ALA 2010: Library Journal Helps Launch LosingLibraries.org
By Norman Oder, LJ Jun 25, 2010In an effort to map and chronicle the full range of cuts, closings, and diminished library services nationally, Library Journal, in partnership with Mandy Knapp and Laura Solomon (responsible for SaveOhioLibraries.com), has launched LosingLibraries.org.
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The dynamic website, which relies on reader contributions, has begun to track—via links to articles, announcements, and press releases—the myriad cuts and changes affecting public libraries around the country.
Color-coded tags indicate which kind of cuts have been implemented, including branch closures, staff layoffs, and reduced hours. The map also overlays the changing annual picture since the recession began in 2008.
A tool for advocacy
"We don't want it to be just a portrait of the bad," LJ Editor-in-Chief Francine Fialkoff said today at a luncheon in Washington, DC, in honor of LJ's 2010 Movers & Shakers, whose ranks include Knapp and Solomon. (The American Library Association is holding its Annual Conference in Washington this weekend.)
Knapp and Solomon's Ohio website mobilized library advocates to fight back against extremely harsh proposed budget cuts, and Fialkoff wants LosingLibraries.org to be a similar resource.
"We want it to push people to take action," she said, noting that contributors also can send links to local organizations and groups fighting for libraries. "We hope that this will not just let people know what's happening but provoke response, and show how communities are fighting back."
Editorial
In an editorial appearing in LJ's July issue (to be posted shortly), Fialkoff makes the case for LosingLibraries.org, stating that "someone needs to be telling the story of how public libraries, an essential national institution, are under assault."
Visit ALA Annual Conference News for ongoing coverage of the conference by the editors of Library Journal and School Library Journal.
