Why I am a library lover but not a library member
I run a small consulting business that exclusively works in the public library sector – supporting the strategic positioning and performance of libraries and the great work they do to build communities and empower individuals.
I am a user of library services – regularly downloading eBooks, using their wifi, working and studying in library spaces.
I am an analyst who knows as much as there is to know about Australian library statistics and the power of good quantitative and qualitative data in advocating for public libraries.
I am not a library member.
Every time I explain this to a library manager or staffer they look at me puzzled. Surely the best way I can serve my local library’s interests is to sign up as a member.
Well I could do that, and one day I probably will. For I am a fully paid up member of my beloved AFL club, local NRL club and a few other things as well. But for now I deliberately hold out on becoming a library member. Why? Well it’s like this.
I passionately believe in the value of libraries in communities, and in my view one of the greatest attributes of a public library is that it is free and open to all. Anyone can walk in the door of the library, accept the greeting of the welcoming staff, find a comfortable place to sit and read a newspaper, magazine or book. In most libraries I can seamlessly log in to the free wifi as I am in the fortunate position of having my own device. But if I wasn’t I could still access a PC or tablet to find some information, pay my bills or check the timetable for the next train home. I can do this at my closest library, and because I live in the “lucky country” I can do that in any one of more than 1,400 locations across Australia.
This costs me nothing, although I understand that paying my rates contributes to the running of my local library. I don’t have to pay a fee to enter. I don’t have to ask permission. I don’t have to give my name or even talk to anyone. As long as I behave myself and don’t cause a nuisance I can stay until closing time.
This is the best deal in the world, and to be honest I would pay higher Council rates if I had to. And I get that it matters to elected officials that the number of library members is a pretty good indicator of reach into the community and bang for public bucks. But there are others in our community for whom things are not so simple.
They might not want to hand over their personal details (even though you and I know that the library will hold them securely and not use them inappropriately).
They might be housing insecure and not have a permanent address (even though you and I know that many libraries can work around the absence of a fixed address on their systems).
They might be fleeing domestic violence, concerned that they can be tracked through their library membership.
They might be old and not trust people with their phone number (Hi Mum).
They might just be battling whatever demons are in their head today.
We, the privileged, know that you can trust the library, and that you are better signed up and informed than not being a library member. But if that perceived hurdle to library entry causes anyone to turn away before crossing the library threshold then I want to stand up for them.
By symbolically retaining my non-member status I get to present this argument every time I find myself in front of an audience that might have forgotten about the many different ways that libraries build inclusion and resilience. Libraries are free, libraries are for all. Everyone welcome, no one left behind. So I say my bit and move on, and maybe that little example sticks in someone’s head and it influences a decision they make in 2 weeks’ … 2 months’ … 2 years’ time. Maybe it doesn’t, I don’t know.
For now, that’s my position, and I’m happy to point you to any number of indicators in addition to membership that will tell you if you’re delivering a great library service or not.
And ‘Yes’ – I’m a complete hypocrite, because as astute readers will have observed I still manage to borrow 40+ eBooks from the library in any year. I have a wife who is a member of 6 or 7 or 8 different library services and she borrows them for me. Which just proves the point that the library membership metric is a significant underestimate of the true reach of the library as we all know there are many primary library members who regularly borrow items for their children and/or partner.
Bottom line – from someone who has made a healthy living out of data. Don’t let data drive your decision-making without: i) placing that data in the context of the real world in which it exists; and ii) also contemplating the intended and potential unintended consequences of that data-driven decision.