The idea of cutting library budgets should be scandalous, should be taboo in society. Very modest costs compared to other government-run institutions, and there is literally not a word can be spoken against them.

Learning & community. How dare someone want to scale back on learning & community.

It’s also a godsend if you have voraciously reading children, like I do. My oldest will choose 10-15 books each time, and actually have them all read by the due date 4 weeks later (although Harry Potter has slowed her rate down a bit). I’d have to be a multi-millionaire, with an enormous amount of shelf space, to keep up with that habit if I were buying all those books!

Plus, a lot of people simply don’t know how to research effectively, and libraries are great for providing that service.

There’s also economic issues, even for getting popular fiction. Even if the economy recovers, there will be lots of people who can’t afford all the books they want to read, or simply won’t want to pay $15 for a book they’ll read once, and will come to the library.

Also, Rachel, my guess is you’re about my age, give or take a few years. It’s pretty well-known among librarians at least that the biggest users of libraries tend to be children and teens, then usage drops off in the twenties and thirties but picks up again as people approach middle age. You sound fairly typical in this.

Unless, of course, you’re trying to cut your budget. Then it’s the librarians who are the problem, I guess.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-0513-tobar-20110513,0,3002882.column?page=1