Public Libraries as Facilitators of Democracy
Tracy Bedford
In order for this to remain a truly democratic country, everyone needs to be able to participate. In recent times we’ve seen the rise of the 99% Movement whose central tenet is that the interests of the few in this country (those holding most of the wealth) are being put over the interests of the many. This can actually be seen in who has access to the most recent technology, which includes access to the internet, and therefore includes access to information. Many in the library world speak of the “digital divide” – the idea that the wealthiest Americans have more access to information because they can afford the newest technology, and that people with fewer resources are actually denied access to information because their lack of resources prohibits them from accessing technology that would give them access to information. The public library is really the only equalizer to this conundrum. However, under recent national and state government administrations the library is expected to provide this service with fewer resources itself.
In Jaeger’s paper he discusses how critical library and librarian services were during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. All of the disaster relief forms from the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) were only available online. Of course, people who needed FEMA’s help at this time were mostly disenfranchised and even if they weren’t, probably didn’t have access to the internet from their homes because they had been rendered homeless from the extensive flooding caused by the hurricane. The only access available to these people was at the surrounding public libraries.
“One Mississippi library completed more than forty-five thousand FEMA applications for patrons in the first month after Katria struck – despite the fact that the libraries were not specifically prepared to offer such a service and that few library systems planned for this type of situation.”(Jaeger 2007)
These libraries were not prepared for this volume of people. They did not have the manpower to deal efficiently with a national disaster, even though they were the only means available for the public to access needed information and federal resources.
One can see the need for some sort of federal funding policy for public libraries if access to the internet is going to become the only way for citizens to participate in this democracy. If government services are to be available only online, and the internet is not a free service, there has to be a place for the disadvantaged to access that service for free. The library offers this service. Librarians too, are crucial to a government available only online. Some sort of instruction is necessary for citizens to be able to accurately access the government functions and librarians are increasingly being trained in the use of technology in Library Science programs.
References:
Jaeger, P. (2007). Public libraries, values, trust, and e-government. Information Technology and Libraries.
I completely agree that libraries are an important part of a democratic society. The example given in this post about FEMA forms after Hurricane Katrina was fascinating to me because I never thought about library's giving access to government forms. This is absolutely an important way in which libraries participate in democracy.
ReplyDeleteWhen I typically think of libraries and democracy, I think of libraries providing citizens with access to information they need to perform their civic duty: voting! Libraries allow people who do not have access to newspapers, magazines, or the internet, to come and use these resources for free. This enables all citizens to make informed choices on election day.
Michael Baldwin of the Library Journal writes about libraries and democracy in the context of marketing. He explains that libraries typically market themselves as institutions for recreational reading and educational support. These are certainly popular aspects of the library, but with the economy down, the center for recreational reading is usually on top of the budget cuts list. Baldwin suggests that libraries should market themselves as an indispensable institution of democracy. He explains that libraries should be seen as a political institution and need to make themselves "more socially valued and more politically defensible." This may help protect the library's budget when it comes time to make cuts.
This is just another perspective on ways that libraries and democracy go hand in hand!
Reference:
Baldwin, M. (2002). BackTalk: Can Libraries Save Democracy? Library Journal Archive. Retrieved from http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA250022.html
I agree with Michael Baldwin - marketing is critical, because I don't think people see the library as central to participating in their democracy. This might be an area that could be marketed on Facebook! Programming about what government services the library provides access to could be created and marketed through social media.
ReplyDeleteTracy
It seems there was a time when people inherently understood the value and importance of libraries, without libraries having to advertise or promote their services. Libraries seemed important to people and there was a general understaning of why they were important to a learned society and a fundtioning democracy. Is it only due to the economy or was there another shift? It could be that information is more readily available to more people. Now it seems that all types of libraries have to work hard to promote what they do and prove their worth. What do you think?
ReplyDeleteI live in Birmingham, Alabama where tornadoes hit last year in April. Although it certainly was not on the scale of Katrina, the amount of people that came to library where I work to use power, the Internet, and to navigate the red tape of FEMA was somewhat overwhelming. I also completely agree with Anne's comment about library marketing. A shift to something along those lines would hopefully make people aware of library services without some sort of big event or disaster that forces them to the library. It has been really eye opening helping displaced and lower income people navigate government services. While people will always equate libraries with books, I think a librarian is especially skilled to help level the playing field by providing equal access to information to all.
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