And libraries. I love and honour them. They took care of me when I was young. They tutored me, mentored me, gave me inspiration, music, design, typography, a place to go, and they covered for me when I had to be somewhere else. I think that, in essence, is what the comments here indicate: libraries provide social support and inspiration in the broadest, deepest, and most significant ways possible. They instil respect and reverence and democracy. A library is the power and democracy of language made manifest in tangible form.

Well done.

“An Indiana University report has confirmed the economic value of the public libraries: in Indiana, a total market value of goods and services estimated at $629.9 million and a return of $2.38 on each dollar of investment. The November report, by the Indiana Business Research Center at IU’s Kelley School of Business, concludes that public libraries are a good value, serving as ‘an important channel for literacy, education, and information.'”

http://www.ibrc.indiana.edu/studies/EconomicImpactOfLibraries_2007.pdf

I lent you my collection of ‘big jugs’ magazines at Xmas. You said you needed them for a study. Is this study complete & may I have them back?

Oh dear. I hope I’m wrong, too.

so, i’d argue that a compelling case to society at large for supporting a library like ours (where the donors are not typically the users),

I’m not familiar with your situation (clearly), but it sounds like you might want to be investigating the feasibility of making changes to your funding model? If you are currently relying on a donor base that is in danger of drying up.

is that the work we do to give a public space for immigrants, students, the elderly etc is actually an important part of keeping the city stable.

That sounds right to me.

I think there’s also an efficiency argument to be made: Instead of running to one place for computer classes, another place for job hunting resources, yet another for early childhood literacy support, etc., people can just come to the library. In theory, that saves money (fewer locations to fund) and increases return on investment (easier to match services with target service populations).

I bet you’ll find that areas with really vibrant & healthy public libraries have lower crime rates etc. than similar areas without. so I bet there is a connection.

I have seen studies correlating strong public libraries with healthy local economies, property values, etc. I’m sorry that I don’t have citations off the top of my head, though.

@Mat: use social harmony then. good middle ground word.

Yeah, “cohesion” and “not antagonistic” are not exactly the same thing.