How are the Libraries that Shaped Us are Doing Now?
Growing up going to the library every week was a staple in every child’s routine. We would look at the endless walls filled up wit books and happily sit down for storytime. However, we were oblivious to how complex the public library system in Florida actually is. The Florida Division and Information Services released a series of statistics based around the public library system in Florida during the 2019–2020 Fiscal year. Out of the 67 counties in Florida, we looked at the different aspects that compose the libraries within each county. Let’s explore valuable information about libraries that we grew up visiting here in Florida.
As kids, we went to the library whenever we needed to access information, nowadays the way we access information looks a little different. With the ever growing digital presence in our world today, the way that information is obtained from library resources has changed. Libraries not only have computers that are free for the public to use to do things like surf the web, but now they also offer their resources like books, data sets, and articles completely digitally. The Broward County Public Library system has the highest total of online users with over 600,000 users. This online access of library resources has reformed the way that we access information today. Rather than physically going to the library and looking through resources, library patrons can now access all of the same information from the comfort of their own homes.
Another integral part of our library memories is the staff themselves. We all had a favorite librarian that we would always go to for book recommendations or join their storytimes. As specialists, they definitely knew what to suggest. Out of the 67 counties, a vast majority has at least two full-time employees with a Master Librarian Degree. Considering the fact that each county has multiple libraries, this shows that most of the employees in this field are not necessarily required to have a Librarian Master’s degree, as it would be expected. However, on average, most of the counties have over 20 full-time employees that went to college to get specialized in the field. Surprisingly, there are nineteen counties that have not reported this information. Therefore, we are unaware if there are any full-time employees in these counties with a Librarian Master’s degree. We also realized that Hillsborough county in Tampa has two-hundred and forty-nine of full-time employees with a M.L.S degree. This makes Hillsborough the leading county within this finding. Aside from Hillsborough, there are other counties such as Lee, Broward, Orange, and Pinellas county with a high number of full-time employees with a Master’s Degree. We never realized just how much time and effort was put in by the librarians to give us the best experience possible.
As blissfully unaware kids, we never stopped to think about just how much money is put into our public libraries to keep them running. Therefore, the idea of how we contribute to their profits was also a mystery. Public libraries in Florida generated about twenty-one million in revenue in the years 2019 to 2020. To our surprise, counties with smaller populations used most of the state funds but unfortunately generated less revenue for Florida. Compared to Southern Florida counties, Northern counties like Lafayette and Wakulla used over 40% of the state’s funds but only made $1 million in revenue, which may seem like a lot but it isn’t. The big counties like Miami-Dade and Broward used less than 10% of state funds compared to the amount given, $1,694,590. Smaller counties rely on state funds since they have a small population, there are barely any tax dollars put into public libraries.
There is a lot that goes on behind-the-scenes at libraries. The valuable resource that is our public libraries may seem irrelevant now with the widespread access to information through online sources, however they continue to play an important role in our communities. We hope that future generations will continue to appreciate their public libraries as much as we did as kids.
By: Jordan Kobb, Eliana Sojo, & Loeny Vargas
