Libraries and Democracy

It was recently observed that were the concept of a public library proposed today – books being made available to all community members free of charge – it would never be approved.  Although public libraries are of course underwritten by taxpayers in their local communities – it would be argued from a neoliberal point of view that this business model is not sustainable.  Where is the profit margin?  What are the tangible gains?

As you’re aware – the concept of democracy derives from the ancient Greeks, introducing the system of government where citizens hold power.  The word democracy combines the Greek demos [people] and kratos [power], a compelling idea, particularly when applied to the United States’ Declaration of Independence being based on We the People.

Ancient libraries in Greece and Egypt recorded and distributed knowledge, first on stone tablets, then migrating to papyrus scrolls.  Scholars perceived the need to document, preserve, and distribute their findings with peers and their communities.  The history of civilizations has always depended on active and robust exchange of knowledge with stakeholders.  It would not be an understatement to declare that some consider the book to be the greatest human invention of all time.  Development of the printing press was truly transformative and indeed revolutionary by exploding the ability to broadcast literature, philosophy, and scientific research to a large public at affordable cost.

As we celebrate the 250th Anniversary of the founding of our republic – it is more incumbent upon us than ever to cultivate an educated citizenry with the ability to navigate, interpret, and assess information coherently and persuasively.  In fact – the rationale for initially establishing public [or free] libraries addressed need to uplift and integrate both an established population as well as newly arriving immigrants with at times minimal command of the English language.  The mission of America’s compulsory system of public education functioned in tandem with this charge.

While some of the world’s great universities were founded in the Middle Ages – they have operated in concert with supporting their affiliate academic libraries.  Early American universities such as Harvard and Yale were originally established to train young men for the ministry.  Books were scarce and valued commodities:  Yale College’s Library began with donation of Elihu Yale’s modest book collection, corresponding to Thomas Jefferson’s resolve to sell his 6000+ volume library to establish Library of Congress.

United States’ public university system developed, in part, from original land grant agricultural colleges.  The GI Bill facilitated large enrollment of returning World War II veterans, culminating in unprecedented construction of public universities during the 1960s.  This resulted in building the extensive, complex, multifaceted academic library that we value today.

This issue of Biblio-Tech considers the role of libraries – academic, public, and specialized – in promoting democracy through an educated citizenry.  Lehman library faculty will assess our core services of collections, information literacy training, and research support for student achievement across the disciplines and in lifelong learning.

Further, we will consider our collective efforts fostering faculty scholarly achievement and innovative grantsmanship, promoting a community of public scholars contributing actionable content to health sciences, scientific research, and the humanities.  Ultimately – we aspire to demonstrate the attributes of Federally-sponsored research to health, welfare, and intellectual development of the global community.

Kenneth Schlesinger

Associate Dean and Chief Librarian