Jacob S. Berg at BeerBrarian blog writes a response to those “End of Libraries” articles which he notes tend to be written by well-off males. This response is a series of links to research and articles about the value of libraries. In a nut-shell: libraries are efficient (delivering $4 in services for every $1 spent), their presence in schools tends to improve test scores, and they help even-out the information and digital divides for less-affluent families. And in the comments, some people note that these authors of these pieces seem to have no children. (It’s too bad that he and others go on about the whiteness and maleness of these writers–the real problem is social and economic narcissism and the fact that many of these people influence leaders and budget discussions.)
