Doug Johnson Website

Do We Really Need to Have Both School and Public Libraries
Real Questions, Good Answers, Knowledge Quest, Vol #2 no. 3

Many public officials have finally figured out that the public doesn’t really care about what pocket a public service is paid for. As a taxpayer, do I really care if the park is funded by the city, county or state so long as the trash cans are emptied and the picnic tables are splinter-free? If my car breaks down along a deserted stretch of road late at night, does it make much difference if it’s a highway patrol officer or a city police officer that radios for the tow truck? When my son needs tennis lessons, I am more concerned about price, convenience, and instructional quality than if the lessons are provided by a city league, the YMCA, or the school district.

Let’s face it. The vast majority of folks don’t care where they get their information so long as it convenient, reasonably-priced, and of high quality either. So why do we need to have both a public library system and a school library system? Can’t one general library serve all a community’s information needs? Why do we need to fund multiple physical plants, multiple collections of resources, and multiple staff salaries?

Those of us who are librarians or are on library boards can speak elegantly and at length about how our respective programs and facilities have very different, and at time conflicting roles and missions. And those things are true. But most political types interpret things like “roles” and “missions” as a smokescreen that hides professional infighting - as just turf protection by librarians, boards, and school officials. In an era where governmental efficiencies are defined by reducing costs (and taxes) while improving services, merging what seem like duplicate services seems to be a no-brainer. And when the public libraries or school libraries or both do not seem to be functioning especially well, the temptation to turn all library services over to the healthier unit can be very great.

There are a few very real, very pragmatic reasons why librarians, educators, and public library users are reluctant to try a single school/public program in a single facility. Some questions related to these concerns need to be answered.

Where will the library be located? School libraries are best located in schools where students and teachers have ready access. Big surprise. Transporting students to an off-site location involves time, expense, and lots of liability insurance. Public libraries are best located in high traffic areas with convenient parking. The public is often reluctant to enter school buildings, feeling intimidated by the students (high school kids can seem big and scary to little old people) and faculty (do I really want to run into my old biology whose car windows I soaped).
Who will have access to the library during what times? Public libraries serve all citizens regardless of health, mental stability, or cleanliness. A patron has to commit a criminal act to be barred from the public library. Many a homeless soul finds not only intellectual stimulus, but physical comfort in the public library, especially here in Minnesota in January. Schools, on the other hand, have a duty to ensure the safety of the children who attend them. Most buildings have careful screening and sign-ins of visitors and an identification system for security purposes. If specific patrons are limited to specific times (the public may use the facility only from 5:00PM to 9:00PM and on weekends), access is significantly curtailed for many users - home schoolers, pre-school children, and the elderly who may have transportation difficulties. If access is controlled through limiting patrons to specific physical areas of the library, what savings are gained by simply having two libraries in one location?
What materials will the library hold and who will be able to use them? The range of resources the public library can and should make available to its users is far broader than that which the school provides its users. A rounded collection ranging from popular magazines to sex help books to the latest potboiler from the best seller list to an unrestricted Internet are all expected by an active information-seeking public. School library collections are carefully targeted to meet specific curriculum and developmental needs. Internet use needs to be monitored and used to support learning. Teachers depend on large segments of the collection to be available during particular units.

Does this mean that schools and libraries shouldn’t look at ways to provide efficient service more cost effectively through cooperation. Of course not. The public can and should expect:

Clear and open communication and planning between schools and public libraries. There needs to be a clear area-wide plan to help plan summer reading programs, adult education needs, and extended hours for school media centers. Schools are deliberately expanding their roles as year-round, 24-hours community-wide assets, not just places for children ages five to eighteen, but for all a community’s taxpaying (and voting) citizens. Before schools and public libraries experience “mission clash,” officials from both entities should openly discuss who can and should provide what services to the public.
Shared resources, training, and targeted buying. Good inter-library loan opportunities and policies, aided by publicly available library catalog access to both school and public collections, can stretch a communities resources a long way. In library systems with smaller patron bases, items like expensive journals, reference materials, or on-line databases can be jointly purchased or readily shared. Again, good communication between libraries will be essential.
Commitments by governing bodies of both libraries for adequate support. Neither schools nor local governments should look at using library sharing/cooperation as a way to shift their responsibility for providing library service to their students and citizens. Successful collaborations will exist only when both sides see that all agencies are pulling their own weight. Remember that cost reduction should only be half the reason behind such sharing efforts; improved library service should also be a goal.

As an educational leader or community official, I would urge you to visit both an exemplary public and school library facility near you as you deliberate whether a joint facility may be right for your community. Check for any state guidelines pertaining to operating joint libraries. And keep excellence in information services in your community as your fundamental goal during your planning efforts. Both strong public libraries and healthy schools are genuine assets to an area’s economic development.