A tale of two countries' libraries - Canada vs USA

In recession-wracked U.S. cities they are being targeted for closure. Not so here

Sep 20, 2009 Toronto Star

Lynda Hurst
Feature Writer

EXTRACT: "What Canadians won't be seeing in the years ahead is outsourcing, which is happening in several U.S. states, most famously in Jackson County, Ore.

In 2007, it re-opened the doors to 15 public libraries after a lack of funds had forced them shut, the largest library closure in U.S. history. In the interim, the county outsourced them to a company called Library Systems & Services which now privately manages more than 50 across the U.S.

The American Library Association opposes creeping privatization, calling libraries "not a simple commodity but an essential public good that should be directly accountable to the public they serve."

"That trend," says a thankful Pyper, "is invisible up here." One thing librarians know for sure: The future is going to be expensive, but ensuring that people are literate – in all forms and formats – will pay big dividends, economic and otherwise, down the line."