Civic Library: libraries often look like ghost towns with few staff left. Photo: Michelle Kroll.
Libraries have always been seen as pillars of civilisation, especially since Benjamin Franklin invented the free borrowing model in the early United States as part of his passion for a self-educating democratic society.
The internet and digitisation might have put a dent in the modern library’s prestige, but reports of the death of books have been proven to be premature.
Despite the ridiculous ease with which we can find information these days, to the point that the thought of going without it can send one into a panic, the printed word has not disappeared; the tactile portable dog-eared book has survived and thrived.
Book shops, book clubs, and sales like Lifeline’s now legendary events have not gone the way of the dodo. In fact, the book’s stature as the medium for serious and enjoyable reading has only been reinforced.
So why do Canberra’s libraries look so gutted these days, with great stretches of carpet where the shelves once stood, the places feeling like ghost towns with few staff left and often having to close because there aren’t enough people to keep the doors open?
Some may remember the Libraries ACT: Imagine 2030 consultation conducted in 2021 and 2022. Whatever people wanted certainly hasn’t been delivered because libraries have continued to go backwards since then.
My partner tried to borrow a book online last week, but there were already 25 requests, a queue that would stretch into the second half of 2028.
This is nothing new to Region readers.
“The wait times for some books are actually obscene,” says one.
Others who have returned to Canberra after a few years away are shocked by the libraries’ decline.
“I went into Tuggeranong Library after not having been in it for years and was shocked by how few books it actually contained. The non-fiction section in particular is a pathetic shadow of what it once was. It looked like it had fallen victim to a despotic book cull.”
One says their book club is dying because members can’t borrow the book but can’t afford to buy new books all the time.
Sadly, others say they haven’t been back to their local library for years because it no longer provides what they need.
“I was gobsmacked. They hardly had any books! How do you run a library without books?”
That indicates the kind of death spiral libraries have been in as budgets shrink, the digital alternatives are overhyped, and managers respond to fewer patrons by reducing offerings and services even more.
Yes, you get everything on the internet, but increasingly it’s like picking through a tip site to find what you are looking for, rabbit holes and all, and the spectre of AI is haunting anybody with an interest in truth, providence and ideas.
The core business of libraries is books, so refilling the shelves should be a priority. They also make superb community hubs that are able to offer other services.
The government will point to the investment in Woden Library in recent years, but you still can’t ignore the reason for being there in the first place.
The impact of the internet on libraries is undeniable, but they can be revived with adequate budgets and will. It is just a matter of how much of both the government has.
A strategic plan is due to be released in the final quarter of this year. Perhaps then there might be a start on restoring the ACT’s libraries, but the decade is slipping away.
Greens MLA Andrew Braddock, who sponsored a petition that has attracted strong enough support to warrant a committee inquiry (but we’ve been there before), has been gingering up the government with a recent motion passed in the Legislative Assembly on staffing and services.
The government is due to report back at the end of the month.
Any further decline in these pillars of civilisation would be a tragic loss for the community and an indictment of government.
The Libraries ACT Must Meet National Standards Petition, sponsored by Andrew Braddock, closes on 15 May.
