Disillusioned - Blog Posts

Unequal, Shattered, Abandoned

The United States is Big as FUCK. While not reaching the billions such as China or India, the US is the 3rd most populated country in the world being 25% larger than the next largest country (Indonesia) more than one and a half times the size of the 5th largest (Brazil) and two and a half times larger than the 10th most populated country (Mexico). (1) Unable to discuss US public libraries in their entirety and not an official determinant of success, I’ve looked at the libraries between the state with the highest life expectancy (Hawaii: 81.5), the average (North Dakota: 78.6) and the lowest (Mississippi: 74.5)

Not the best example, Hawaii only has one public library located on the island of Honolulu. This makes some sense as Hawaii is an island-based state with a smaller population; however, in comparison North Dakota only had 5 registered public library districts and Mississippi had 14. In this context, it would seem those who live longer either read less  or fared better without library access; but when compared to much larger states NY (132) and California (155) quantity of libraries is more determined on population than other things to some degree as Texas (97) and Florida (65) have less libraries than their population should. Regardless, library access is very much linked to community and wealth as rural communities and the poorer parts of urban communities having little or no access. (2)

In a country of such prosperity, equal access and opportunity should be considered and implemented at a Federal level and not center on the self-fulfilling prophecy of only those who can afford the best opportunities are able to provide the best opportunities and resources for themselves. An additional note of importance is that part of the official Library Servers website, there is “Books You Really Should Have Read” advertisement, of noteworthy books and how to get them on Amazon

(1)    https://www.census.gov/popclock/

(2)    http://www.lib-web.org/united-states/public-libraries/