Statistics compiled by a group representing public libraries serving larger towns – places with more than 50,000 people – are telling. Between 2001 and 2002, although total funding remained stable, per capita spending on libraries declined by 13 per cent...
And in the meantime, the burden on libraries has been growing, as central libraries in particular have been forced to pick up the slack where social services have been cut.
The last 20 years have seen massive cutbacks to social services across Canada. People with mental conditions, addiction problems, the homeless and other disadvantaged groups are using public libraries more than ever, partly because it’s one place where they know they’ll be treated with dignity. Problems arise because workers are given little or no training to deal with the special needs of these people.
“We have people looking for resources at our library when they should be getting support from government and various agencies,” says Oake. “We have recent suicide survivors asking reference librarians for help. A young woman recently diagnosed as HIV-positive came into the library looking for resources, but she also needed to talk. We have people doing drugs and having sex in the washrooms. We are caring people, but our workers simply aren’t trained as counsellors. These people need proper counselling and help.”
So not only do libraries perform their vital core services, but as a freely accessible public resource, they're also the natural source for information and help when other agencies can't handle their workload. Of course in a perfect world they wouldn't have to fill the extra roles, but the reality is that they do, and will continue to do so until there's a serious revamping of how poverty issues are handled.
Something to keep in mind next time next time your local business group tries to claim that freezing a mill rate is more important than properly funding libraries.
(Via Rabble.)
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