A Letter Concerning A Reduction Of Library Services

 This is a letter I wrote to the Salem City Council and Budget Committee concerning the possibility of reducing the public library's budget. In all honesty, I wish I could take this further, but wanted to keep the length short while still hitting key points. I found some excellent articles and relevant issues in my research that I wasn't able to cover.  I was particularly interested in the many roles a library takes on in a community as well as the disappearing safe locations for youth and adults to gather in towns and cities. 

I hope this letter can serve as an act of support for the community at the least and potentially a spring board for others and their own research.

Notice: Blogger does not allow for indented paragraphs for long quotations. In lieu of this formatting option I will be using single quotations.

***

Esteemed members of the city council,

Salem is facing a budget problem and somehow our library’s future has been placed squarely in the center of this fight. Many members of our society have spoken, over the years, on how valuable libraries are to a city. What is the benefit to a community? I can tell you my personal experience, but I can also tell you what citizens who have studied this very problem have discovered, in their own words.

I have lived in Salem since I was a small child. I spent an enormous amount of time in the children’s book section during the summer. It felt like a safe space. Participating in summer reading programs was a huge boon to my cultural and general education as a child. As a young teen I often spent half a day in the library studying for papers with the resources offered. The internet was new at the time. I learned to use a search engine from a librarian to find scholarly articles. I received help looking at old newspapers for historical information, and used periodicals to browse subjects I simply wanted to know more about. The library was a place I could feel at home and supplement my education. Today, it still serves as this type of place even as the world has changed. I have gained and still gain research skills and curiosity about subjects that improve my education and they follow me into adulthood and have aided me in my career, hobbies, and everyday life. Most importantly the library helps me to feel a part of a community, a member of the city of Salem.

In a 2015 article from NPR, entitled “Do We Really need libraries?” by Linton Weeks, sums up why libraries are important to any community.

'What are the benefits of libraries in this day and age?

Like a good librarian, Tony Marx of the New York Public Library has some answers. Today's libraries still lend books, he says. But they also provide other services to communities, such as free access to computers and Wi-Fi, story times to children, language classes to immigrants and technology training to everyone.

"Public libraries are arguably more important today than ever before," Marx says. "Their mission is still the same — to provide free access to information to all people. The way people access information has changed, but they still need the information to succeed, and libraries are providing that."

Or as Andrew Carnegie said many years ago: "A library outranks any other thing a community can do to benefit its people. It is a never failing spring in the desert." '

Libraries help our entire community thrive. If people, younger and older, have a place they can learn and grow as our society changes and our city has the capability to provide that space, we all benefit. Fostering community involvement, ensuring our city has a bright future, and giving everyone this exceptional service that the librarians and programs provide, is just as important as providing police and fire and other city services. It is another type of security in the community. “A library is a place of safety, a haven from the world.” (“Why We Need Libraries”)

Citizens all over the country prefer to live and visit where there is a working and thriving library system. In Minnesota “[p]eople prefer to live near a public library if they have a choice, and often perceive library access as part of an enhanced quality of life.” (“Create and Strengthen Communities - Libraries Matter") Libraries are often visited as tourist destinations or by new residents to a city. “Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh is the area's most visited regional asset. The Main Library in Oakland alone is the second most visited destination[.]” ("Library as Tourist Destination") The reason for this gravitation towards libraries is not just the physical books and librarians, although they can offer a huge draw on their own. The library as a physical community meeting space with a focus on education and communication seems to be a main reason for frequent visits. In an ALA document regarding Wisconsin public libraries entitled "Public libraries provide valuable meeting spaces,” this topic is discussed.

'Many interviewees place a great deal of importance on the value of a comfortable public library facility where they can gather, especially as opportunities for social interaction have decreased in the wake of more people seeking out services online[.]'

Salem is no different. The decrease of hours and staffing would greatly reduce the ability of community members to hold meetings, socialize outside of their homes, and seek the essential services provided by the library.

Our library has recently undergone a beautiful new upgrade. To reduce staffing and hours to a bare minimum would be a waste of needed, and already funded, resources. Many libraries throughout the country have updated their facilities to keep up with growing community needs, as Jennifer Howard explains for The National Endowment For Humanities:

'To keep up with changing technology and user expectations, public libraries have invested in more computer terminals and Wi-Fi capability. They have upgraded and expanded facilities to provide more outlets, meeting rooms, study spaces, and seating that patrons can use for extended periods of time as they take advantage of free Wi-Fi.'

In addition to these upgrades, Salem has a somewhat unique set of needs. Like any city, we have a changing set of demographics whose needs cannot be met by the same standards of a city in a totally different state. Salem is the Capital of Oregon. With that status comes certain responsibilities. The entire state looks to us as well as Portland as a leader. With that in mind I would like to address our unique demographics. Salem has a high percentage of Spanish speaking residents. On Census.gov the city of Salem has a 22.8% hispanic or latino population, which is greater than the national average of 19.1% hispanic or latino citizens. (“US Census Bureau”) While this population may or may not speak Spanish, this data suggests there is a higher likelihood of Salem benefitting from Spanish programming and bilingual librarians than many libraries in the country. Salem also has more citizens under the age of 18 than the national average. Salem has a percentage of 23.2% people under the age of 18 and the national average is 21.7%. (“US Census Bureau”) Teens need a safe place to hang out and study and in my trips to our library I have seen teens using the library as such a space. To limit everyone’s ability to use this space and all that it offers would do great harm to the community.

I would like to end by giving gratitude to the Salem Public Library. The library has gone through adversity in my time living in Salem, and grown stronger from the challenges. The services the library provides are immeasurable, such as: mobile apps, concerts, study rooms, the library of things, self check out, free parking, movie and music check out, wifi, computers, reading programs, cultural programs, arts and crafts programs, language lessons and services, child enrichment, space for community meetings, compiling Salem’s history, and of course books. Imagine our city with a 20% reduction of these services, 30% reduction or even greater. Community members would have less places to spend time, socialize, gather, learn, and grow. The alternatives would create strain on other city services, and create a deficit in community involvement for years to come.

Please consider other options than drastically limiting the library’s budget. There are other areas where we can ask volunteers to fill in to help such as in areas of our parks, police support, or fire support, or find a compromise that does not severely limit a needed service such as the library. Reducing services that create community only limits our community. Let’s build our community.

I really appreciate your time in hearing me on this important issue. Thank you to the city council and employees of the city for your attention to this matter.

Lisa Miller

Citations

Weeks, Linton. “Do We Really Need Libraries?” NPR, NPR, 5 May 2015, www.npr.org/sections/npr-history-dept/2015/05/05/403529103/do-we-really-need-libraries.

Gaiman, Neil, and Chris Riddell. “Neil Gaiman and Chris Riddell on Why We Need Libraries – an Essay in Pictures.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 6 Sept. 2018, www.theguardian.com/books/gallery/2018/sep/06/neil-gaiman-and-chris-riddell-on-why-we-need-libraries-an-essay-in-pictures.

"Create and Strengthen Communities - Libraries Matter", American Library Association, dynamically generated page. http://www.ala.org/tools/research/librariesmatter/category/create-and-strengthen-communities (Accessed April 14, 2024)

"Library as Tourist Destination", American Library Association, July 15, 2011. http://www.ala.org/tools/research/librariesmatter/library-tourist-destination (Accessed April 14, 2024) Document ID: b4186f44-c45e-cec4-4de6-6bbb0e3a0242

"Public libraries provide valuable meeting spaces", American Library Association, February 29, 2012. http://www.ala.org/tools/research/librariesmatter/public-libraries-provide-valuable-meeting-spaces (Accessed April 15, 2024) Document ID: dff4410a-cb3c-c0e4-91e4-0c60a920abef

Howard, Jennifer, et al. “The Complicated Role of the Modern Public Library.” The National Endowment for the Humanities, 7 Nov. 2019, www.neh.gov/article/complicated-role-modern-public-library.(Accessed April 14, 2024)

U.S. Census Bureau Quickfacts: Salem City, Oregon; United States, www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/salemcityoregon,US/PST045222. Accessed 15 Apr. 2024.

Powerless: a diary of the blackout in Oregon

Friday

The freezing rain started thursday night and continued into friday evening

I took some macro pictures and scraped the layer of ice off of my car so I could make a quick run to the pharmacy

We lost power at 530pm on Friday night, just as dinner was being prepared

We ate cold left overs instead

The power company fixed some of the power and said our apartment would be fixed the next day

We read books and tried to play guitar by candlelight 

Saturday

A heavy ice storm hit saturday morning damaging many trees, power lines, buildings, cars, and more

The world looked like an ice sculpture

I resisted the urge to take photos and helped to clear branches and a tree from the road instead

Glad we always have at least one hand saw around

We collected ice that fell from the trees and bagged it to keep the fridge and freezer cold

We also drove a short loop to see damage and charge phones

Dinner was cold leftovers again

Vegetarian sloppy joes are pretty good cold

We read books and I played solitaire by candlelight and flashlight

Outside the air was thick with haze and smoke as people with woodstoves burned wet wood

Sunday

The next day tens of thousands of people lost power, even more than saturday, as the ice melted and more trees fell

We heard transformers blow like several gunshots

It was valentine's day

We got snacks at the store, and a bottle of champagne 

On the drive we saw the power company making their way down the neighborhood, block by block

Much progress was made, several street lights came online, less four way stops to worry about

We went on a walk to stay warm

The apartment temp was as cold as outside by now and we were wearing several layers of clothing

A family member with power ordered us pizza and we were extremely grateful for the hot food and good pizza

If they need help with damage repairs I hope they know we are there for them

We listened to music and drank champagne while playing rummikub

Monday

Monday morning got warmer, which was good for morale and health but bad for our food

The food started to go bad in the fridge, the freezer still had some good items and we started to eat them

My parents very kindly let us take showers at their place and lent us a cook stove

We were so grateful, hopfully we can help them with their roof damage if they need it 

We shopped for a lantern or some sort of light, more food and searched for wifi, then grabbed burgers as it was getting dark

We heard power might be out for the whole week

I am grateful for water and candles as well as gas in the car and family

I hope my sister is doing okay as I just heard she lost power and water a couple days after we did

Maybe the power will be on tomorrow

Tuesday

The day was a blur

We hoped for power, but after we heard that our powerline was restored the power company marked our complex as having power

It did not have power and so a neighbor called management who thought it was only our building and we called the power company who said it was the entire complex

This prompted my parents to call the power company and they found that they were marked as having power restored when in fact the whole street was without power

We read books most of the day

Then we cooked chili by camp stove on the balcony

The temperature got colder again tonight, I could feel it

I fell asleep reading my book by lantern light

Wednesday

This morning I woke a few times to trucks and chainsaws

The tree service and landscapers came back to do more work

Brian thought he heard someone talking about power outside, asking when it will be on and they said they can't really say but could get to it today after fixing a downed powerline nearby

We went for another walk

I noticed that one of the apartments has a daily letter board with short odd messages throughout the blackout, I don't always understand them but they amuse me

I found out my sister had her power turned on earlier today and my parents power came on tonight

We went to my parents house to get warm, heat up food, go online and watch movies

Their cable is spotty but the internet works so I caught up on the week's news and emails and the warmth felt good

Hopefully the power will be on tomorrow, and hopefully management can help

We called them to tell them about the loud crack we heard when the power went out which might have been one of the power boxes on property and how long the outage has been

The street sweepers were sweeping up the road gravel at 10pm, a clean road is one step closer to normal I suppose

Thursday

And Ode To The Trees After A Storm

Stumpy winter tree , grown straight and tall as an overgrown coat hanger

Windswept trees reaching for the eastern sky catching precarious branches within their grasp

Trees laying down where once they stood

Fragile trees blown apart under duress

Cut up circles of trees 

Sawn off branches in neat piles

Tall proud mountain trees unafraid of the weather

Come spring buds will blossom, leaves will grow, but the memory of ice will remain

Cold today again and rainy, snow-like rain that hits the car windshield like a melted flake, but no snow thank goodness 

Called the management for an update, nothing new

Went for a charging drive and got warm too

Called power company to see if they had all the info about what happened just in case later on and they said nothing much new, just that we were in a hard hit area and there had been 400 calls from our complex, which makes sense

We are still the only large place without power in our immediate area as far as we can tell, with the exception of a house here and there

Got more chili and snacks at the store

We read, ate dinner, and waited for a package that never came

I was chilled during the night, probably need to move around more

Friday

Slept late, still no package which is our weekly food delivery

The bread, peanut butter, dried fruit and seeds are great to have for breakfast, sometimes I have avocado instead, but I'm out of them now

I stretched really good and got the blood flowing again, no more chill

I wonder how people stretch on a snowy mountain climb if they get chilled, in all that gear and in tiny tents? 

I'm really starting to feel it today on day 7

I miss warmth and hot water

Glad I live in a temperate climate though

I think the temperature has stayed between 34 and 50, mostly in the low 40s.

We hiked the croisan scenic trail as far as we could and there were less downed trees than I imagined, except a patch of beautiful old maples or oaks which are now gone

We passed a two person crew who cleared much of the fallen limbs

Found a nearby neighborhood with no electricity, so we aren't the only ones without power back in this area

It is a neighborhood known for its tall trees and many of the oaks came down or lost limbs

Came home and read

Went to parents again to heat up soup, take showers, and do a little laundry

We got to watch some tv, which was nice

Apartment parkinglot was half empty last, so people are finding other places to sleep

Saturday

Another day

Temperature rose to about 48

Was able to get public wifi on a street corner nearby

Got our food delivery, which included as much nonpareshables as they had available

Read most of the day until there was a flash of light from the light bulbs for a second in the bedroom where we were reading by windowlight

It was 5pm, hopefully this is a good sign

For dinner we got fancy and combined chili and italian soup

As dinner was cooking outside, the electricity came back on for good

I was way too excited, but it had been 8 days with no electricity or heat, except for the car and the couple visits to family

I feel for others who are in a poorer situation, I am very aware this could have been much much worse

As of this post, there are still ~27,500 homes without power in Oregon

P o e t r y

~1~
Come Out And Play

When will the sun come out and play

The sun has hidden beneath a shroud

Heat radiates from behind a cloud

It suffocates an open wound

Why won't the sun come out and play

Like it did the day before

The light casts a sickly hue

Not dusk or dawn, but muted grey

I asked the sun, "Please, come out and play"

"No," came the distant reply

Echoing like thunder in the cloudy sky

Boom, flash, away birds fly

Light came trickling softly, slowly

I did not say a word

The sound of wetness undeterred

Just rain drops, drip, drop

~2~
Conversation

Let us walk and

I will talk with you.

How I should move my mouth?

I can't recall.

Nervous, heart pounding

Drowning out your voice.

I forgot the words

To my favorite song.

I hear a sound;

Shouts and screams in shrill nuance.

Silence is preferred.

I can't remember how to speak,

I forgot the words.

~3~
5 Haiku For Modern Times

A Summery haze

Blankets the perfect valley

Forests are burning

Gentle breezes drift

Fall fragrance filling the air

Masks cover noses 

The Winter Finch perched

Softly chirping a sweet song

Far away from home

A bountiful spring

flows freely from the mountain

And is bottled fresh

A beautiful mess

Healthy fungus breaks down wood

Natural decay

-2020, L.A. Miller

Photo of The Day, end of July

 A photography project in which I take (at least one) photo a day with my Sony A7 and a single lens. The first week I used the Canon 500mm manual focus. This is a fun lens. It has mirrors in addition to glass elements, aiding in the magnification, creating a lighter telephoto lens. I also used a Jupiter-11 135mm f4 from 1976. This is a cheap but beautiful rendering lens. Apologies for the quality of some of the photos. There was a heat wave that made for an interesting challenge.

July 14th

July 15th

July 24th

July 26th

July 27th

July 28th

July 28th

photos copyright 2020 L. A. Miller

New Times, New Habits

It's been 147 days since Covid-19 lockdown began for me; 2 more months and that's half a year. I started thinking about how my life has changed and what new habits I started because of the new normal. Not all of my new habits are a direct result of the pandemic, but I made changes for better or worse to adapt to a new way of life. Most of us have a few new habits that are obvious. We wash our hands when we come home, after unpacking groceries, and after touching any new or foriegn surface. We wear masks like we wear pants; they are necessary for decency and hygeine. These odd or tactful habits are fitting to new situations. 

I formed new habits without the consultation of the WHO or CDC, and sometimes I wonder what led me to that particular habit. For instance, I use paper towels now. I dislike paper towels for various environmental reasons, but now I am an avid user of the product. One reason is that I do not have a clothes washer or drier, I have access to a comunal laundromat. So, this disposable product found its way back into my life. The other reason for the paper towels leads me to another new habit: I clean with bleach now. I have not used straight bleach to clean since college. I recently used a combination of vinegar, lysol and clorox wipes. The latter of those products are like diamonds, very rare and expensive. (And, yes Clorox wipes are disposable, but less waste than buying multiple products.)

Other habits that intrigue me are my new clothing habits. Aside from mask wearing, I now wear more head coverings when I go outside. I used to wear baseball caps, but now I wear them more often. I also wear bandanas on my head. I tuck my shirts in too. I used to hate tucking in my shirt, having grown up in the pop-punk era of skate boards and surf wear. But, now I feel all clean and put together when I tuck my shirt in, don a cap, and mask.

I love my hobbies more. I have always had numerous hobbies since I first banged away on my parents piano, picked up my pink 110 camera, drew rainbows and sunsets in watercolor, and rode my bike around the neighborhood. But recently, hobbies seem like important sanity savers. The world is burning and corporations and tyrants are playing chess with our lives; we deserve a little sanity to get us through. And so, I make an effort to draw, write, photograph, and garden every week.

Speaking of sanity, my most helpful new habit is listening to calming music. It helps me think, breathe easier, and be calmer. These times make me want to be an angry punk. Relaxtion is necessary so I can get angry when I want, and not stay angry. 

Last of all, I get grocery deliveries. I never thought I would do a food delivery service, but here we are. I kind of love it. I get fresh veggies, some new foods to try, and I feel healthier. I hate shopping, so this was a great change.

Change can be good, if we are able to adapt with ease and flexibility.