Where Are Librarians in Today’s Labor Movement?

by Emily Butler

Librarians have often been at the forefront of the fight for intellectual freedom and patron privacy. The American Library Association (ALA) has explicitly defended these rights since the 1930s, and in 1953 adopted their Freedom To Read statement in opposition to McCarthy-era censorship. Four librarians in Connecticut even went to court in 2005 to challenge requests for patron data under the Patriot Act, though the FBI ultimately dropped the lawsuit and gag order.

Despite this historic activism, there has been little organizing by librarians to oppose the massive budget cuts to public libraries in recent years. According to a report from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, there was an overall decline of nearly one Full Time Equivalent public library staff member per 25,000 people between 2006 and 2015. The report explains that “the Great Recession of 2009 impacted funding and staffing, but while funding has rebounded, staffing levels continue to stay flat.” As a librarian, I know from experience how difficult this has made entering the job market and thriving in the field.

Budget cuts and self-fulfilling prophecies

In addition to entering a job market with significantly fewer full-time positions, many emerging librarians are also burdened with student loan debt. Furthermore, we have to deal with the erroneous claim that there are fewer jobs for us because libraries are not as useful as they once were.

A Pew research report from November 2015 demonstrated a slight decline in American public library usage; however, research conducted by the Institute of Museum and Library Services demonstrated that this decline is likely a result of budget cuts. The IMLS found “a direct relationship between library investment and use” in which increased library funding correlated with increased visitation, circulation of materials, use of computers, and attendance of programs. With 97% of public libraries in the United States participating in the IMLS’s research, these findings are the most robust data available on the topic.

While correlation doesn't always equal causation, it makes sense that a decrease in library funding could directly cause a decrease in usage. For example, when libraries are forced to decrease their hours of operation and thus limit the hours that patrons are able to visit the library, there is automatically a decline in all usage metrics.

The decline in American use of public libraries is a self-fulfilling prophecy. When the economy suffers and politicians decide that library budgets should be first on the chopping block, the decline in usage which follows appears to prove them right. Staffing is the largest portion of any library budget; therefore, budget cuts to libraries are effectively a decision to cut our jobs. When libraries try to get by with fewer employees, the library swiftly becomes a less efficient, less friendly, less helpful place.

New technologies, expanded services 

But what about the impact of the internet? People have asked me if I think libraries will even exist in the future, given the fact that “everyone has the internet at home.” First, not everyone has access to the internet or a computer at home. Rural and lower-income communities in particular are affected by the digital divide. One in four Americans living in rural areas called access to high speed internet “a major problem” in their communities, according to a 2018 Pew Research survey. For those individuals, a public library may even be one of their only internet access points. Second, if the internet were going to make libraries obsolete, it wouldn’t happen in ten or twenty years—it would be happening now.

Libraries long ago adapted to the monumental change that the internet posed, not only by digitizing their card catalogs (as early as the 1980s), but by providing access to computers, printers, and WiFi. Modern libraries lend eBooks and audiobooks, provide streaming video access through databases, and in some cases even lend internet hotspots so patrons can take the internet home.

The internet has expanded the services libraries offer, while at the same time, libraries have retained all of their traditional resources. Libraries are more useful than ever before, even circulating physical items beyond books, such as instruments, games, tools, and even canoes in the emerging “library of things.” It’s true that citizens have more information available to them than before, but this makes it more important to have professionals who can sort through that information with a trained eye for determining the credibility, accuracy, and purpose of any information source.

Being adept with technology does not deter individuals from using the library, either. According to the Pew Research Center: “People who used a library or bookmobile in the past year are more likely than non-library users or less-recent users to be technology users.”

From passive to protest

I received my Master’s in Library and Information Science in 2016, and like so many new librarians entering the field, have struggled to find full-time work. I currently work as a part-time Reference Librarian at a community college, and feel immensely grateful that I have been able to secure a job in my field. At the same time, I can’t help but feel frustrated that after two library internships and two years of experience as a library assistant, I still don’t have a full-time, professional position.

When I left my paraprofessional job working in a high school library, I was not replaced. Young librarians are told that it’s only a matter of time before older librarians retire, but who's to say that those positions won’t be split into two part-time jobs without benefits, or worse, eliminated altogether? The available data suggests that this is exactly what will happen, especially if we face another recession.

As librarians, we have shown our commitment to defending patron rights, even when it puts our own livelihoods at risk. Now we need to stand up for ourselves. Libraries should not be first on the chopping block in a recession: they are especially useful in trying economic times, when citizens need access to free resources. Both librarians and patrons suffer when funding is cut.

Librarians are armed with data that show the positive impact we have on our communities, as well as the public’s positive perception of us. But 100-page-long reports do not grab attention quite like protests, marches, or petitions. We have all the information we need to make our case. What we need now is an actionable plan for making sure both citizens and politicians understand the true state of public library usage today.

Library funding comes from local, state, and federal levels, but the vast majority of public library budgets comes from local government funding. This means that in many ways, patrons can also make a difference in the financial health of their library. I encourage all readers to support their libraries by becoming aware of and involved in local politics, and to join us in the fight against budget cuts and for increased funding for libraries. 

Emily Butler’s creative writing has appeared in Halfway Down the Stairs, Eunoia Review, Bone Parade, Jokes Review, Waxing and Waning, The Lamplit Underground, and Moonglasses. You can follow them on YouTube at youtube.com/emilybutler on Twitter @EmilyFButler1.