A librarian's case against overdue book fines | Dawn Wacek

翻译人员: february Z 校对人员: jacks peng

Hello, friends.

朋友们好，

I'm happy to see all of you here today.

很高兴今天在这里见到大家。

This is actually exactly what I say to the people who visit us

这也是我对拉克罗斯公共图书馆的

at the La Crosse Public Library.

访客们所说的话。

And I say it because I mean it.

我也确实是这么想的。

The children who come into our library are my friends

来我们图书馆的孩子都是我的朋友，

in that I care about their needs and their futures.

因为我关心他们的需求和未来。

I want them to be happy and successful.

我希望他们开心和成功。

I hope that they'll find great books or a movie that delights them.

我希望他们能找到优秀的书籍， 让他们感到开心的电影。

Or the solution to a tricky problem.

或者是解决难题的办法。

Libraries in general have this wonderful reputation

通常图书馆拥有

of really caring about our communities.

切实为社区谋福祉的好名声。

We put out mission statements and statements of purpose

我们发布的使命和目标宣言中说：

that say that we connect our community to the broader world.

我们致力于连接社区和更广阔的世界。

We engage minds,

我们集结大众的思想，

we create lifelong learners.

我们创造终身学习者。

And these ideals are really important to us as libraries,

这些愿景对图书馆来说十分重要，

because we know the power they have to create a better world.

因为我们知道它拥有创造 一个更好世界的力量。

A more connected world, a more engaged and empathetic world.

一个人与人联系更紧密，更投入， 更富有同情心的的世界。

Books have power, information has power.

书籍有力量，信息有力量。

And for the powerless in our communities,

对社区的弱势群体而言，

being able to connect to that is even more important.

与它们连接就显得尤为重要。

In 1995, Betty Hart and Todd Risley

1995年，贝蒂 · 哈特和托德 · 莱斯利

published a study that found that working class families

发表的一项研究表明， 工薪阶层家庭和

and those being served by welfare

接受社会福利救济的家庭中

experience what we now refer to as the "30 million word gap."

存在着我们现在所说的 “3000万词汇鸿沟”的现象。

Essentially, what they learned is that children in these families

本质上说，他们发现这些家庭的孩子

are hearing so many fewer words each day

每天听到的词汇量要少很多，

that by the time they are three years old,

所以到他们三岁时，

there's this enormous disparity in their learned language.

这种掌握语言的巨大鸿沟就出现了。

And that gap in words follows them as they enter school,

词汇上的差距还会伴随他们进入学校，

and it results in later reading, poorer reading skills,

导致阅读能力发育滞后， 且阅读水平较差，

a lack of success overall.

整体上也很难有所成就。

Children need to hear words every day

孩子们每天都需要听到不同的词汇，

and they need to hear not just our day-to-day conversation,

并且不能只局限于我们日常的会话，

they have to hear rare words:

他们还需要听到生僻词汇；

those outside the common lexicon we share, of around 10,000.

那些我们不常用的词汇，大约有1万个。

I'm going to read you a short snippet from a children's book

接下来，我将为你们读一段儿童短文，

by one of our favorite authors in the children's room, Eric Carle.

是最受欢迎的一位少儿作家 艾瑞克 · 卡尔写的。

Some of you might know his work "The Very Hungry Caterpillar."

在座的各位或许有听过 他的作品《饥饿的毛毛虫》，

But this is from "'Slowly, Slowly, Slowly,' said the Sloth."

但我要读的内容选自另一部作品 《“慢慢，慢慢，慢慢地，”树懒说》。

"Finally, the sloth replied,

“终于，树懒回答道，

'It is true that I am slow, quiet and boring.

‘我确实又慢又静又无聊，

I am lackadaisical,

我懒洋洋的，

I dawdle and I dillydally.

我磨蹭又墨迹。

I am also unflappable, languid, stoic,

我也不慌不忙，无精打采，非常淡定，

impassive, sluggish, lethargic,

冷漠，慢吞吞，昏昏欲睡，

placid, calm, mellow,

沉着，冷静，平和，

laid-back and, well, slothful!

闲散，还有迟钝！

I am relaxed and tranquil, and I like to live in peace.

我很休闲，很安宁， 并且我喜欢平和地生活。

But I am not lazy.'

但是我可不懒惰。’

Then the sloth yawned and said,

然后树懒打着哈欠道，

'That's just how I am.

‘这就是我，

I like to do things slowly, slowly, slowly.'"

我喜欢慢慢，慢慢， 慢慢地做事儿。’ ”

So you can see from this very brief example from one book in our library

你可以从图书馆这本书中的 这个简单例子里看到，

how Eric Carle used 20 different words to get the same idea across to children.

卡尔是如何用20个不同的单词 来向孩子们表达同一个意思。

Now we know that a lot of the families visiting us at the library,

目前我们了解到， 很多家庭都会来图书馆，

a lot of our friends, are struggling financially.

其中不少朋友经济拮据。

We know that some of them are living in poverty,

他们中有些人生活贫困，

and don't have enough to eat or anywhere safe to live.

甚至食不果腹，居无定所。

We know that our friend James, who comes in after school

我们知道有位课后就会过来的 名叫詹姆斯的朋友，

and is staying at a local shelter,

就住在当地一个收容所中，

他的阅读水平还没达到年级标准，

isn't reading at grade level

and has probably never read at grade level.

而且很可能从未达到过。

We know we have that 30 million word gap

我们知道有“3000万词汇量鸿沟”现象，

and a corresponding achievement gap by the time kids enter the third grade,

并且当孩子进入三年级时， 他们的成绩也会出现相应的差距，

both of which directly correlate to income level.

这两种情况都与收入水平直接相关。

So what's the responsibility of libraries in addressing these gaps?

那么，图书馆在弥补这个鸿沟上 能起到什么作用呢？

How can we help our friends be more successful, more educated

我们如何帮助我们的朋友们 变得更成功，更有教养，

and some day, better global citizens?

乃至某天，成为更优秀的全球公民呢？

It starts with ensuring free and equitable access

首先要确保他们可以免费地、平等地

to everything libraries offer them.

得到图书馆里的资源。

Books level the playing field

书籍通过让处于不同

by exposing children of every socioeconomic background to words.

社会经济环境的孩子接触文字， 从而创造一个公平的竞争环境。

At the library, we provide programs

我们在图书馆为孩子们举办

that are based on the five tenants of early literacy:

基于早期识字的5个方面的项目：

playing, singing, talking, reading and writing.

玩、唱、说、读、写。

We offer programs for adults

我们为成人提供

on computer classes and job-skills training.

电脑课程和职业技能训练项目，

Business start-ups.

创业项目。

We do all of this great work for our community members

我们为社区成员提供所有这些服务，

and at the same time, we counteract it by charging fines and fees of our patrons.

同时我们通过向顾客 收取罚款和费用来平衡收支。

Today in La Crosse,

今天在拉克罗斯，

10,000 of our users are unable to check out library materials

有1万用户由于未缴纳的 罚款和费用而无法

because of fines and fees.

查阅图书馆资料。

If we narrow in on our neighborhoods experiencing the most poverty,

如果我们观察那些最贫困的社区，

those where 82 percent of the student body is considered economically disadvantaged,

那些82%的学生都被 视为经济困难的社区，

the number rises to 23 percent of the neighborhood.

这个数字就会上升到 占社区人口的23%。

And these are local numbers, it's true, but they hold true nationwide.

这些虽然是地方数据， 但同样适用于全国。

In libraries across the country that charge fines,

在全国收取罚金的图书馆中，

the poorest neighborhoods have the most number of people blocked from use.

最贫穷的社区被禁止 使用其资源的人数最多。

In fact, the Colorado State Library was so worried about this,

实际上，科罗拉多州立图书馆 就很担心这个问题，

they published a white paper

他们发表了白皮书，

and they stated unequivocally

并明确表态说

that it's the fear of fines that keeps poor families out of libraries.

让穷人对图书馆望而却步的正是罚金。

A colleague of mine took a ride in a Lyft in Atlanta last year,

我的一个同事去年在亚特兰大 用Lyft叫了一辆车，

and he started chatting with his driver about libraries, as we do.

在车上他与司机谈到了 图书馆，就像我们一样。

And she told him she grew up visiting her local library, she loved it.

司机告诉他，她从小就喜欢 经常去当地的图书馆。

But now that she's a parent with three children of her own,

但现在作为三个孩子的母亲，

there's no way she would allow them to get a library card,

她绝不同意她的孩子去办借书证。

because of the strict deadlines libraries impose.

因为图书馆的规定很严格。

She said, "It would be like another credit card that I can't pay."

她说，“这就像是另一张 我还不起的信用卡。”

Meanwhile, when other libraries have experimented with eliminating fines,

同时，有的图书馆在尝试取消罚款，

like one in San Rafael that took away children's fines,

比如圣拉斐尔一家图书馆 就取消了儿童罚款，

they had a 126-percent increase in child card applications

结果在前几个月里，他们儿童借书证的

within the first few months.

申请量增长了126%。

When people aren't afraid of the fines they might accrue,

当人们不再担心会产生累积罚款时，

they line up to access what we have to offer.

他们就会接踵而至。

So what are we telling people, then?

那么我们是怎么跟人们说的呢？

We have these two disparate ideas.

我们有两种截然不同的想法。

On the one hand, we're champions of democracy

一方面，我们是民主的拥护者，

and we claim that we're there so that every citizen can educate themselves.

我们宣称图书馆的存在可以让 每个公民进行自我教育。

We're advocates for the power early literacy has

我们提倡早期读写能力

to reduce that achievement gap and eliminate the word gap.

能够减少成就差距，消除词汇差距。

We tell people, "We're here to help you."

我们告诉人们说：“我们是来帮助你的。“

On the other hand,

另一方面，

if you're struggling financially, and you make a mistake,

如果你经济拮据，犯了错误，

the kind of mistake that anyone in this room could make --

在座每一个人可能都会犯的错误——

your tote bag that belongs to the library sits by your back door

你从图书馆借出的手提包就躺在后门，

for a couple of weeks longer than it should,

已经超过归还期限好几周，

you lose a CD,

你丢了一张CD，

you spill your coffee on a book,

你把咖啡洒到了书上，

suddenly, we're not here for you so much anymore,

突然之间，我们不再为你提供服务了，

because if that happens, we're going to make you pay for it.

因为如果那样的话，我们就要你赔偿了。

And if you can't pay for it, you're out of luck.

如果你不支付，那么就不好意思了。

I have been a librarian for a lot of years.

我做图书管理员很多年了，

And in the past few years,

在过去的几年里，

I myself have paid over 500 dollars in late fines.

我自己缴纳的滞纳金 超过了500美元。

Now, you might wonder why,

你可能想知道原因，

I mean, I'm there every day, and I certainly know how the system works.

我每天都在图书馆， 我当然很清楚这个系统如何运作。

But like all of our friends at the library,

但是我也跟所有 来图书馆的朋友们一样，

I am busy, I lose track of things,

我很忙，会丢三落四，

my house is sometimes messy,

我家里有时也会一团糟，

and I have lost a DVD or two under the sofa.

我曾丢了一两张DVD在沙发下面。

And I have been fortunate enough to be able to pay

在过去几年里，我还算幸运，

that 500 dollars over the last several years.

能负担得起这500美元的罚款。

If not happily, I at least had the means to do it.

就算不开心，至少我还有钱去付。

So is that fair and equitable service

如果有些人付了罚款后

if some of us can pay our fines and continue to operate as we always have,

就可以继续我行我素， 而那些犯了个错误的人就不再受欢迎，

and others of us make one mistake and no longer are welcome back?

那这还算是公平，平等的服务吗？

It's simply not.

当然不是。

Now, why would we continue to operate under a model that hurts

那么为什么我们仍在继续运作这个

our most vulnerable patrons the most?

对最脆弱的顾客伤害最大的模式呢？

There are reasons.

有以下几点原因。

There are reasons like responsibility.

首先是责任。

There are some libraries that really feel

有的图书馆认为

that it's our job to teach people responsibility.

我们的工作是教导人们承担责任。

And they haven't figured out that there might be ways to do that

然而他们并没有想到， 除了罚款，还有很多方法

可以实现同样的目的。

that don't equate to dollars.

There's also this idea that we share the resources collectively in a community,

也有人说这是社区成员共享的资源，

and so we have to take turns.

所以大家要懂得轮流使用。

If I keep my "My Little Pony" movie for too long,

如果我占用《小马宝莉》电影太久，

and somebody else wants to watch it, it's not fair.

对其他也想看的人，就不公平了。

And then, there's the money.

其次，就是钱。

Community members often love their libraries,

社区成员们通常喜爱他们的图书馆，

and they don't want us to not be able to sustain the services we offer.

他们不想看到我们提供的 服务难以为继。

Luckily, we can address all of these things in a variety of ways

幸运的是，我们有 多种方法解决这些问题，

without scaring away our most vulnerable populations.

而不用吓跑我们最脆弱的顾客。

Some libraries have gone to a Netflix model.

有的图书馆就借鉴了Netflix的做法，

You might be familiar with this:

你或许听说过：

you check things out,

你借出一样东西，

when you're done with them, you return them.

用完之后就归还。

If you don't return them, you can't check more things out,

如果你不还，就不能 再借阅其他东西，

but once you do, it's all forgiven, it's fine.

如果你还了，大家就 一笔勾销，一切恢复正常。

You can check out again.

你可以继续借阅了。

Others continue to charge fines,

有的图书馆则继续收罚款，

but they want to offer alternatives to their library patrons,

但他们为顾客提供了替代选项，

and so they do things like food for fines, where you bring in canned goods,

所以他们会用食品代替罚款， 比如你可以带罐头食品，

or read away your fines, where you can read off your fines.

或者通过读书来抵消罚款。

There's even another library in Wisconsin

还有一家威斯康星州的图书馆，

that offers scratch-off tickets at their counter,

顾客可以在柜台领取刮刮卡，

so you can scratch off and get 10 or 20 percent off your fines that day.

刮开涂层你当天就有 10%或20%的罚金优惠。

And there are amnesty days.

还有赦免日的做法。

One day a year, you bring back your late materials

在每年特定的一天中， 你可以将超期的物品归还

and all is forgiven.

而不被追究任何责任。

There was a library in San Francisco that did an amnesty day last year,

去年旧金山一家图书馆就这么做了，

and they welcomed back 5,000 users who had been blocked.

随后迎来了5000名 受超期限制的用户的回归，

That same day, they received more than 700,000 items that were overdue.

收回了70多万件逾期物品，

Among them was one book that was 100 years overdue.

其中有一本书逾期达100年。

So I know that sounds ridiculous, but I know from experience

这听起来似乎可笑，但我深有体会。

that people will stay away from the library

当人们有物品逾期时，

rather than face the authority of the librarian

就会有意回避图书馆，

when they have late items.

而不是直面图书管理员的权威。

As Michael might have mentioned, I've been a librarian for 15 years

正如迈克尔所说， 我当图书管理员15年了，

and my mom hasn't been in a library in decades,

而我母亲几十年都没去过图书馆了，

because when she was young, she lost a book.

只因为她年轻时曾弄丢过一本书。

So, these are great baby steps.

所以，这些都是伟大的一小步。

But they don't go far enough,

但还远远不够，

because they make people jump through hoops.

因为这只是治标不治本。

They have to come on the right days, at the right times.

人们得在规定的时间，规定的日期来。

They might have to have extra food to share.

他们必须分享额外的食物。

They want to read away their fines, they need to be literate.

他们想要“读”掉罚款，就需要学习。

If we want people to use the library again,

如果我们希望大家重回图书馆，

we should just get rid of fines altogether.

我们就要一并取消罚金。

Now, you might think I've forgotten a money piece,

你可能会想我忽略了资金因素，

where we need to finance libraries, right?

图书馆的运作需要钱，对不对？

But there's a couple of things to consider

不过关于罚款在图书馆预算中

when we think about how fines function in library budgets.

作用的问题，有几件事需要考虑一下。

The first is that fines have never been a stable source of revenue.

首先，罚金从来都 不是一个稳定的财源。

They've always fluctuated,

罚金收入很不稳定，

and in fact, they've continued to go down over the last few decades.

而且在过去的几十年里， 它的数额一直在下滑，

When the recession hit, especially, people's ability to pay was hit, as well.

尤其是在大萧条期间， 人们支付能力受到打压时。

So for a lot of those 10,000 friends that we've got at the library

我们的图书馆有1万名超期的朋友，

that aren't able to use it,

他们中的大部分人

they might never be able to pay us.

可能永远也付不起罚金。

When we talk about eliminating their fines,

当我们说要取消他们的罚款时，

we're not losing money so much as the idea of money.

我们不会亏钱，不能称之为钱。

And thirdly, you might be surprised to know

第三，你可能没想到，

fines on average, nationally, are about one and a half percent

从全国来看，罚金在图书馆预算中

of a library's operating budget.

平均占约1.5%，

Now that can still be a lot of money.

这可能也是一笔不小的金额。

如果你观察大型图书馆 或大型图书馆系统时，

If you're looking at a large library or a large library system,

the dollar amount can be high.

就会发现金额也不小。

But it's an achievable cut for most libraries to absorb.

但对大部分图书馆来说， 这笔钱还是可以承担的。

And finally, and maybe most importantly, fines cost us money to collect.

最后，也许是最重要的， 收罚金有成本。

When you start to factor in all of the ways that we collect fines,

当你开始考虑我们 收取罚款的所有因素，

supplies like mailers that we send out to remind people of their fines,

我们寄信提醒人们交罚金， 所产生的物资消耗，

services, like collections management services,

罚金管理服务，所产生的服务费用，

even telephone and email notifications can cost libraries money.

甚至电话和邮件通知也有成本。

And staff time is a huge cost for libraries.

而职工的时间更是一项巨大的成本。

So that our frontline staff is standing there,

试想我们的前台站在那里，

talking to people about their fines, sometimes arguing with people about fines.

向顾客解释罚金，搞不好还会吵起来。

When we eliminate all of those pieces,

当我们没有了这些成本，

if we got rid of fines, we might actually save money in our libraries.

如果我们取消罚款， 说不定还能给图书馆省钱。

Or at the very least,

或者至少，

we would be able to reallocate our staff time

我们可以重新分配员工的时间

to pursuits that better fit those missions we talked about.

来更好实现我们之前 所提到的图书馆的使命。

The other thing I want everybody to come away understanding

另一件我希望大家理解的是

罚款的效果并不尽如人意。

is that fines don't actually work to do what we think they do.

The debate about fines --

对罚金的争论——

whether we should fine, how much we should fine, it isn't new.

是否该交罚款，交多少——并不新鲜。

We've been talking about it for almost 100 years.

这样的争论100年来从未停止，

As long as that book was overdue.

其时间之久有如那逾期的书。

Study after study has shown that the reason libraries fine

前仆后继的研究表明， 图书馆之所以会收罚金

is because of strongly held beliefs

是因为他们坚信

about the effectiveness of getting materials back on time

这样可以有效、及时索回物资，

backed by no evidence.

即使这信仰毫无证据。

Basically, we fine because we've always fined.

我们收押金的行为基本上 算是一项历史悠久的传统了。

So, the best option for your libraries is to put their mission first.

所以，对图书馆而言， 最佳选择是使命为先，

And they will do that if their community members ask it of them.

按照社区成员的要求去做。

When you leave here, I hope you'll visit your public library

各位离开后，我希望 你们能去当地的图书馆，

and talk to your librarians,

去告诉图书管理员，

告诉你身边和社区里的

talk to your neighbors and community members

图书馆委员会成员们，

who serve on library boards.

Tell them that you know how important literacy is

你很清楚读写能力对

to everyone in your community.

每一位社区成员的重要性。

That if our libraries are truly for everyone,

如果我们的图书馆 真的是为每个人服务，

that they have to get rid of fines and embrace their entire community.

那么就得取消罚款， 以宽容的心态拥抱整个社区。

Thank you.

谢谢大家。

(Applause)

（掌声）