Hello, California! Cutting library funding is not new, just look at Toronto with Tweedledum and Tweedledee (err, Rob Ford and Doug Ford) but California wants to be innovative-they have completely cut all funding to their libraries. Well, that’s new. In a very bad way.
Lit Reactor brought this to my attention, and I suggest that you read it, and you should also read the Galleycat article.
I don’t mean to sound like V, but one can make a fantastic argument for limiting access to information. Of course, keep people dumb and uninformed! Educated people only like to get in the way and change things...and question the government. As the author of the Lit Reactor article pointed out, their only hope might be to survive on donations. I’ll tell you, as someone who has a MLIS degree but who can’t find a job, those jobs will more than likely be lost. Yes, it is possible to run the libraries with volunteers, but why cut an essential service, especially when so many people want these jobs? I know that many people will argue for and against volunteer libraries in terms of service and quality, and I’m not sure where I stand, but I do know that the loss of jobs will be felt. Even a privatized library can drastically change the service and collection.
