Libraries as Investment

From the Director's Desk:

Just about everywhere you turn, from the internet, to newspapers to the national media, people are talking about libraries. In most areas, library usage has skyrocketed as the economy worsens. This is no surprise to us in the library world. We’ve been here before, and unfortunately, will be here again, I’m sure.

While the spotlight on libraries is good, there’s one aspect of it that concerns me—and that ‘s the continual use of the word “free”. “Free” books, DVDs, internet...the list goes on and on. And while we may think this is good to promote “free”, are we really being honest with our patrons?

Now wait a minute, you might say, library services are free! We don’t expect patrons to break out their checkbooks or credit cards at the circulation desk (well, apart from paying those pesky fines). And no one has to feed dollar bills into a machine to get an hour’s worth of internet, do they? And I will concede your points.

However, as any trustee or library director knows, library services are anything but free. Each and every month, bills are paid for materials, supplies and utilities. Every two weeks or so, staff is compensated for their time. Once a year, negotiations for funds to provide library services are held with municipal bodies. There is a cost to providing library services. And, taxpayers pay them once (or twice) a year.

Let’s consider a change in our thinking and rhetoric about library services:

Libraries are not free. They are investments.

The recent study by NorStar Economics showed that, in Wisconsin, for every dollar spent on libraries, there’s return of $4.06. And it’s not just in Wisconsin either. In Chicago, when the city targets a neighborhood for economic development, guess what the first thing they do is? Why, it’s a branch of the Chicago Public Library. Those branches are the first step in turning a neighborhood around.

Library services are not free—they are, however, provided at no addition cost to the patron. Patrons “invest” in the library at tax time. Library patrons get a return on their investment each time they use the library. The rate of that return is based on the amount of use. Heavy users get their investment back plus that of their neighbors. Non-users don’t see a return on their investment, but it is a choice they can review at any time.

I also fear that our focus “free” negatively affects another “f” word—funding. If people don’t associate costs with public libraries, then how to we expect them to advocate (yep, there’s that word again) for libraries when we need them. We need to be transparent about what it really costs to provide those much needed services. And how those services help promote the well-being of the community. We need to show people what they pay for library services and what a good deal it is.

I encourage all of you to reconsider your use of “free” when it comes to promoting library services. Remember— library funding is a sound investment in the well-being of your community, this state and country.


—Krista
**Note--this is MY opinion--not an official opinion of the Southwest Wisconsin Library System