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

譯者: Lilian Chiu 審譯者: Melody Tang

Hello, friends.

哈囉，朋友們，

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

很高興在這裡見到大家。

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

這是我對來到拉·克羅斯 公立圖書館的訪客

at the La Crosse Public Library.

所說的一樣的話。

And I say it because I mean it.

而且我說的是我的真心話。

The children who come into our library are my friends

來到我們圖書館的孩子們 是我的朋友，

in that I care about their needs and their futures.

因為我在乎他們的需求 和他們的未來。

I want them to be happy and successful.

我希望他們能快樂且成功。

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

我希望他們會找到很棒的書籍 或是電影，讓他們開心。

Or the solution to a tricky problem.

或為一個難處理的問題找到解答。

Libraries in general have this wonderful reputation

一般來說， 圖書館有一個很好的名聲，

of really caring about our communities.

就是它們真正關心我們的社區。

We put out mission statements and statements of purpose

我們會擺出一些 圖書館的任務和目的的說明，

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

那就是我們將我們的社區 和更廣的世界連結起來。

We engage minds,

我們讓大家使用頭腦，

我們創造終生學習者。

we create lifelong learners.

And these ideals are really important to us as libraries,

這些理想對於我們圖書館而言， 非常重要，

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

因為我們知道圖書館有能力 創造更好的世界。

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

一個彼此更連結、更有參與感、 更有同理心的世界。

Books have power, information has power.

書籍有力量，資訊有力量。

And for the powerless in our communities,

對於我們社區中沒有力量的人，

being able to connect to that is even more important.

能夠建立這樣的連結 對他們是更重要的。

In 1995, Betty Hart and Todd Risley

在 1995 年， 貝蒂·哈特和陶德·萊斯利

published a study that found that working class families

發表了一個研究， 他們發現勞動階級的家庭

and those being served by welfare

以及靠救濟生活的家庭

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

會經歷我們現在稱之為 「三千萬個字詞的差距」。

Essentially, what they learned is that children in these families

基本上，他們的發現是， 這些家庭中的孩子

are hearing so many fewer words each day

每天聽到的字詞數 比其他小孩少很多，

that by the time they are three years old,

以致於在他們三歲的時候，

there's this enormous disparity in their learned language.

他們所學到的語言 已經有一個很大的差距。

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

這個字詞的差距 跟著他們一起到入學，

and it results in later reading, poorer reading skills,

造成他們較晚學會閱讀， 閱讀能力也比較差，

a lack of success overall.

整體的表現都不好。

Children need to hear words every day

孩子每天都需要聽到字詞，

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

而且他們需要聽到的 不只是我們日常的對話，

they have to hear rare words:

他們也得聽到罕見的字詞：

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

那些我們常用的詞彙以外的字詞， 大約有一萬個。

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

我接下來要朗讀給各位聽的， 是一本童書中的片段，

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

作者是艾瑞·卡爾，兒童閱覽室中 最受喜愛的作者之一。

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

在座有些人可能知道 他的作品《好餓的毛毛蟲》。

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

但以下這段是取自 《樹懶說：慢慢地、慢慢地、慢慢地》。

"Finally, the sloth replied,

「終於，樹懶回應了：

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

『的確，我很慢、 很安靜，且無趣。

I am lackadaisical,

我很懶散，

I dawdle and I dillydally.

我慢吞吞，很會磨蹭拖延。

我也處變不驚、 慢悠悠、堅忍不拔、

I am also unflappable, languid, stoic,

impassive, sluggish, lethargic,

冷淡木然、沒有活力、無精打采、

placid, calm, mellow,

平和、冷靜、老練、

laid-back and, well, slothful!

十分悠閒，而且跟樹懶一樣懶散！

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

我很放鬆且安寧， 我喜歡和平的生活。

But I am not lazy.'

但我並不懶惰。』

Then the sloth yawned and said,

接著，樹懶打了個呵欠，說：

'That's just how I am.

『我就是這樣的。

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

我喜歡慢慢地、慢慢地、 慢慢地做每一件事。』」

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

從我們的圖書館中一本書的 簡短範例中，你們可以發現，

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

艾瑞·卡爾用了二十個不同的字詞 來把同樣的概念傳遞給孩子。

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

我們知道很多 造訪我們圖書館的家庭，

a lot of our friends, are struggling financially.

很多我們的朋友， 在經濟上都有困難。

We know that some of them are living in poverty,

我們知道當中 有些人的生活很貧困，

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

他們沒有足夠的食物， 或沒有安全的住處。

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

我們的朋友詹姆士 會在放學後過來，

and is staying at a local shelter,

他住在當地的庇護所，

他的閱讀程度 沒達到同年級的水平。

isn't reading at grade level

and has probably never read at grade level.

他很可能永遠不會達到 同年級的水平。

We know we have that 30 million word gap

我們知道我們的孩子 到了三年級時，

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

會有那個三千萬個字詞的差距， 以及相對應的程度差距。

both of which directly correlate to income level.

這兩種差距都和收入水平 有直接的相關性。

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

所以，在對應這些差距方面， 圖書館有什麼責任？

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

我們要如何協助我們的朋友， 讓他們更成功、受到更多教育，

and some day, better global citizens?

而且有一天能成為 更好的全球公民呢？

It starts with ensuring free and equitable access

首先，在提供給他們的東西方面，

to everything libraries offer them.

圖書館要確保在取用上 是免費且平等的。

Books level the playing field

書籍能讓小孩閱讀能力的賽場 成為公平，

by exposing children of every socioeconomic background to words.

它們能讓各種社會和經濟 背景的孩子都接觸到字詞。

At the library, we provide programs

在圖書館裡，我們提供的方案

that are based on the five tenants of early literacy:

是依據早期識字的五項原則：

playing, singing, talking, reading and writing.

玩樂、唱歌、談話、閱讀、書寫。

We offer programs for adults

我們提供的成人方案，

on computer classes and job-skills training.

有電腦課程和工作技能訓練。

Business start-ups.

新創公司。

We do all of this great work for our community members

我們做這些都是為了社區成員，

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

但同時，我們向老顧客 收取罰金和費用。

Today in La Crosse,

現今，在拉·克羅斯圖書館，

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

我們有一萬名使用者， 因為罰金和費用的因素

because of fines and fees.

無法借出圖書館裡的物品。

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

如果我們縮小範圍， 來看最貧困的鄰里，

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

在這些鄰里中，有 82% 的學生 被視為在經濟上是弱勢，

the number rises to 23 percent of the neighborhood.

這些鄰里中有高達 23% 的人無法借閱。

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

這些是地方性的數據， 但全國的狀況亦是如此。

In libraries across the country that charge fines,

在全國各地有罰金 制度的圖書館中，

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

最貧困的鄰里，被限制無法 借閱者的比例都是最高的。

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

事實上，科羅拉多州立 圖書館很擔心這件事，

they published a white paper

於是發行了一本白皮書，

and they stated unequivocally

明確聲稱

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

對罰金的恐懼 讓貧窮家庭不願到圖書館。

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

去年，我的一位同事在亞特蘭大 搭乘 Lyft（叫車公司），

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

他開始和司機聊圖書館， 就像我們這樣。

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

她告訴他，她成長過程都會去 當地的圖書館，且她很愛去。

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

但現在她是三個孩子的媽媽了，

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

她絕對不會給他們借書卡，

because of the strict deadlines libraries impose.

原因就是圖書館實施的 嚴格還書期限。

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

她說：「那會像是另一張 我付不起的信用卡。」

Meanwhile, when other libraries have experimented with eliminating fines,

同時，有其他的圖書館 在測試將罰金免除，

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

比如聖·拉菲爾的圖書館 就撤消了對孩子的罰金，

they had a 126-percent increase in child card applications

在前幾個月，兒童借書卡的申請率

within the first few months.

就增加了 126%。

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

當大家不再害怕會被罰款，

they line up to access what we have to offer.

他們就會來排隊使用 我們提供的資源。

So what are we telling people, then?

那麼，我們要告訴大家什麼？

We have these two disparate ideas.

我們有兩個完全不同的點子。

On the one hand, we're champions of democracy

一方面，我們是民主的擁護者，

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

我們宣稱我們的目的是

讓每一位公民都能夠自我教育。

We're advocates for the power early literacy has

我們提倡早期識字的力量，

to reduce that achievement gap and eliminate the word gap.

來協助減少程度的差距， 消除字詞的差距。

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

我們告訴大家： 「我們是來協助你們的。」

On the other hand,

另一方面，

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

如果你在財務上有困難， 然後你犯了個錯，

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

這間房間中每個人 都有可能會犯的那種錯——

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

你把一袋圖書館借來的書 在你家的後門旁邊，

for a couple of weeks longer than it should,

不小心多放了幾週超過期限，

you lose a CD,

或是你弄丟了一張 CD，

you spill your coffee on a book,

把咖啡灑在書上，

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

突然間，我們就 不再那麼支持你了，

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

因為如果發生這些事， 我們就會要你付錢。

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

如果你付不出來， 你的好運就沒了。

I have been a librarian for a lot of years.

我當了很多年的圖書館館員。

And in the past few years,

在過去幾年，

I myself have paid over 500 dollars in late fines.

我自己就支付過至少 五百美元的逾期罰金。

Now, you might wonder why,

你們可能會納悶為什麼，畢竟，

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

我天天在圖書館， 肯定知道制度怎麼運作。

But like all of our friends at the library,

但就像我們在圖書館的 所有朋友一樣，

I am busy, I lose track of things,

我很忙碌，有時會忘東忘西，

my house is sometimes messy,

我的房子有時很亂，

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

我也曾經有一、兩張 DVD 掉到沙發下面。

And I have been fortunate enough to be able to pay

我很幸運，過去幾年還付得出

that 500 dollars over the last several years.

五百美元的罰金。

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

雖然不開心， 但至少我還付得起。

So is that fair and equitable service

所以，這種服務是公平公正的嗎？

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

如果我們有些人可以付得起罰金，

就可以像以前一樣繼續使用圖書館。

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

有些人是在犯了一個錯之後 就不再被歡迎了？

It's simply not.

這並不公平。

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

為什麼我們還用這種

傷害我們最脆弱的 老顧客的模式繼續運作？

our most vulnerable patrons the most?

There are reasons.

那是有理由的。

There are reasons like responsibility.

這些理由包括責任感。

There are some libraries that really feel

有些圖書館真的覺得

that it's our job to teach people responsibility.

我們的工作是要教導 大家要有責任感。

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

他們還沒有想到 其他可以不用錢

而同樣可以達到 這個目的的方法。

that don't equate to dollars.

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

也有一種想法是：我們在 一個社區中共享集體的資源，

and so we have to take turns.

所以我們得要輪流。

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

如果我佔有電影《彩虹小馬》太久，

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

還有其他人想看，那就不公平。

And then, there's the money.

接著，還有錢的問題。

Community members often love their libraries,

社區成員通常很愛他們的圖書館，

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

他們不希望我們無法維持 目前提供的服務。

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

幸運的是，我們有很多 不同的方式可以處理這些事，

without scaring away our most vulnerable populations.

而不用把我們最脆弱的客群給嚇跑。

Some libraries have gone to a Netflix model.

有些圖書館採用了網飛的模式。

You might be familiar with this:

你們可能對此很熟悉：

you check things out,

你把東西借出去，

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

你用完之後就把它們歸還。

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

如果你不歸還，就不能再借，

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

但一旦歸還了， 什麼都能寬恕，沒問題。

You can check out again.

你就能再借。

Others continue to charge fines,

其他圖書館持續收取罰金，

but they want to offer alternatives to their library patrons,

但他們對老顧客提供替代方案，

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

他們可以用食物代替罰金， 你可以帶罐裝商品來，

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

或是在某些需要朗讀的場合 用朗讀來支付罰金。

There's even another library in Wisconsin

在威斯康辛，還有一間圖書館

that offers scratch-off tickets at their counter,

會在櫃台處提供刮刮券，

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

你可以去刮，然後抵掉 當時罰金的 10% 或 20%。

And there are amnesty days.

還有大赦日。

One day a year, you bring back your late materials

每年有一天，你可以把 逾期的借出物都帶回來，

and all is forgiven.

全部罰款都一筆勾銷。

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

在舊金山有一間圖書館， 去年就實施了大赦日，

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

他們歡迎了五千名 被停權的使用者回來。

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

在那天，他們收回了 超過七十萬件逾期未還的物品。

Among them was one book that was 100 years overdue.

其中有一本書已經逾期了一百年。

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

我們都知道這聽起來很扯， 但根據我的經驗，我知道

that people will stay away from the library

大家會選擇遠離圖書館

rather than face the authority of the librarian

而不是去面對圖書館館員的權威，

when they have late items.

如果他們逾期未還的物品。

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

如麥可剛剛提到，我已經 當了十五年的圖書館館員，

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

而我媽媽有數十年 沒去圖書館，

because when she was young, she lost a book.

因為在她年輕時， 她弄丟了一本書。

So, these are great baby steps.

這些向前邁進的小步都很棒。

But they don't go far enough,

但它們無法進一步解決問題，

because they make people jump through hoops.

因為它們實在太繁瑣。

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

大家得要在對的日子、 對的時間過來。

They might have to have extra food to share.

他們得要有 額外的食物能分享。

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

若要靠朗讀來抵罰金， 他們就得要有讀寫能力。

If we want people to use the library again,

如果我們希望大家 再度使用圖書館，

we should just get rid of fines altogether.

我們應該就直接取消罰金制。

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

你們可能會想，我忘了金錢面，

where we need to finance libraries, right?

圖書館也需要資金，對吧？

But there's a couple of things to consider

但當我們思考在圖書館的預算中

when we think about how fines function in library budgets.

罰金是如何運作時， 有幾個點需要考量。

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

第一，罰金從來就不是 穩定的利潤來源。

They've always fluctuated,

罰金一直都會波動，

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

事實上，過去幾十年間， 罰金持續在下降。

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

特別是在蕭條的時期， 大家償付的能力也受影響。

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

目前，我們圖書館的那一萬名 被停權的朋友當中，

that aren't able to use it,

有很多人可能永遠無法 償付罰金給我們。

they might never be able to pay us.

When we talk about eliminating their fines,

當我們在談免除他們的罰金時，

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

我們損失的金錢還沒有 損失的金錢概念來得多。

And thirdly, you might be surprised to know

第三，你們可能會很驚訝，

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

全國平均來說，

罰金大約佔圖書館 營運預算的 1.5%。

of a library's operating budget.

Now that can still be a lot of money.

那可能還是不少錢。

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

如果是大型圖書館 或是大型圖書館體系，

the dollar amount can be high.

金額可能會很高。

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

但若要刪減掉它， 大部分圖書館都能夠吸收。

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

最後，也可能是最重要的一點，

我們還得花錢去收罰金。

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

如果你開始把我們所有 收罰金的方法都納入考量，

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

我們得要發送郵件 來提醒受罰者要繳罰金，

services, like collections management services,

其他要花錢的還有服務， 比如收款管理服務，

even telephone and email notifications can cost libraries money.

甚至電話和電子郵件通知 都可能要圖書館花錢。

And staff time is a huge cost for libraries.

員工的時間是 圖書館很龐大的成本。

So that our frontline staff is standing there,

所以我們的前線人員站在那裡，

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

跟大家談他們的罰金， 有時是跟大家爭論他們的罰金。

When we eliminate all of those pieces,

如果我們把這些都除去，

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

如果我們取消罰金， 我們可能還能幫圖書館省錢。

Or at the very least,

或，至少，

we would be able to reallocate our staff time

我們可以把員工的時間重新分配，

to pursuits that better fit those missions we talked about.

讓他們做的事能更符合 我們所談的使命。

The other thing I want everybody to come away understanding

我希望大家離開這裡時， 也能了解到一件事，

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

罰金實際上並沒有發揮 我們認為有的那些功能。

The debate about fines --

關於罰金的辯論——

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

我們是否該實施罰金， 應該罰多少錢，都不是新議題。

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

我們已經談了近一百年。

As long as that book was overdue.

只要書會逾期。

Study after study has shown that the reason libraries fine

一篇又一篇的研究指出， 圖書館訂罰金的理由

is because of strongly held beliefs

是因為它們堅定地相信

about the effectiveness of getting materials back on time

這樣能有效地讓出借的 物品被準時歸還，

backed by no evidence.

但沒有證據支持。

Basically, we fine because we've always fined.

基本上，我們實施罰金 是因為過去都這樣做。

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

所以，你的圖書館最好的選擇， 是把使命放在第一。

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

如果它們的社區成員要求 它們這麼做，它們會做的。

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

我希望各位離開後能去造訪你們的 公立圖書館，和圖書館員談談，

and talk to your librarians,

talk to your neighbors and community members

和那些在圖書館董事會服務的 鄰居以及社區成員談談。

who serve on library boards.

Tell them that you know how important literacy is

告訴他們，你知道讀寫能力對於

to everyone in your community.

你社區中的每個人是多麼重要。

That if our libraries are truly for everyone,

告訴他們，如果圖書館 真正為每個人服務，

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

他們得要取消罰金制度， 並擁抱他們的整個社區。

Thank you.

謝謝。

(Applause)

（掌聲）