I mean, we're in tough times, right? There have to be cuts everywhere. And the Improving Literacy Through School Libraries program gave money to under-funded schools, usually in poor and under-privileged areas, many serving minorities. Who needs those folks, right? Education isn't free, you know. And most schools derive their funding from property taxes. If you want your kid to be in a better school, with a better-stocked school library, you'll just better yourself, make more money and move to an area with higher property taxes and better schools. It's not the federal government's problem that your kid's school can't afford decent, or modern or remotely interesting books. NO ONE USES LIBRARIES ANY MORE ANYWAY, SINCE ALL INFORMATION IS NOW ON THE INTERNET. Also, we do not care if these are schools that can't afford computers for every student, or a descent internet connection. Make more money and move to a better area. THIS IS A MERITOCRACY, AFTER ALL.
Ok, back to reality. I truly do believe in giving kids the joy of discovery and the thirst for knowledge that will carry them through the requirements of an assignment into true enrichment and learning. School gave me the building blocks, skills and general background I needed to learn, but libraries gave me the fire to keep learning outside of the classroom. I believe every kid deserves to go to school in a district that meets certain minimum standards for education and learning, so that they have the ability, if they're wise enough to utilize it, to grow into productive members of society.
I believe that is the purpose of both parenting, and education: to release into the world young adults capable of taking care of themselves. This, for me, includes being educated enough to get along in the world, and turning students into independent researchers. Who cares about independent researchers? Most adults aren't going to write academic papers for peer-reviewed journals.
But there're problems in every-day life that can be met by being a life-long learner with the ability to research. Are you looking for support for a health condition? Are you simply looking for information to see if your symptoms are something you can try home remedies for first (such as dry skin), or if you should get to a doctor's office ASAP? Have you or a loved-one been diagnosed with an illness that your doctor was unable to provide sufficient information about? Knowing where to look for credible information can help you find the correct questions to be asking your doctor, the correct procedure for taking care of yourself or your loved one, or even which specialists are the best for your condition.
Got a home project that you vaguely remember helping dad with as a kid, seemed simple enough, and you don't have the money to pay someone to do? The Internet gave me instructions for removing the trap from my kitchen sink without damaging the rest of the piping. Heck, sometimes I need a refresher video for changing out the weirdly-designed windshield wiper blades for my car.
Knowing which books to go to for help (car manual, 2006, in my case--which my library carries), and how to tell how credible information is on the internet, and where to FIND the credible information are invaluable skills, since sometimes relying on the experience of friends and family isn't always enough.
Ok, how did we get from federal funding for school libraries to the fact that I have trouble changing my windshield wiper blades in just a few paragraphs?
Because a well-funded and well-stocked school library is one of the ways we combat America continuing to slip in competitiveness in the world arena. It's a way to help students learn how to fend for themselves in an age where we don't suffer from too little information, but not enough curated, verified information. It's a way to get a kid excited about independent learning. It's not enough to tell a kid that the answers are out there, and its their responsibility to find them, if we don't give them the answers close-at-hand during those early formative years.
They may not get computer time at home. If they're from a disadvantaged area, they may not have a computer, or computer access. So Google isn't always at the fingertips of the students we're cutting this essential funding from. They may not have a local public library that is accessible to a kid without transportation. These are what make the school library so beautiful--those resources are in the same building where kids spend most of their day. But an ill-stocked library without Internet access, and access to credible databases tells a kid that the answers are out there, but library doesn't have them for you. It tells kids that the library is a place where old books go to die and librarians are irrelevant faculty members holding on to a bygone era, instead of the information professionals that can help you become an independent learner.
We may tell kids explicitly over and over that learning and education are important, but ill-funded libraries (and schools) tell kids implicitly, through subtle or not-so-subtle snubbing that libraries, books, reading, independent learning and information independence are all unimportant.
I think the government wants education to improve. But I think they're going about it wrong in many ways. Defunding vulnerable libraries is not going to help ANYONE. It may balance a line in a budget this year, but usually once a program goes away for monitory reasons, it seldom comes back when times are better. That is another thing I worry about: all the the things we're stopping now, due to our current financial troubles, and the long-term impact it's going to have on our workforce, and socially, and on our tax revenues in the future.
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