Alex Schlotzer

Support Public Libraries

The Victorian state government has been forced to defend its decision to trash the funding to the state’s public libraries. There are quite a few community organisations and non-government organisations that are expressing dismay and disgust. It comes down to a decision by the state government to cut funding to public libraries, which have already been put under pressure over funding in recent years. [Read about the Baillieu Government's decision]

Quite frankly it’s another example of the disregard that governments in the modern era have for properly building communities.  The promises of the Liberal-led Victorian government of building stronger communities mean nothing without the proper funding of public libraries.

There is ample evidence demonstrating the importance of public libraries to  local communities. They provide access to books, audio-visual books, music, movies, photocopiers, the internet as well as the daily newspapers and extensive ranges of periodicals and magazines.

They also provide valued things like meeting places and communal spaces, allowing communities to come together. Public libraries also provide space for local community groups, book/movie clubs, and workshops and forums. For many new members to our suburbs, towns and cities from overseas and interstate (or intrastate) they provide an initial social point because of the promotion of local events and activities.

Public libraries aren’t just about books on shelves, or students neck-deep in reference material; they’re about giving people a place to meet, access to resources unavailable in the household and act as a vital social point for local communities.

I strongly concur with the opinion piece in The Age, published online, “Library funding cuts leave all Victoria poorer”, especially the closing paragraph:

When politicians talk about wanting to build strong communities, they need to think about the services and mechanisms that foster social well-being. Libraries are indisputably, and, it appears, increasingly, part of that mechanism.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/editorial/library-funding-cuts-leave-all-victoria-poorer-20110714-1hfxz.html#ixzz1TeDzaVRN

It’s pleasing to see that there has been a wide spread expression of outrage across Victoria (Moira Shire; Ballarat Courier; Melbourne Leader; Castlemaine Independent; Weekly Times; Greens Cr Samantha Dunn [Yarra Ranges] to name a few). It strongly affirms the depth of feeling and the importance that local communities place in their public libraries.

I’m someone that enjoys my local public library and appreciate that it’s a resource for thousands of other users from a diverse range of communities. I do not support any funding cuts to public libraries.

I strongly urge people to support their local public libraries.

You can do this by:

• Stating you support increasing funding to public libraries as a Facebook status update – better still visit the Premier’s Facebook page and tell Ted Baillieu you support increasing funding to public libraries. You can find out which state government agencies and departments, including local councils, are on Facebook here.
• Tweet your support for public libraries and why you value them – include @TedBaillieu so your tweets are seen by the Premier and his staff. Check out TweetMP to see if your local State MP tweets and include them when you’re tweeting about public libraries.
• If you run a blog you could write a post about your support for public libraries and why you value them, and what value you think they provide your local community
• Get down to your local public library [find your local library] and let the staff know that you value them and the library. They’ll appreciate it because more people are aware of the issue and that they have growing support in the community – better still get a free membership if you haven’t already, or re-new it if it’s out-of-date.
• Write to your local council and state Member of Parliament expressing your concerns about the funding cuts.

When details of a coordinated campaign are known, I’ll publish a new post about it. Until then feel free to share this post with your family and friends.

If you have additional information to contribute please leave a comment below.