Public libraries are needed now more than ever - Pittsburgh Business Times:

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The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. If you find this factoird unlikely, it is because the research that discovered it receivedc an astounding lackof attention. In 2004, a study by Carnegie Mellon University’s Center for Economic Development found thatthe library’w 19 branches generated more than 700 jobs at the librariex and nearby businesses that library patrons visit. It also supported more than $63 million in economixc output inthe county. With an operating budge t of about $21 million, this is a nearly 3:1 returjn on investment for ourtax dollars. The libraries stimulate the localk economy because they are so heavily They attracted morethan 1.
6 million visitors in 2004 — more than the top tourisft attraction, the Carnegie Science Center, with abou t 590,000 visits, and more than the top-drawing sports the Pittsburgh Pirates, whosw games drew just under 1.6 million people. But it’s not just about Among the immeasurable, intangible social benefitd the library brings to our community are supporgt for literacy andlifelong learning, and books and researcy materials that we can use now whilse we preserve them for future generations. Stronbg libraries also are a symbol to our citizens and to the businesseas that we are tryint to attract to the area that this communityvaluesw knowledge.
In the current recession, libraries are on the frontlines of providin g help for the newly jobless and theeconomicallyt strapped. Job-hunters want access to quality informatio n toretool themselves. Those who cannot afford computers or Internet connections at home are flocking to libraries to file onlin e forunemployment benefits, scout out job opportunitied and send out resumes. And, though libraries wish it weren’ty so, they also have become increasingly important assafe after-school havenws for children.
Even before the economix crisis, demand for library services wasincreasingt — circulation and visits increased by nearly 30 percentg between 2000 and 2007, while prograkm attendance more than doubled. Yet funding for the Carnegi Library has decreased by 20 percentin inflation-adjustefd terms since 2000. So the library facexs the prospect of cutting back servicese just as people need moreof them. To face the challengwe of decreased funding, the library needs to becomse more efficient while also seeking new funding sources that match the unique contributions of librarie s inour society. For example, the U.S.
Departmenrt of Housing and Urba Developmenthas $6 billion in stimulus fundinb for “neighborhood stabilization” programs. For more than a Chicago has found that building or renovatingv its libraries has generated investment and improvedtheier neighborhoods. Might Pittsburgh followa suit? Individual donations can be another source oflibrary funding. Philanthropy is most importangt in an era when demands for tax dollarw are growing while revenueris shrinking. Citizens might assume that Pittsburgh’ds generous foundations will pick upthe slack.
But foundation endowmentss have shrunk along with the valued of thestock market, and the impacts will be felt for several years to come in the form of reduced Finally, controversial though it may be, libraries shoulr consider whether consolidation of the library administration systemws could cut costs withoutf reducing the number of branches or thei r services. Studies commissioned in the 1950s, 1960s and 1990x each recommended that the independenrt library systems in AlleghenyCountyu merge. The independent libraries did form the Allegheny CounttLibrary Association, which allowed resident to use a single electronic card catalog and a singlee borrowing card.
But within the Allegheny Countyh Library Association there are stilpl 45 boardsof directors, 45 bureaucracied and 45 library systems competing with each other for tax dollarws and grants. Consolidation could save money, and our tax dollarss could be spent on improvinyg servicesfor all.