The Case for Public Libraries in the Context of Inflation and High Taxes

Libraries provide substantial value for your tax dollars.

With inflation seemingly always rising and taxes staying as high as ever, many disgruntled citizens are hoping the government will find places where they can pinch a few pennies here and there. Of course, the funding has to come from somewhere, so whatever the government decides to save money with will have to scale back. As a result, the worth of many public institutions is being reexamined, libraries included. Let’s take a look at why libraries continue to be a sound use of tax dollars, even in the face of this recession.

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Free Access to Information

The first and most prominent benefit of funding libraries is the continued access to information and knowledge that they provide. Without proper funding, local libraries cannot provide their communities with relevant, up-to-date, interesting books and information, ultimately making their mission more difficult. Keeping libraries funded is the key to a more literate, well-educated society, so they’re an indispensable use of your tax dollars.

Space for the Community to Unite

In addition to their roles as information hubs, libraries often serve as a place for the local community to gather and grow closer. Whether in the form of events, fundraisers, family-friendly read-alongs, or anything else in between, libraries bring the community together in a way that no other public institution can claim to do. To ensure that they can continue uniting the community, however, we must also ensure that libraries receive the funding they need to keep the lights on.

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Support for Community Members

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, libraries support individual members of the community in times of need or crisis, propping up the disadvantaged parts of the community when no other public institution will. This has often been seen in cases like natural disasters, food shortages, or even economic stress like the recession we’re seeing now, at which times libraries will step up to host fundraisers, food drives, or even temporarily convert parts of their buildings into shelters to provide for those harmed by the circumstances.

If they don’t receive sufficient funding, however, libraries will be unable to provide the community with these absolutely critical services. And in times of need, they may simply not have the resources to do what needs to be done. In short, by protecting your local libraries’ funding, you’re investing in a better, safer future for not only yourself but your entire community as well.

If you’d like to learn more about what libraries do, the struggles they’re facing lately, or how to help them, visit us at the EveryLibrary blog today!

Visit www.everylibrary.org to learn more about our work on behalf of libraries. 

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