Even the Libraries are on the Block.

If you go to the local library, like I did today with my 2 daughters, you can't escape the signs that proclaim doom and gloom for libraries due to budget cuts. At York County libraries, one can even click on a link to keep up with the latest in budget follies.

http://www.yorklibraries.org/budget/letter3.pdf

But, before we storm the marble walls of the Capitol--have libraries become a brick and mortar dinosaur, waiting for the meteor to crash into the Earth? As a library patron, I would miss the low cost options that the library provides, but should the majority of citizens pay for programs that only a minority of citizens use?

This is an old government argument--what obligation does the majority have to fund programs in education? The arts? Can these services be done better privately and can government, through citywide wi-fi and better access to technology, eliminate the need for a fully staffed library?

Perhaps the 2010 PA budget may serve as a beginning of the decentralization of information for libraries. Or, this crisis will draw new appreciation for the government service. What do you think?