CLA, part 2

One other thing struck me as significant about the contours of our profession upon reflection on the California Libraries Association conference. Even as libraries are staunch bridgers of the "digital divide" between those with access to technology and those without, a "resource divide" seems to be growing between libraries themselves. A glance at the list of databases San Francisco Public Library or Los Angeles Public Library offers to its patrons, when compared to that of my own (especially), or even that of the largest library in another state, reveals a marked disparity in quality and quantity of the resources available to their card holders. And while in my library's case our patron base may not necessarily be calling for access to all of these databases, they are certainly in need of more than we can afford. (And for all you snide Republicans out there, this is definitely a problem that can be solved by throwing money at it!)
Our patrons are lucky enough, in that they can get to a local branch of LAPL relatively easily and obtain a library card to that system also to avail themselves of those resources, but there are many locations--even in LA county--that aren't anywhere close to an LAPL branch. I suspect that most public libraries in this country are more like ours or Multnomah County's in the number and type of databases they can offer, meaning that most of the citizens in the country are getting far less access to electronic resources than a select few others. (Sound familiar?)
Unfortunately, there is little that libraries can do about this divide other than to try to get better funding (read, "more money") from their communities; in this severely brain-damaged political climate of "Taxes bad. Must cut taxes, regardless of actual effects on economy or services", however, that is becoming increasingly unlikely to happen for most communities and states. Most librarians don't get that they need to be politically active (or at the very least, politically aware) and PR savvy enough to convince their funding bodies that cutting library services is a really bad idea. Most politicians know this already, but selling the notion of an increase in taxation--even if it's for a good cause--seems to be impossible these days.
I guess. Nobody is even trying it, really. Is it that hard a job to sell people on the idea that some things actually benefit from public funding? From potholes to sewage treatment to mass transit to library resources, public works and services are necessary for a civilization to maintain its standard of living, let alone progress. I'm convinced that freeways are falling apart and that my library needs more money, aren't you? And I can't afford to fix the broken sidewalk in front of my apartment by myself--why should it be incumbent on me to do so, or to round up a batch of others to chip in? Why aren't politicians making these arguments against the neo-con freaks who want to privatize everything in the public domain and eliminate government altogether? Even the most obscene fiscal conservatives understand that there are things that government is good at (although getting them to admit it is another matter!); funding public works is one of them. I think librarians should begin arguing that we are actually akin to a pothole that needs fixing, as opposed to a vital community service, because that approach is failing. Public park land in many states is getting sold to commercial interests for cash (think "logging" or "oil" rights); it's only a matter of time before some political genius thinks that a private corporation would do a more "efficient" job running a public library and offers to sell it off as well, to the financial "benefit" of his/her horribly tax-oppressed constituents. And at that point, the resource divide and the digital divide would crack wide open, because there isn't anything about a public library that realistically turns a profit, if viewed in that narrow-minded way. That's not our mission. It can't be; it shouldn't be.
We need to wake up to the reality that we as a nation are losing our grip on what made our country the most powerful one in the world, which had nothing to do with military might. It was our goal of equality of opportunity for all our citizenry, and as we continue to allow the Republicans to strip away all taxes for the investor class, we are in very serious danger of permanently reducing the economic base necessary to achieve that lofty civic goal. It's great that SFPL and LAPL can afford to purchase access to all those wonderful educational and research tools; it's sad and also quite ominous that all public libraries (and their patrons) can't do the same . . .