Opinion: Libraries Are Priceless Community Resources, But Only If We Take Care Of Them

By Patrick Stewart, Times of San Diego

April 24, 2023

Imagine a place where you could find everything from books to 3D printers? A place that provides music lessons, magazines, and computers to use. A place with wise people who are just as ready to hear about your day as they are to offer a book recommendation.

How much would it cost to visit such a place and use its services? If we’re talking about San Diego libraries, the answer is not a cent.

Here in the San Diego region and throughout the world, libraries are sanctuaries. They act as offices, study rooms, performance venues, safe spaces, and repositories of information. They’re an important representation of a community’s heartbeat. And they do all of this without any expectation of payment.

Yes, there are books. And, libraries have long offered services and programs beyond books that you can take advantage of with little more than a piece of plastic with your name on it (and often you don’t need a library card to enjoy many library services). Put simply, libraries provide equitable access to the things that make us feel alive — the things that connect us to our humanity.

While the services, knowledge, and community that libraries provide are priceless, operating these public spaces does come with a price tag. And, for years, librarians across the state and the country have faced threats like shrinking budgets, lack of investments, and actual physical attacks.

This year-over-year divestment has affected their maintenance, growth, and programs. There’s no other way to put it: our libraries are deteriorating before our eyes.

And the timing couldn’t be worse, as more and more demands are placed on public libraries. In many parts of San Diego, libraries are on the front lines of the growing homelessness crisis. Without the proper funding and support, however, they are ill-equipped to help.

Libraries across the country also face outside political threats. According to the latest State of America’s Libraries report, accounts of both book banning and threats against librarians skyrocketed in 2021 and 2022. The rest of the world must shake its head at the way our neighborhood librarians are being dragged into these culture wars.

Despite the challenges, San Diego’s libraries need to keep up with the times and ensure their services and programs meet the needs of a changing and growing population. Library Foundation SD, in collaboration with the San Diego Public Library, is leading the effort to roll out a new Library Master Plan to modernize its branches and meet community needs.

However, that same master plan identifies a $50 million library maintenance backlog. It also notes that our library budget is one of the lowest among metropolitan library systems.

Many of the aforementioned issues could be solved or mitigated with additional funding. This is because, at the root, many of these issues are caused — or at least exacerbated — by shoestring budgets that fail to meet the growing needs of the communities the library supports.

A dedicated library maintenance budget (which does not currently exist), for example, would allow the library system to fix branches that have fallen into disrepair. Additional funding could also be used to better equip librarians and other library staff to direct those experiencing homelessness to available services.

More than that, additional revenue sources and funding could allow San Diego’s libraries to expand their services with additional technology resources, programming, and youth and educational programs, as well as the construction or expansion of more branches in the communities that would benefit from them the most.

All of this is possible, but it’s only likely if the community bands together to support initiatives and measures to bolster library funding.

In the master plan process, we’ve heard loud and clear how much San Diegans across the region love their libraries — and for good reason. As spaces that offer equitable access to books, programs, services, and more, libraries occupy a unique place in our communities.

Libraries have always been here for us. I’d like to ask elected officials, community members, and others to demonstrate that we’re here for them, too.

Patrick Stewart is president of Library Foundation SD.

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