The latest report on public libraries indicates that they are "financially vulnerable." Yet, the media across the country don't give a damn. The study was conducted by the highly regarded research institute Public Agenda in collaboration with the Americans for Libraries Council (ALC) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Barely half a dozen reporters, including two from LJ and one from Walnut Creek, CA, tuned into a telephone briefing on "Long Overdue," a study of attitudes about public libraries. Walnut Creek is one of the communities that lost the opportunity to replace its old, dilapidated library on June 6, when Califor-nians defeated a statewide construction bond issue by a small margin (see News, p. 18).
展开▼
