time? It can be quite a strain on the system if emergency services and that sort of thing isn't in place for them to go, to help them out in the interim. So, I think you know, I'm kind of helping people along during that period and I think in the long term it's a very useful and hopefully it will expand out and maybe we’ll see other social workers more and more often.
PC: Bruce Fiske, good to talk to you, thank you.
BRUCE FISKE: You're very welcome.
PC: Bruce Fiske is the social worker at the Millennium Library Services that is in Winnipeg.
Well, we don't want to close the book on this one without including you, so do let us know your thoughts. What do you want from your local public library, what would you miss most if it closed, do you think public libraries should be closed?
You can tweet us, our handle is @thecurrent. You can find us on Facebook as well. You can email us by going to our website and once you're there you can click on the contact us link to find out all the ways to get in touch with us.
Source: CBC.ca
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