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Cindy Garcia, library aide, returns books back to their shelves at the Guerra Branch Library earlier this month. Public libraries are about much more than reading. They are about community health, well-being and safety.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Andrew J. Whitaker\/San Antonio Express-News<\/p>\n
Eli Lopez, circulation attendant, checks out items for Janae Florence and Donna Florence at the Potranco Branch Library this month. Libraries are about much more than books for our community, our guest columnist writes.<\/p>\n
Andrew J. Whitaker\/San Antonio Express-News<\/p>\n
Many San\u00a0Antonians may not know that our libraries hold nearly 2.5 million physical and digital items. Even fewer, I suspect, see them as part of the infrastructure that supports our health.<\/p>\n
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On a 100-degree day in San Antonio, a library offers an air-conditioned place where someone without reliable cooling can spend an afternoon. It offers internet access and support for someone applying for a job, a space for children to imagine and an opportunity for teens to safely experience independence.<\/p>\n
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It is a place to trace family history or simply be in community without needing to buy something.<\/p>\n
The Aug. 28 storm underscored the importance of this public infrastructure. On the historically underinvested West Side, more than 15,000 residents lost electricity. Our libraries were among the spaces available for daytime cooling.<\/p>\n
The Public Library Association reports that libraries nationally are responding to increasingly complex community needs related to social isolation, homelessness, mental health and digital literacy.<\/p>\n
Libraries are evolving. The ways we understand, measure and fund their work should evolve with them.<\/p>\n
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Research shows that where we live, play, learn, work and age shape our health. Libraries are part of this health-supporting infrastructure.<\/p>\n
That is especially relevant in the wake of San Antonio\u2019s newly-adopted fiscal year 2027 budget. The budget invests $58.1 million in the San Antonio Public Library, including facilities, safety and technology.<\/a><\/p>\n These investments matter.<\/p>\n At the same time, it eliminates 39 frontline positions across 17 library locations. City leaders have described the cuts as \u201cright-sizing,\u201d citing declining circulation of physical materials.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n But \u201cright-sized\u201d for what? And for whom?<\/p>\n