News Sensibility

The other day a friend posted an article to his Facebook profile. As soon as I saw that it was from Fox News, I knew he was not posting it in support. Fox News isn't even allowed to be on the TV in our house. The only Fox News I ever see is if it's shown on the Daily Show or something of the sort.

Here is the text from the article by Fox reporter Anna Davlantes. I have not edited any of the text, this is simply copied/pasted. (I'll include the link to the article at the end of this note.)

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Are Libraries Necessary, or a Waste of Tax Money?
Published : Monday, 28 Jun 2010, 9:53 PM CDT
Chicago - They eat up millions of your hard earned tax dollars. It's money that could be used to keep your child's school running. So with the internet and e-books, do we really need millions for libraries?
Libraries are quiet havens for the community. They take us to other worlds. They even make us laugh. But should these institutions -- that date back to 1900 B.C. -- be on the way out?
There are 799 public libraries in Illinois. And they’re busy. People borrow more than 88 million times a year.
But keeping libraries running costs big money. In Chicago, the city pumps $120 million a year into them. In fact, a full 2.5 percent of our yearly property taxes go to fund them.
That's money that could go elsewhere – like for schools, the CTA, police or pensions
One of the nation's biggest and busiest libraries is the $144-million Harold Washington Library in the Loop. It boasts a staggering 5,000 visitors a day!.
So we decided to check it out. We used an undercover camera to see how many people used the library and what were they doing.
In an hour, we counted about 300 visitors. Most of them were using the free internet. The bookshelves? Not so much.
We know we spend a lot on them. But libraries do bring in some revenue: more than $2 million in fines is collected annually by Chicago public libraries.

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I grew very angry upon reading this note. I have read it multiple times since it was published, I have shared it with family and friends. And recently, I finally decided that I wanted my voice to be heard. So I sent an e-mail to Ms. Davlantes over at Fox News.

Below is the text (again, directly copied/pasted) from the e-mail I sent to the author of the article.

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Hello Ms. Davlantes,
I am writing a note to you in response to your recent article discussing libraries and tax-payers' "hard-earned" money.
I would like to let you know that I, personally, would be greatly affected if our libraries did not receive funding. I check out a few different books each month as I love to read, and I check out sheet music, CD recordings, DVDs, and other materials. These are things that I would otherwise not have access to due to a limited student budget, but are important in continuing my education.
Your alternative to libraries (the internet and e-books,) all come at an expense - either to have access to the internet, or to purchase a Kindle or other e-reader. Whereas all I need to read my favorite books and find new music is a local address and a government issued ID. Your argument is essentially the same as saying that we should limit the CTA's budget since people could walk place to place; it might not be as convenient, but it's a viable option.
To say that libraries are becoming outdated is just not true. The Elmhurst Public Library alone loaned over 1.5 million items during the last fiscal year. The Elmhurst Public Library's annual fiscal report also showed that while the library took in $6.4 million from the citizens' property taxes, over half of that amount ($3.6 million) was circulated back to the city through library employees' salaries and benefits. In just 11 months, the Naperville Public Library checked out over 4.6 million items. At the Addison Public Library, the average card-holder checks out 14 books each year.
The public library is an extremely important part of the city system. The necessity of the public library is undeniable; it provides community members with free (or discounted) access to materials, resources, and an environment that cannot be found elsewhere.
While the Elmhurst Public Library took in $6.4 million in tax money, they only took in $360,000 from private donors and grants. If one argues that tax money should be redistributed to places other than the public library system, perhaps they themselves could reduce the library's need for tax money and become a private donor to the library.
I would love to continue a discussion on this topic if you wish. I wanted to be sure that you heard a different perspective (that of a college student on a low budget,) in regard to this matter.
With sincere thanks for your time,
kp

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I realize that my reaction note may have been lengthy, and there is a good chance it will never get read. But I wanted to feel like I at least tried. Mary A Dempsey, the Chicago Public Library Commissioner sent an even longer response to Ms. Davlantes. (I'll include a link to Ms. Dempsey's response below as well.)

I recognize the fact that we have to respond to our economic crisis, and soon. But I think Ms. Davlantes is being very senseless in her analysis. She is, in a sense, attacking the smaller communities in order to solve a bigger problem. While I am not an economics expert, nor do I claim to be, I think there are other options to look at in terms of editing the overall budget.

I could also rant for hour, days even, about FOX News. But rather than criticize her entire organization, I will simply respond to the senselessness of this particular article. Perhaps another day I will go off about FOX News. Some day...

Until next time.

kp

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Click here to read the original article by Anna Davlantes.

Click here to read Mary A Dempsey's response to the article.

If you'd like to send an e-mail to Anna Davlantes to share your opinion, here is her e-mail address:
Anna.Davlantes@foxtv.com