2 weeks Ago By Chicago Tribune Editorial Board
Our public libraries serve as a great equalizer, offering the chance for anyone — rich and poor alike — to access great novels, nonfiction and literature without spending a dime. Budgetary concerns notwithstanding, throwing library funding into limbo is a terrible idea. Amid a flurry of executive orders from President Donald Trump, creating uncertainty in many corners of our lives, a recent order targeted the Institute of Museum and Library Services, which provides federal funding that supports local libraries.
ADVERTISEMENT There’s much to support when it comes to identifying wasteful spending — and cutting it. This is not one of those instances. The IMLS doles out $267 million in grants to public libraries.
This funding pales in comparison with Medicaid and Social Security and countless other federal expenditures. As Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias pointed out, it’s just 0.003% of federal spending.
Eliminating it isn’t going to make a dent in America’s $2 trillion deficit. But it may well put at risk vital services like access to books your library system doesn’t have but can obtain from a sister system. And these funds support upkeep for library buildings, a cost libraries struggle on their own to handle.
To be sure, if federal funds dry up, local libraries will continue to function. Those of us who pay property taxes know that residents contribute a fair amount to their local library districts. Still, it seems a priority to keep our nation’s libraries strong, especially given our country’s worrisome literacy problem.
Just a third of American kids can read at grade level. “Everyone deserves a healthy and strong public library, and the elimination of the only federal agency that supports museums and libraries is a disservice to us all,” said Michaela Haberkern, executive director of the Aurora, Illinois, Public Library District. Our forebears understood the power of access to knowledge.
“An educated citizenry is a vital requisite for our survival as a free people,” as Thomas Jefferson put it. ADVERTISEMENT We all can wholeheartedly support the notion of an electorate that can think critically, discerning for itself when an idea is good and questioning when it’s flawed — and being able to explain why. Of course, educated minds will disagree on certain issues, but isn’t that the point? Informed opinions from informed people foster openmindedness and discussion, something that fuels thriving, supportive communities.
What we see all too often today is closeminded, us-versus-them thinking, with many hewing to whatever a political party or leader tells them. For now, we encourage readers to make use of the libraries in their communities — and read. Now’s a great time to check out Susan Orlean’s “The Library Book,” an engrossing examination of libraries and their role in American society, or Friedrich Hayek’s “The Road to Serfdom,” a classic warning against tyranny and centralized control.
— Chicago Tribune Editorial Board (chicagotribune.com).
