A Referendum to Support Our Local Libraries
By Albert B. Kelly
With so much happening in so many different directions, like
me, you probably missed Assembly Bill 2171, sponsored or co-sponsored by no
less than 35 legislators including our own John Burzichelli, which calls for a
referendum to approve a $125 million bond issue to provide money for libraries
statewide.
If approved, it would essentially be a one for one match
which means that for a given project, the state would put up half the monies
and the municipality or county associated with that project would be
responsible for providing matching funds.
Why is this important? Because the local library has become
an even more critical part of helping residents function in our ever-changing
digital society. The local library is an anchor in the community providing
access and exposure to the touchstones of modern life, whether educational
cultural, or civic.
In resource-poor communities, providing access to computers
and Wi-Fi access, the local library can mean the difference between just surviving
and getting by or finding a better quality of life. I know that sounds a bit
dramatic, but just a little.
Consider that many poor families do not have easy access to
the internet, which is how most of our daily business gets conducted. In that
sense, what the local library provides can be the difference between being
stuck in a low paying job and finding better employment, accessing government
benefits or going without, applying for college or tuition aid or not.
The local library is a resource for our senior citizens,
children, teens, and everyone in between through cultural programs, trainings,
as well as educational offerings that are geared specifically to the
communities they serve. It’s not a “one-size-fits-all” proposition- libraries
specialize in their communities.
As specialists, your local library is the keeper and
repository of local history and local lore. Each town and community has its own
identity and story to tell over many generations, and the library keeps that
history intact and fully accessible. The older the community, the more history
there is to preserve and treasure.
Beyond that, at least for me, the fact that local libraries are
the repository of information and knowledge in the broadest sense, especially
in book form, means something. It’s not that I don’t use my share of devices
including a tablet, but there’s something about holding a book in your hands
that still matters to me.
What would the money be used for? According to the NJ
Library Association, upwards of 50% if libraries around the state were not ADA
compliant whether handicap ramps, elevators, or some other needed alteration
necessary to provide access.
Over half of the state’s local libraries needed some type of
expansion, whether that was adding some square footage to existing space for
storage or doing a far more drastic expansion, our libraries are all about
positioning themselves to serve their ever-changing roles in the 21st
century.
Some of the funding would go to creating new services and
outreach. The role of the local library is evolving and this will require new
technology, new equipment, and new ways of thinking about delivering services.
The library may well be the one local institution to fill in gaps when other
things fail.
Some older libraries will need more basic things like new
furnishings (i.e. chairs, desks, shelves, book cases, etc.), while others will
need upgraded electric, plumbing, audio-visual hook-ups, and similar library
infrastructure.
In 2017, it is easy to think of libraries as dinosaurs,
relics from another era largely irrelevant in today’s internet-driven,
Amazon-loving, smartphone using, ride-sharing world. But libraries were always part
of democratizing knowledge and education just as public schools are.
Today, there is digital inequality and the local library
will remain part of leveling the playing field. But most leveling happens at
the local level if it happens at all. Libraries are community anchors while
also connecting each community to the world at large.
Our local libraries need our support. A222 and/or S2171
won’t fix every single thing; but considering that the last such referendum
took place nearly 16 years ago and considering how much the daily currency of
our lives has changed since then, this funding will go a long way in letting
the local library fulfill its mission.
For all of these reasons, it is critically important that we
support A222 and its companion in the State Senate S2171.