Some truth in this but bad data analysis. It doesn’t mention the pandemic while quoting attendance numbers for that period. It also doesn’t describe the underlying causes of the growth in homelessness and mental conditions as safety nets have been pulled out from under.
The Death of the Public Library
“Current practices aren’t solving homelessness, but seem well on their way to destroying the public library,” writes Zac Bissonnette.
Public libraries are in decline not because of the internet or because people are reading less, but because they have become de facto homeless shelters.
https://www.thefp.com/p/the-death-of-the-public-library
One Response
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I’m a librarian. I have said for years that libraries should require ID from everyone, but this is sacrilegious talk in the library world. I have had to deal with fights, drugs, nudity. People have cursed at me, screamed at me, only for them to be allowed back in the next day. We need to wake up and realize that we simply no longer live in a time and place where it’s safe to let thousands of strangers enter your facility. I don’t even like going to libraries anymore. At best they’re full of people taking. At worst some weirdo is shooting up in the bathroom. In my spare time I go to academic libraries, because they require ID. They also have enforced quiet study. They’re peaceful and safe. Everything public libraries used to be.