We're all one profession: why not campaign like one?:

We’re all one profession, aren’t we?

I'm beginning to doubt that, considering some of the remarks I've heard colleagues and MSc coursemates make about public libraries. I've discussed this with Lauren and Magpie Librarian mentions the antipathy of MLS students towards library advocacy in her excellent post.

Who hasn't read articles like this? They're rarely serious -- oh, old librarians with sour faces and pushy parents using the library as babysitter and people using it like a DVD rental shop ha ha, nice one. I want to roll my eyes, but the truth is that many of my colleagues and coursemates have a similar opinion of public libraries. They're just reluctant to admit it to a vociferous library advocate.

Due to this, I thought it'd be helpful to list some of the comments I've received, and my responses. Perhaps they'll help you, or your colleagues, to view public libraries in a more positive light.

1. “I don’t work in a public library. Why should I care?”

"My kids aren't going to university. Why should I care about tuition fees?"

"I don't live in socially rented housing. Why should I care about housing benefit reform?"

"I don't use the local shop because I can drive. Why should I care if it closes?

Oh, how easy it is to only have passion for the things directly affecting us. Unfortunately, if we did, the world would be an even more selfish and unpleasant place.

Aside from the fact that public libraries are vital to their communities, public library staff don't always have a voice. The council prohibits many from campaigning, or displaying petitions inside their libraries. Imagine if ten percent of libraries in your sector were facing the axe, but you couldn’t do or say much about it for fear of reprisals. If you couldn’t use your voice, wouldn’t you want the rest of the profession to speak up for you?

2. “Our course doesn't cover public libraries much, so they can't be important.”

You're right. Our course doesn't. The one exception was a very polemic lecture we had which entailed a guest speaker claiming public library users were universally white, educated and wouldn’t know what deprivation was if it hit them in their faces.

This doesn't mean public libraries aren't important. Read up on Carnegie libraries, public libraries and democratic engagement, public libraries and social exclusion or even recent news articles that show the link between reading and educational attainment. Browse through Public Libraries News. Then, come back to me if you still think it’s acceptable that some Masters courses in Librarianship and Information Science barely cover public libraries.

It's so easy to write about what we know, but why not write about public libraries for an assignment or even your dissertation? Why not mention to the course leader that you'd like public libraries to be covered in greater depth, too?

3. “The University’s Library gives me everything I need.”

At this point, yes, it does. (Or at least it should do.) You’re a student.

However, public libraries are far more than books. In ten years time when you want to trace your family history using the large volume of records which haven’t been digitised, you’re dying to read that out of print book which costs £30 on Amazon second-hand, needing to access the Internet to access council services online when your laptop’s broken or want to find reliable, free sources of information for your child’s school project? University library not looking so great now, is it?

4. “Can’t people just use Amazon or go to a bookshop if they need a place to read?”

See the above paragraph. Public libraries are far more than warehouses of books, even if they don’t have a Starbucks attached. (Though increasingly, many do have cafés…)

Even if people can afford to purchase the information they need, it's not always avalilable for a couple of pounds on Amazon. Are you aware of how much sheet music and scores can cost? What about a subscription to COBRA, Ancestry or British Standards Online? (All of which are free to access via many public libraries.)

5. "I'm too busy to campaign!"

We're all busy. Nobody is expecting you to channel library advocacy into every sliver of spare time you have

One minute? Add a local campaign to Twitter or follow a site like Public Libraries News, giving you an easy way to keep informed with what’s going on in your local area and the UK as a whole.

Two minutes? Sign a petition online, or go to http://www.voicesforthelibrary.org.uk/wordpress/?page_id=600 and pledge your support.

Five minutes? Print out some leaflets or fliers and leave them at a local doctor’s surgery, convenience shop, sports hall or community centre. There’s no need to go out of your way – just ask at places you’d visit on your everyday errands.

Ten minutes? Write a letter to your MP, or set up a petition if there isn’t one in your area.

You can do any of these during a tea break, and still have plenty of time to drink your tea.

And, finally, the most crude and the most common:

6. “My public library smells and is full of homeless people!”

I asked this person when she last visited her local public library. It was in 1994. So many people are quick to say similar things about public libraries, but haven’t actually visited one for many years. Pop down to your local public library; it might surprise you!

Libraries aren’t like bookshops. They’re free, and open to all, and they won’t kick you out for grabbing a pile of books and reading them from when the library opens until when it closes. And, without wanting to play the world’s smallest violin, I was very briefly homeless as a teenager. I was fortunate enough to have friends to stay with, but Reading Central Library would recommend me books and graphic novels I’d like, and provide me with free word processing facilities to complete coursework.

I wasn’t a threat to anyone: books just made life a whole lot better during those really dark days.

So.

If you work in a library or are studying for a library qualification and aren’t willing to support public libraries? Perhaps you won’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone.