The following is the statement made by Kathy Kaplan, Reston public library advocate, at last night's meeting at the Oakton Public Library on the future of the County's public libraries.
Between 2006 and January 2014 we have lost the
equivalent of four and a half regional libraries. 460,522 holdings. There are state regulations that govern
libraries. There is even a PRIME
DIRECTIVE. (Remember Star Trek?) You probably didn’t know there was a prime
directive for the library. And you may
be surprised to learn it is included in the Virginia Code.
Virginia’s public library systems are deemed part
of the state’s provision for public
education. (Code of Virginia § 42.1-46. Library policy of the
Commonwealth. It is hereby declared to be the policy of the Commonwealth, as a
part of its provision for public education, to promote the establishment and
development of public library service throughout its various political
subdivisions.)
The library is not a provision for recreation. A library is not a community center. A
library is more than a supplier of popular books. A library is Virginia’s provision for public
education. Public education. This is the PRIME DIRECTIVE.
These four books were
the last copies in the Fairfax County Library collection. Had they been left in the collection they
would have continued to provide content for the self-directed education of our
citizens. As it is, they are evidence of
a deliberate and malevolent misuse of county property, a violation covered in
Virginia Code 15.2-2511.2.
We need a new Library
Strategic Plan. We need an independent
entity to manage the new survey. Library
Administration has violated of the Code of Virginia by misusing public property. These four books were discarded in February
and April 2014. And that was after the
Beta Plan was voted down by the Board of Supervisors last November.
We need a re-dedication of the library as a
center for literacy and learning and to acknowledge the library’s PRIME
DIRECTIVE as written into the Code of Virginia.
Between 2006 and 2014, how many books were added?
ReplyDeleteThere are plenty of other groups to blame for the decrease in the library's total number of books in its collection, not just library administration. The library's budget has been cut for several years now and the impact has been fewer books and staff.
ReplyDeleteThe Board of Supervisors, Fairfax County Government, and taxpayers all have to share the responsibility for the current state of our library system. Unfortunately, all we hear and read in different blogs and online articles are focused on blaming library administration and nobody else. The reality is a bit more complex and solutions will require moving on from what happened last year.