The Relevancy of Relevance

As funds run thin, budgets tighten and governments focus on the immediacy of crisis, the conversation begins with regard to the relevance of our comforts, the needs of our people and the rights of luxury. Existing somewhere between what is requisite and what is desired, stands the topic of libraries. In her infancy, America was home to great men with the forethought and insight to protect the rights of citizens to know, to understand and to communicate their ideas freely. Archivists, historians and scholars came together under the umbrella of librarianship to record, conserve and protect our history, culture and knowledge; perhaps even our humanity. Libraries have served as a haven of academic pursuit, an access-point for the underprivileged, and the professionals thereof have valiantly defended against the encroachment of censorship and obfuscation. Somehow, despite the offerings of libraries to a free society, they have come under the scrutinizing eye of appraisal. Some would have you believe that libraries are beginning to decay and that funding their interests further is merely a drain on resources. Others would have you believe that the era of information has ushered in a time where the practice of librarianship is merely redundant, given the skills of a tech-savvy public. As such, the premise is that libraries have lost relevance and should be forgotten. Yet here we stand, on the dawn of revolution, where a brave and active some have taken charge on reform, come together as a united front and have moved to start anew. The 99% have collected under the sole governance of solidarity; in defense of comfort and need. Of interest is that, beyond the immediacy of what is requisite, the central desires of the people have coalesced and been made known. The uniting thread of dissatisfaction has given birth to a fresh emphasis on the right to knowledge, and the first institution of the people has been given form; The People’s Library. — What is to be said of relevance now?