David Rothman

[Commentary] Here’s a not-so-modest proposal for the 400 richest Americans (together worth over $2-trillion, or more than the entire bottom half of our population).

Work toward a national digital library endowment to modernize Andrew Carnegie’s vision of giving the brightest the tools to rise to the top.

Carnegie asked cities and towns to pay for the upkeep and other continuing needs of the libraries he financed, but today’s America is different. Local governments have cut back. A permanent revenue stream from a national endowment could at least help libraries cope with continuing costs ranging from e-books to salaries.

Civic-minded billionaires could get the endowment rolling with a goal of $10-billion to $20-billion for the first five years. The endowment could also help local libraries start Kickstarter-style campaigns through which local donors could send money to their favorite local library projects. The money raised would be crucial to improving school and public libraries -- and the reading and math skills of America’s students. Much of the money could go to hire and train librarians, family literacy workers, and others, especially in the very poorest areas. The endowment could also help pay to narrow the digital divide.

Imagine the chance to upgrade Wi-Fi in libraries and other places where the poor and middle class -- and, yes, library lovers among the well-to-do -- want to read and maybe even connect in person. The extra money for content to feed wireless devices made available for use would be a godsend for libraries, affording them more bargaining power with publishers, who would also win through an expanded library market.

[Rothman runs LibraryCity, a site that advocates spreading digital libraries]