Keeping the beacon burning brightly

By William C. Shelton

(The opinions and views expressed in the commentaries of The Somerville News belong solely to the authors of those commentaries and do not reflect the views or opinions of The Somerville News, its staff or publishers.)

Visiting Somerville's public libraries is one experience that always makes me consider the possibility that my tax dollars are being well spent, even though library expenditures are only 1 percent of the city budget. Paraphrasing Daniel Webster, it is a small government institution, but there are those of us who love it.

So I was alarmed to learn that Somerville's libraries are at risk of being decertified; and perplexed to learn that the reason for this is a history of inadequate funding.

I grew up believing that a library card was a passport to another world, indeed, to other worlds, galaxies, and universes. The library was a refuge for me from the mean streets of Compton, California and a promise of hope for a better life.

As a child, the library seemed to be a temple of knowledge, a temple with a beacon on top that penetrated the oppressive gloom of ignorance. I naively believed that the answer to every challenge I might encounter was waiting for me somewhere in the stacks. Life disabused me of that comforting conceit, but it did not diminish the value of  libraries' many gifts.

Through libraries I learned why Marbury vs. Madison was the Supreme Court's most important decision, how to build a house, which three years Ted Williams batted over .400, how to mix a sidecar (the drink), what “le esprit de l'escalier” means, why the English teacher who I had a crush on said that Shakespeare was the greatest writer in the language, what the “Dutch Masters” did other than sell cigars, which fork to use, what people in Berlin really thought about Ronald Reagan, who put the bop in the bop-she-bop-she-bop, and ten thousand other things.

The Internet age has not diminished the need for libraries, or their effectiveness. The Institute of Museum and Library Services finds that Internet users are 50 percent more likely to visit a public library than non-Internet users. They go there for information that is reliable and trustworthy. Ninety-one percent of those who use libraries' online databases also visit in person.

And many people do not have easy access to the web. Whenever I go to the Somerville main branch, I see that all of its 19 public access computers are in use.

This is a small example of why libraries are among our most democratic institutions. Knowledge is power, but libraries offer knowledge to the super rich and the homeless alike. They are a community's commitment to the cultural and intellectual well being of its citizens.

Somerville's libraries express all of these virtues and more. I've never asked for help from a reference librarian who did not make every possible effort to find the answer, and promptly. Last year, Somerville libraries made 378,000 loans. They presented lectures, musical programs, and film series to adults; story hours, puppet shows, magicians, and theatrical performances for kids. But they received a waiver from the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners.

The MBLC is the regulatory body that certifies libraries in a manner similar to the accreditation of colleges and universities. It sets forth requirements regarding the availability of free borrowing privileges to all residents, quality and range of materials, training of staff, and so on. There is also a financial requirement.

Municipalities must increase their library budgets each year by an amount that is at least equal to 2_ percent of the average of their last three annual budgets. This is less than the rate of inflation, which last year was 4.1 percent. Put another way, it is less than the annual cost of interest payments on the bonds required to finance Trum Field's new locker rooms, retaining wall, and access ramp. Yet unlike library patrons who are pleased with the service they receive, ball players say the playing quality of Trum Field remains deplorable.

When a city does not meet MBLC requirements in a given year, it may receive a waiver. Somerville has received waivers in four of the last five years, and only once before then, in 1990.

When a city accumulates too many waivers, it risks decertification. Decertification cuts off state aid, which in Somerville's case is about $90,000 per year. Much more serious is loss of inter-library loan privileges. When the town of Medway was decertified, for example, all 40 members of the Minuteman Library Network (Somerville's network) refused to lend to Medway residents.

Sometimes libraries in neighboring communities make an exception. When Saugus was decertified, Melrose offered to allow Saugus residents to borrow, if they paid $150 per year per individual, or $200 for a family. There were few takers.

Losing these privileges would be particularly hard on Somerville residents, since they use interlibrary loans at an exceptionally high rate. There would be no other way, for example, to meet kids' summer reading requirements.

Somewhere around the beginning of this decade, we were promised that the moldy and crumbling main branch would receive a multi-million dollar renovation. I understand how economic hard times and sharp cuts in state aid prevented this investment. But it seems to me that we can do a lot better than we are, in light of what our libraries give to this community.

On the bright side, this month the main branch interiors will get some new plaster, paint, and carpet. If you haven't been there in awhile, come in, admire the changes, and hug a librarian.

Comments

[The Patriot]

Why do you have to make the thrust of your comments so obviously and blatantly political? Your rhetorical
gamesmanship, your poetic diversions and your usual historical revisionisms
fail to hide your true intent to demean, weaken and dislodge the current administration.

[drogers]

I suspect it's a need to be validated and acknowledged. :)

Seriously, what should the city do, Bill? How about a possible solution aside from the obvious spend more money on the library system?

[Somerville n00b]

How about spending more money on the library system? On second thought, do we need a library system? I mean, one can get most books on Amazon, used, very cheaply. I buy all my books...

[Bill Shelton]

Mr. or Ms. Rogers,

It's a legitimate question. I hinted at my answer in the column.

Spending more money on the library isn't a choice if we want to keep it certified. But it isn't a lot of money.

It's not a matter of increasing the budget, and therefore, tax rates, but agreeing on what's most important. It's hard to see how the city spent $3.3 million on locker rooms, ramps, and a retaining wall. The retaining wall story is a column waiting to happen.

With an open, accountable, and participatory government, people could (1) learn the real facts about available choices and (2) express what's most important to them.

There would be conflict around some choices and consensus around others, but the choices would be transparent.

Some people may favor fireworks over books. I'm for the books.

[Imux]

Bill, you're now officially the village idiot. With this last article of yours you went over the top - in the Olympic spirit; you're the gold medalist of idiocy! What the hell were you trying to say here? That we should increase the library budget just 'cause the guidelines (which are dumb guideline to begin with) say we should? Instead of saying that the city gov't isn't keeping up why not write an article that shows what an outdated guideline it is? Why not - for once - use that lump of rock on top of your shoulders for more than a hat rack?

Not as many people go to the library today to research or for learning as in years past. Bill, why should we increase the library budget? Have you heard of the Internet yet?

Bill, I like you... but you really got to stop being such a liberal gimp. You've embarrassed yourself again with this article, so this makes 3 or 4 in a row.

[cczcollins]

Imux I guess that you do not use the services of the library. Although the internet does provide a wealth of information it is not all encompassing or correct. The library provides internet access to those who cannot afford a computer. Go there on any day and all the computers are being used. For those who enjoy reading, books on all subjects are available, along with daily papers and magazines. There is guidance resources for those looking to attend college or prepare for a new job. It is the responsibility of government to make available the resources so that people can use those resources to improve their life through knowledge.

[Yorktown Street]

Somerville n00b, you must not read as many books as I do! If you did, you'd go broke buying them all, even on Amazon (or Powell's, which is better), or at yard sales. What's more, your house would overflow with books to the point that you couldn't find your way to the door. You wouldn't want to see me starving on a pile of science fiction novels, would you?

Seriously, libraries offer books and magazines AND music and cinema on CD AND internet access AND speakers AND movies AND a place to run into people AND a wholesome place for kids to hang out after school. They give you a tremendous bang for your buck. A poster that I once saw said it best: "Libraries will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no libraries."

[somebody]

I actually went to the Somerville library a few weeks ago for the first time, and I was shocked and saddened by how poor the facilities are. I have NEVER been to a library in such bad shape, and that includes libraries in cities that are much more 'ghetto'.

noob: Some families cannot afford to buy all the books they need, even if they are cheap for most people. Also, sometimes buying a book is overkill, when you only need to use it as a reference for something.

Imux: I don't know what the guidelines are or if they are outdated, but I do know that the library fails to meet common sense guidelines. Go visit the library in Davis Square for example... it's very sad! Some people rely on the library for Internet access, so you can't just say that we don't need libraries anymore because everyone uses the Internet. Also, the Internet is not a valid resource for most research projects.

[drogers]

Hi Bill, it's Mr. Rogers

I guess the point of my first comment was to encourage you to offer solutions instead of just raising points (and at the same time raising eyebrows)and offering criticisms. Just saying something like City Hall and Major Joe should be more transparent isn't enough.

In the case of the library that could be something like floating ideas for Friends of the Somerville Library fundraisers (a popular one is selling naming rights to certain parts of the library).

That being said, I like the columns and look forward to them. I just think you could do more with all the effort and time you obviously spend on them.

[Bill Shelton]

Ah Imux, is this a love/hate relationship? And by the way, it's now 5 in a row.

It seems intuitively obvious that the growth in internet use would decrease demand for library services. In fact, demand keeps growing. The number of lending transactions through the Somerville Libraries, for example, went up by 30,000 last year. And an interesting and rigorous national survey (http://interconnectionsreport.org/) found that internet users are MUCH more likely to use libraries than non-users. In Somerville, the only place I know that a person who doesn't own a computer can use the internet is...the library.

Mr. Rogers,

Perhaps we are misunderstanding each other. I'm pretty good at that.

There just aren't many revenue generating choices, creative or not. Friends of the Library are caring and very committed, but their annual book sale raises a tiny fraction of the library's budget. In the past I've chided them for not increasing their book prices. But then I started buying used books online from AbeBooks. Many of the books I buy come from inventory turnover at libraries. They cost $1-to-$3. It saddens me to think what libraries are paid for them.

The thing about the library's budget is that the Commonwealth financial support that it would lose if decertified is greater than the cost of meeting the Library Commissioners' funding guidelines.

I do believe that every government operation should be as entrepreneurial as possible. I just can't come up with any more revenue generating ideas. But I would be sincerely interested in any that you might suggest.

[drogers]

Hi Bill, my comments have less to do with your library column and more to do with your column writing style.

I like your columns but they could be better and one way of doing that is offering solutions or courses of actions in addition to stating your opinion, concerns or fears.

No biggie though, the world won't collapse if you don't...

[Robert]

Imux: whether you disagree with the guidelines for library certification and state funding or not, they are what they are. Even if Bill wrote a column saying they were outdated, it would not change the fact that if the Somerville Public Library loses state certification, Somerville residents will lose services they have come to depend on.

As for your comment that many people use the Internet for research, most reliable online sources are still available only from expensive subscription datbases--which are provided by (you guessed it) libraries.

[Truth Fan]

Welcome back, Patriot. It's been awhile.

Would you please explain what is historically revisionist about this column? Would you please point out anything that is not factual or untrue? Could you explain why you approve of this administration and why this or any administration should not be criticized?

[Truth Fan]

Patriot?