Decline and Fall

I’m grazing through the Chronicle this morning, and the lead article in the Datebook section is about how libraries are closing in Salinas, the home of Pulitzer-prize winning author John Steinbeck and the venue for many of his stories. Library traffic is down: everyone’s doing research on the Internet, and, if they need a place to study, students like to hang out at Barnes & Noble or Borders, which have coffee bars and comfy couches.

Public funding has been cut, reducing the ability to acquire the latest books and maintain the physical plant. And printed materials aren’t the only medium on which information is delivered; our community library has computers, audio- and video-cassettes, CDs, and DVDs. How to store, manage, and retrieve information is a complex undertaking that challenges larger, better-funded enterprises, and it’s no wonder that non-profit libraries, staffed by volunteers, are struggling.

I continue to the middle of the article but stop short when I come across:

For one thing, of course, libraries need more funding. They share this need, at the moment, with schools, health care, job training, foreign aid and just about everything else except the war -- thanks to which, none of these should be expecting much help any time soon

I didn’t know the war was responsible for shuttering libraries and the lack of adequate medical care in our country. A moment’s thought quickly dismisses that premise: let’s say the war costs $200 billion, which is about 10% of the Federal budget. If we pulled all the troops out tomorrow, would Congress, conscious of the $477 billion budget deficit and trillions in unfunded Social Security and Medicare obligations, devote any of the putative peace dividend to the Salinas library fund? (This is an example of a rhetorical question.)

The writer, David Kipen, gets back to his topic in the next sentence and so was just indulging in a gratuitous slam against American foreign policy. This lack of discipline in writing and editing is one reason I terminated our Chronicle subscription after 20 years. I don’t mind reading well-argued opinions contrary to mine, as long as they’re situated in the editorial section or by-lined columns, but snarky off-hand political remarks have been seeping into the news, entertainment, and business sections for some time.

O, for the days of Herb Caen, Art Hoppe, and Charles McCabe. Those guys could write! (Or maybe I’m just a Grumpy Old Guy with a selective memory.)

Declining journalistic standards and circulation are only a few of the problems that newspapers face. Classified ads have ceased to be the most effective way to reach potential customers, as I can personally attest. (Several months ago I ran ads in the Chronicle, Yahoo, and Craigslist; the Chron cost the most and generated the fewest responses.) The costs of daily printing and delivery are mounting, but there’s a ceiling on the amount consumers are willing to pay, given the free media alternatives. The half-life of news has shortened due to 24/7 cable news and the Internet, so the morning paper is already fishwrap by noon, as Herb used to say.

If they’re not careful, newspapers could go the way of libraries.