Kerby Anderson

Yesterday, I talked about one reason why public libraries are dying. I quoted from an author who documented the decline in library attendance due to the rise in homelessness. He isn’t the only person to discover this. An article in the Los Angeles Times years ago lamented that the library has become “a de facto shelter for the city’s homeless.”

Another reason for declining library attendance is the Internet. A few decades ago, when I was writing articles, columns, or books, I would often have to head off to a library to check a reference found in a magazine, journal, or book. This was usually a weekly phenomenon of checking the stacks and pulling out material for whatever I was writing. Today an online search usually provides everything I need.

Progressive attitudes from the library associations are yet another reason for the decline in library attendance. At first, we were confronted each year by “Banned Book Week.” Were there some people who were book banners? Probably. But most of the outrage usually centered on parents who were merely asking that some books be moved to a different section that was age appropriate. Now, parents are rightly expressing concerns over the promotion of Drag Queen Story Hour.

This year, Barnes and Noble announced plans to open 60 new locations, and that is in addition to the 57 new stores it opened last year. One of the bookstore representatives explained, “Many readers were looking for a place to spend time and connect with other people in their community. Our bookstores became a safe and welcoming space to meet up with friends and explore the stacks.”

Of course, that is what the public libraries used to be. Parents and kids feel safer and less assaulted in a bookstore than they feel in a public library.