Just Wondering ... as an Avid Reader

A municipal spat. Truly a tempest in a teapot. Much ado about nothing. Now that's a literary referral of the highest order from the English language's literary maestro; none have since unseated Shakespeare from his throne. None likely ever will. He knew the human psyche as none have demonstrated since, even masters like Dostoevsky. And he was a master wordsmith; even Umberto Eco cannot match him.

A bumptious city councillor makes a statement and it is instantly picked up and resented without much of a second thought with respect to the responsibilities of those who have been elected to govern how a large city like Toronto can cut its expenses to both meet its civic obligations and avoid wracking up fiscal deficits. At a time when most municipalities are facing budget constraints.

In response to the casual suggestion that some expenditure cut-backs might be found in the public library system, one of the city's best-known writers takes to the Internet to file her grievance at the very thought. It's true libraries have a deservedly special place in the hearts of readers, those readers in particular who grew up treasuring what could be found there.

The world has changed immeasurably since that time that only books could be found there. Now, there are VCRs and DVDs to be rented out. Now, ebooks can be rented from the public library if one has chosen to read with an ereader. Now, computers and printers can be found in library branches with free Internet and WiFi service. People go to the library to surf the Internet.

Now, people visit their local library branches to access these free and convenient and entertaining services. The books, not so much. Although there are books and magazines and newspapers to be scrutinized and borrowed in the stacks. Not as many as there once was, assuredly, but then there is no longer as much call for them as there once was.

There are so many alternate sources of reading material and accessibility to reading materials, and entertainment devices of an electronic nature. Bound books that can be hefted in the hand, and printed pages actually turned, are not as much in demand. And they can be found in places like second-hand book shops and thrift shops like the Sally Ann, and lugged home from there.

Any difference between a borrowed library book and a gently used second-hand book? Bless those who continue to purchase new publications, then pass them on for others to treasure. And own. And take huge pleasure in reading. And retaining those treasures for their own personal libraries. So, what's the fuss?

Is Margaret Atwood, who insists that libraries now represent social meeting places for families not aware that local independent and chain book stores offer social meeting places for families, as do community centres and other civic infrastructure amenities? She takes immense umbrage at the very thought of cutting the budget of the Toronto Library system.

A library's presence once meant the community accessibility to published works of art, and literature, fiction and non-fiction. It represented an important intellectual resource. But at the present time there are fewer books on the shelves, and the public is far less interested in accessing them for there are so many competing entertainment and information venues available.

Fewer branches may constitute a hardship for some in the community, but not too many, one suspects, other than those who would fume at the loss of their computer and games access. On-line library access to download rental ebooks would not be impacted. Diminishing the numbers of branches would have to be carefully assessed.

Perhaps the branches placed within shopping malls, as smaller, more compact places.

There would be fewer library employees, and an operational cost-saving would accrue, since most of the costs associated with operating the system are in salaries, not newly-published acquisitions. Is Ms. Atwood prepared to mount a challenge to the new kind of reading opportunities, to refuse to permit her publications to be available as ereader downloads?

Now that would be taking a principled stand of a sort, wouldn't it? And it would constitute a financial sacrifice on her part. Just wondering.