Introduction

Library use increases dramatically as economy sags; funding declines

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The importance of libraries in American life continued to grow in 2008—and accelerated dramatically as the national economy sank and people looked for sources of free, effective help in a time of crisis.

A Harris Poll released in September revealed that 68 percent of Americans have a library card, an increase of 5 percent since 2006. In-person visits increased 10 percent in the same period, and 76 percent of Americans had visited their local public library in the year preceding the survey, compared with 66 percent two years ago. Online-visit data were even more remarkable: 41 percent of library card holders visited their library websites in the year before the poll, compared with 24 percent in 2006.

Libraries, an excellent community resource in ordinary times, in extraordinary times become something of a goldmine.

“When economic times get tough . . . many families across the country are turning to a familiar place, the public library,” for support, wrote Jim Rettig, president of the American Library Association (ALA), in a contribution to the Huffington Post. “As the nation continues to experience a sharp and jarring economic downturn, local libraries are providing valuable free tools and resources to help Americans of all ages through this time of uncertainty. . . . [N]ow more than ever, libraries are proving that they are valued and trusted community partners.”

The surge in library use made the news, as local and national media recognized the trend. Boston Globe columnist Derrick Z. Jackson wrote on Jan. 3 that public libraries nationwide were posting double-digit percentage increases in circulation and new library-card applications. Jim Carlton wrote in the Wall Street Journal on Jan. 15, 2009, that libraries nationwide had reported jumps in attendance of as much as 65 percent over the past year as newly unemployed people flocked to branches to fill out résumés and scan ads for job listings. The CBS Evening News reported on Feb. 2, 2009, that 18 million people had visited Los Angeles public libraries in 2008—two million more than in 2007. Many were recently unemployed and coming for help: every computer terminal was being used, and librarians had become job counselors.

The coverage reached a crescendo of sorts on Feb. 28, when the Washington Post reported that D.C. resident Judith Theodore “scrambles daily between libraries in the District so that the oldest of her three children has access to a computer to do his homework, and she can search for a job”; National Public Radio aired a piece on “What's New At The Library? Financial Advice”; and CNN broadcast a report that noted that “libraries across the country have seen dramatic increases in the use of their services, which in addition to free Internet access can include resume workshops and foreclosure seminars.”

‘We can no longer afford to be passive victims’

“It’s time to beat our plowshares into swords,” says Keith Michael Fiels, executive director of the ALA, in a column in the March 2009 American Libraries.

In hard economic times, “all too often, the library is the first to be cut, or is disproportionately cut, regarded as a ‘nonessential’ service.” It is a familiar phenomenon that library use increases in difficult times, Fiels writes, but he adds, “Some things are different this time. This time, the increase is being widely reported in newspapers and magazines and on radio and television. This time we also know a lot more about how to fight impending budget cuts.

 “We know that:

• “We can no longer afford to be passive victims; we have to be outspoken advocates and encourage the public to advocate on behalf of libraries as well.
• “If we do make the case for our libraries, we are much more likely to receive needed funding or avoid budget cuts.
• “There are skills and resources that can help anyone become a more persuasive and effective library advocate.

“We also have a secret weapon: The energy and enthusiasm of . . . the millions of people who use and love libraries.”

Fiels lists a number of ways in which ALA members and others can get involved, concluding:

 “Times may be tough—and getting tougher—but we do have a whole new set of tools to help us do the job. So, let’s all roll our sleeves up, we’ve got some libraries to save.”

However, public funding did not keep pace with use, and the forecasts of modest budget gains or only moderate cuts for 2009 that prevailed early in 2008 became more pessimistic as the year drew to a close and the depth of the national economic morass became more clear. A survey of state library agencies at year’s end revealed significant losses of state funding for public libraries in the year ahead—and anticipation of more cuts to come (see below).

The ALA Washington Office prepared a report on the library community’s key issues and concerns, Opening the “Window to a Larger World”: Libraries’ Role in Changing America and submitted it to the Obama-Biden transition team on Dec. 17. As the new year began, Obama adviser David Axelrod said support for libraries was still part of the stimulus package; for example, as part of the $787 billion recovery plan that became law in February, public and community college libraries can apply for grants in a $200 million program for expanding public computer capacity.

The effects of the slumping economy on local libraries were often painful. In Troy, New York, for example, two of three branches of the public library closed in February; library staffing was reduced by 4.5  full-time equivalents, the book and materials budget was cut by 30 percent, and children’s and adult programming was cut by 60 percent.

School library media programs were holding their own as 2008 progressed, though they too were bound to be affected by the recession and resultant belt-tightening. According to a national survey, about half of school library media programs continued to be staffed full time by a school library media specialist. Less encouraging was the fact that the specialist found little time for professional activities outside the center itself.

The data from that survey suggest that, while a full-time school library media specialist is present about half the time, they typically have only 2½ hours a week of the staff support that would enable them to engage in curriculum or professional development activities or to work with teachers and students in their classrooms. The declining economy also had begun to affect academic libraries by year’s end, and the recession “could send shock waves well into the future,” according to Erika Linke, president of the Association of College and Research Libraries.

The recession “could send shock waves well into the future.”
—Erika Linke, president, ACRL

The effects seemed bound to be most sharply felt at small colleges. Larger institutions often have better protection from economic ups and downs than smaller colleges, which are much closer to their communities and to their funding sources, Linke said. In fact, many community colleges have begun reducing library hours or staff just when enrollment was swollen by students choosing to save money through living at home and paying lower tuitions—and by unemployed people seeking to acquire new skills, she said.

Many public libraries saw local budget shortfalls aggravated by reductions in support from states that faced their own declining tax revenues and federal support. In the ALA’s December 2008 survey of the Chief Officers of State Library Agencies, 41 percent of states reported declining state funding for public libraries in fiscal 2009.

“At the same time demand for public library services are skyrocketing, the funding needed to maintain these services is in jeopardy in many states,” said the ALA’s Jim Rettig. “Unfortunately, declines in state funding often are compounded by reductions at the local level, creating a snowball effect that threatens library staffing, hours open to the public, collection development, and technology maintenance.

“Libraries are part of the solution when a community is struggling economically—assisting the unemployed with jobs searches and filing unemployment benefits, helping the unskilled learn to use a computer, providing homework help and access to e-government services,” Rettig added.

In the midst of it all, $1.4 million worth of good news

The ALA Public Programs Office announced in December that it had garnered support from more than 450 individual and corporate supporters and successfully completed a campaign to raise matching funds for the Cultural Communities Fund.

The five-year endowment campaign was in response to a challenge grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities; the Public Programs Office received more than $332,000 in 2008, bringing the campaign total to $1.4 million. Funding from the Cultural Communities Fund will support the creation of annual professional development opportunities for librarians, turnkey national model programs, and resources designed to enhance local programming capacity.

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