Thirty-one years ago, Kathleen Molz began an article on public library funding¹ by contemplating a depression-era anthology² by Carl Vitz on the same subject:

Over forty years in time separate us from that earlier period, but it is only with a sense of deja vu that one re-examines some of the chapter headings of Vitz’s anthology: “Shrinkage of Public Revenues,” “Stretching the Library Dollar,” and “Winning Support.”

Talk about a sense of deja vu! Molz’s statements about the circumstances of 1933 and her summary of taxpayer stressors in the late 1970s were foremost on my mind as I composed my recent article on library funding. In my analysis, I could have legitimately channeled Molz channeling Vitz.

Over 75 years, the challenges and languid response of the library profession appear little changed. What has changed is that the signal strength of these messages is fading … and technology has brought library issues to a tipping point. I am concerned that unless the profession rapidly begins broadcasting with substance and strength, people won’t even be monitoring this frequency 20 years from now.

¹R. Kathleen Molz. 1978. The Financial Setting of the Public Library. The Library Quarterly. 48(4), pp. 416-431.
²Carl Vitz, ed. 1933. Current Problems in Public Library Finance. Chicago: American Library Association.