Newspaper Columnist Muses on Libraries

The library lions at Oshkosh

Link to September 16 column by Oshkosh Northwestern Community Columnist G.A. Scheinoha, "Wisconsin libraries facing challenging issues".

Excerpt: You don't have to travel very far, especially right here in Wisconsin to stumble across library news. There's a lot of it and, as an evening news report put it, for good reason.

Seems during tough economic times, libraries see increased patronage. Much cheaper to borrow a video off their shelves than rent one at Blockbuster. Ditto for buying books vs. a no-cost option. Even computer usage rises, particularly with those out of work searching for jobs online.

Of course, it's ironic that as an increasing number of people are utilizing the library, funds to keep them open are drying up. At Fond du Lac, the facility was closed from Friday straight through the holiday on both Memorial and Labor Days to accommodate the county's budget shortfall.