“The Library’s Soul Is on the Line: Which ‘Public’ Gets to Decide Its Future?”
By Shamichael Hallman
Zac Bissonnette’s recent article in The Free Press, “The Death of the Public Library,” read like a eulogy for an institution that — supposedly — “has become a de facto homeless shelter” and is therefore in irreversible decline. As someone who has spent the past decade researching, speaking, and writing about libraries — I see a very different story.
1. Are libraries really dying? The numbers say no.
Urban Libraries Council data show that in‑person library visits rose 24 percent in 2023 as systems bounced back from the pandemic, and program attendance jumped by 50 percent. The same source reports that the average number of room reservations for all libraries surveyed increased by 52%, surpassing pre- pandemic 2019 levels by 18%. These data present one of the strongest indicators of the increased use of libraries as flexible spaces that present value to all types of patrons. Meanwhile, America’s two most library‑loving generations — Gen Z and millennials — are flocking to both physical branches and digital collections. The trend line looks less like a flatline and more like a heartbeat.
2. Homelessness is a social‑safety‑net failure, not a library failure.
Yes, unhoused patrons seek refuge in libraries; where else can they find climate‑controlled space, public restrooms, and Wi‑Fi without paying a dime? Forward‑thinking library systems — including Los Angeles County and Salt Lake City — have responded by staffing embedded social workers and clinicians to connect people with housing, mental‑health, and workforce resources.
Shooing unhoused neighbors from the reading room to the curb doesn’t solve the crisis — it just shifts it from carpet to concrete, a cruel game that changes the view, not the reality. Instead of berating libraries, let’s invest that energy in policies — housing, mental‑health care, and living‑wage supports — that attack the roots rather than the optics of the problem.
3. “Books and more” is not mission creep — it’s mission fulfillment.
Critics often frame the debate as “books only” versus “more than books.” In reality, great libraries sit in the productive middle: “books and more,” pairing unfettered access to knowledge with programs that meet local needs — ESL classes, voter‑registration clinics, salsa nights that build social trust. A library that teaches a teenager to code or hosts a town‑hall on fentanyl is still advancing literacy; it’s just doing so in the language of the 21st century.
4. Libraries are infrastructure for civic health.
The New Hampshire Civic Health Index defines civic health as everything from strengthening well‑being to volunteering and staying informed. Libraries hit every note: they are neutral convening spaces, fact‑checking hubs, and volunteer incubators rolled into one — exactly the “people, places, programs, policies, partnerships” required for a resilient democracy.
5. The real existential threats: censorship and austerity.
While pundits blame homelessness, librarians battled 821 attempts to censor materials in 2024 alone, the third‑highest tally ever recorded. In 2024, the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services had a budget of $294 million, representing roughly 0.0046% of the overall federal budget — about 75¢ per taxpayer, yet the very existence of that organization is in peril.
6. Funding libraries is cheaper than paying for their absence.
Every dollar we invest in libraries returns multiple dollars in workforce readiness, small‑business support, digital inclusion, and — yes — public order. Closing branches or hollowing out services doesn’t make homelessness vanish; it simply shunts vulnerable people to ERs and police precincts at far higher public cost.
7. A call to action
If we let sensational anecdotes eclipse data, we risk dismantling one of the last truly public commons. Instead of asking whether libraries should remain open, the better question is: What kind of nation do we become if we let them close?
We can support libraries by:
- Restoring and expanding funding at every level of government.
- Passing right‑to‑read protections that shield collections and programs from partisan whims.
- Investing in social‑service partnerships so libraries aren’t the last — and only — safety‑net strand.
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Shamichael Hallman serves as the Director of Civic Health and Economic Opportunity at Urban Libraries Council, an innovation and action tank of North America’s leading public library systems. He is the author of Meet Me at the Library: A Place to Foster Social Connection and Promote Democracy (Island Press, 2024).
