Smack. and. Down.

Fox News in Chicago recently ran a story about the Chicago public library system. In the article, journalist Anna Davlantes questions whether libraries are really worth the taxpayer dollars it takes to run them, and if that money would perhaps be better spent elsewhere. Her question is, "So with the internet and e-books, do we really need millions for libraries?"

In order to determine how many people use the library and what they are using it for, she placed an "undercover camera" in (what turned out to be lower-traffic spot in) the library. Based on her findings, Davlantes decided that people only go to the library to use the free Internet.

Which . . . just goes to show that not only does she not use libraries, but she didn't bother to actually get any real information about the people who do. The whole article is short, poorly researched, and does nothing other than give the bunker-dwellers more blind fodder for shutting down libraries.

Only then. Then, the Chicago Public Library Commissioner Mary A. Dempsey responded with a letter that delivered the "smack. and. down." referred to in this post's title. (Which, I must tell you, is a cleaner version of what first came to me upon reading the thing, which was "b****. and. slap.")

I can't post it here, it's too long. But it is too, too, entirely too good to pass up. Seriously. Go read it right now. You have to. And then check out some of the comments because they are awesome too.

Tiny note: Dempsey references the "digital divide" in her letter, which is librarianspeak for how, more and more, access to computers & the ability to use them makes a big difference between the "haves" and the "have-nots." People are frequently required to use computers and go online in order to do things like apply for jobs or for unemployment benefits. But you are less likely to have a computer and Internet access (or to even know how to use a computer) if you are poor or unemployed. Which is how people end up at the library, because that's where they're told to go. Even though we are limited in the amount of time we can spend helping each person, at least we can help a little bit.

Also? She points out that the 74 branches of the Chicago Public Library circulated over 10 million items last year. Which leads me to point out that the 19 branches of the Salt Lake County library circulated over 15 million. So, you know, tiny boo-yah there. I'm just saying.

Posted in: library gossip