Even as we predicted the continued health of the library, we knew of one situation where that was not to be the case. The irony that libraries are shuttering in Salinas cannot be escaped, unless, we suppose, you’ve chanced to drive through the area recently. Then it might make sense, but not in a good way.
There is sufficient blame for this situation to go around. Everyone has their favorite scapegoat (we certainly have ours), but the bottom line is that libraries, like hospitals and schools and parks, exist for the good of the community. In this case, the community was either unwilling to contribute or didn’t fully grasp the issue (California’s ballot initiatives are nothing if not confusing to the point where people often vote for things they think they’re voting against). The community, who apparently uses their library resources quite heavily, will have other opportunities to decide if this is a worthy investment. We hope they decide yes.
