What are librarians afraid of?

Well, getting their libraries shut down, for one thing. The Boston Globe reports on a slew of public libraries closing their doors thanks to massive budget cuts. I wrote in a recent post that I was worried about libraries making decisions that were based in fear. This story is a good reminder for those of us who live in cities with well-funded libraries of a very real basis for some of that fear.

The Globe article states:

Towns are often forced to choose between providing free access to books or hiring a couple more firefighters or police officers. Saugus town manager Andrew Bisignani said public safety has to come first. In the cold, mathematical world of budgets, public libraries have a label they cannot shake. They are a “non essential service.”