Nieman Lab.
Predictions for
Journalism, 2024.
Before there were free public libraries, there were subscriptions. Much like today’s local news institutions, access to high-quality information and continuing education was restricted to those who could afford it.
In 1875, the U.S. had 422 municipal public libraries. In 2023, that number was more than 9,000.
In that time, the proportion of Americans with access to resources available through public libraries quintupled. Today, approximately half of all independent libraries in the U.S. are public libraries. And they employ 140,000 people nationwide, nearly three times the number of working journalists.
This 150-year national investment in free public libraries has created popular and innovative institutions integral to meeting civic news and information needs.
This year is local news’ library moment — when stakeholders decide to chart a course for transforming local news from a commercial product to a public good.
Municipalities and states have always been early adopters of innovative public information legislation. In the 19th century, local and state policy experimented with attempts to make school libraries publicly accessible, created tax districts to serve specific geographic areas, and established statewide commissions to advance library access across regions.
Today, comparable initiatives are making colleges and university centers of local journalism, envisioning special tax districts to fund local news, and establishing statewide models for addressing local news access like the New Jersey Civic Information Consortium.
Corresponding movements in modern philanthropy, like Press Forward, also mimic the historical development of public libraries. Andrew Carnegie, once the wealthiest man in the world, famously gave the rough equivalent of $1.9 billion in the early 20th century to help construct library buildings in 1,412 communities in 47 states.
International conflicts, public health crises, and economic inequality in the first half of the 20th century showed the federal government the value of public libraries as centers of access to civic news and information. The same can be said for the first half of this century, with federal actors increasingly recognizing the value of local news in addressing pandemic info needs, responding to the epidemic of isolation, and combatting misinformation.
By the time the American Library Association published “A National Plan for Public Library Service” in 1948, the federal government was primed for action, passing legislation in 1956 and 1964 to support libraries in rural and historically underserved communities. 2023’s “Roadmap for Local News” may be the closest modern-day equivalent to the ALA’s plan and similarly inspire federal policy.
But the ultimate factor behind the expansion of public libraries was public demand, akin to the desire among Americans today for improved access to public interest local news and journalism.
Thankfully, we’ve reached the point in local journalism’s upheaval where we have an increasing number of innovators to look to for examples of a public service future for the industry.
Philanthropy, news publishers, journalists, educators, and policymakers all play a critical role in enabling that innovation. So, as we move through 2024, we’ll set our sights on a public-powered future to ensure access to civic news and information for all.
Simon Galperin is CEO of Community Info Coop and executive editor of The Jersey Bee.
Before there were free public libraries, there were subscriptions. Much like today’s local news institutions, access to high-quality information and continuing education was restricted to those who could afford it.
In 1875, the U.S. had 422 municipal public libraries. In 2023, that number was more than 9,000.
In that time, the proportion of Americans with access to resources available through public libraries quintupled. Today, approximately half of all independent libraries in the U.S. are public libraries. And they employ 140,000 people nationwide, nearly three times the number of working journalists.
This 150-year national investment in free public libraries has created popular and innovative institutions integral to meeting civic news and information needs.
This year is local news’ library moment — when stakeholders decide to chart a course for transforming local news from a commercial product to a public good.
Municipalities and states have always been early adopters of innovative public information legislation. In the 19th century, local and state policy experimented with attempts to make school libraries publicly accessible, created tax districts to serve specific geographic areas, and established statewide commissions to advance library access across regions.
Today, comparable initiatives are making colleges and university centers of local journalism, envisioning special tax districts to fund local news, and establishing statewide models for addressing local news access like the New Jersey Civic Information Consortium.
Corresponding movements in modern philanthropy, like Press Forward, also mimic the historical development of public libraries. Andrew Carnegie, once the wealthiest man in the world, famously gave the rough equivalent of $1.9 billion in the early 20th century to help construct library buildings in 1,412 communities in 47 states.
International conflicts, public health crises, and economic inequality in the first half of the 20th century showed the federal government the value of public libraries as centers of access to civic news and information. The same can be said for the first half of this century, with federal actors increasingly recognizing the value of local news in addressing pandemic info needs, responding to the epidemic of isolation, and combatting misinformation.
By the time the American Library Association published “A National Plan for Public Library Service” in 1948, the federal government was primed for action, passing legislation in 1956 and 1964 to support libraries in rural and historically underserved communities. 2023’s “Roadmap for Local News” may be the closest modern-day equivalent to the ALA’s plan and similarly inspire federal policy.
But the ultimate factor behind the expansion of public libraries was public demand, akin to the desire among Americans today for improved access to public interest local news and journalism.
Thankfully, we’ve reached the point in local journalism’s upheaval where we have an increasing number of innovators to look to for examples of a public service future for the industry.
Philanthropy, news publishers, journalists, educators, and policymakers all play a critical role in enabling that innovation. So, as we move through 2024, we’ll set our sights on a public-powered future to ensure access to civic news and information for all.
Simon Galperin is CEO of Community Info Coop and executive editor of The Jersey Bee.
