A New Op/Ed by David Leonard, President of the Boston Public Library: “The Assault on Libraries Must End”

From the Boston Globe (Op/Ed by David Leonard, President of the Boston Public Library):

Although this is National Library Week, our nation’s libraries find themselves under threat. An executive order is effectively dismantling the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the federal agency that supports libraries and museums across the country; on March 31, its entire staff was placed on leave.

Simultaneously, an upcoming Supreme Court ruling will decide on the constitutionality of the funding mechanism for the E-Rate program, which has successfully delivered connectivity funding to both rural and urban schools and libraries for the past 20 years.

Great harm will come from the loss of these programs and services. Smaller libraries, which rely most heavily on these funding sources, will be disproportionately impacted; reducing resources in those communities who need them most will continue to widen the gap between wealthy and underserved communities.

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Without these vital spaces of learning and access for all, our democracy risks eroding further from within. As the structures that fund and support our libraries are systematically dismantled, we as a society must protect these institutions by championing access to information and fostering inclusion.

Read the Complete Op/Ed (about 750 words)

Note: An archived version is also available.

Filed under: Funding, Libraries, National Libraries, News, Public Libraries