As a child, Elizabeth Zott had no formal education, and yet she was able to self-educate, thanks to her library card. With the advent of technology, the library almost seems outdated, though many would argue that the library is more important than ever. Do you think libraries are important? If so, why?
Absolutely. Just because the majority can afford phones, tablets and computers, doesn’t mean that everyone can. The pandemic was a great illuminator for that disparity. I think the library is an undeniable gift to any community.
Libraries are crucial places to communities! They provide so many more services than just a place to find a book. I live in a small town (~7000 residents) and our library offers programs for the youngest to the oldest; art exhibits; book clubs; and lots more along with access to computers and internet. They provide space for tutoring and other small (and large) groups to meet. Plus, they are known as safe spaces. People in trouble can get help from a librarian!
Libraries offer so much more than books to borrow. Our local libraries provide community resources, special programs and classes for all ages. Presenting job offerings is a huge function of our local library. Also, I was able to use our library as a meeting place to help children.
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I agree with the other responses saying libraries are great community resources! There are so many supports and activities that libraries offer, beyond sharing books. While technology can also be a great resource, I don’t think it will ever replace libraries.
So important! As the others who responded said, they are the source of so much in a community but to me, they provide information for anyone who wants it and any book banning destroys the breadth of information needed in a democracy. The way the funds for libraries was just slashed shows the fear autocrats have of knowledge and information. Libraries do so much more than entertain, provide opportunities to socialize etc- they allow us to learn and make up our own minds instead of only what some other people what us to know.
I agree with Mary S. I also live in a small rural town of about 7,500. Our Library is a center of our community. Besides the obvious lending of books and videos, it is a meeting place for community groups, a theater and concert venue, a teen center, and leader in the local fight against book banning. It has classes for all ages for different interests and kids clubs for computer literacy, Legos, and chess. The Story Hour Players have been performing for generations in the Children’s Theater.
Libraries are very important. They provide many important resources often for free or a very minimal fee.
My local library (the only one in our county of 23,000 people) is amazing. In addition to the many offerings already cited in earlier responses, our library continually offers different free programs for all ages each month such as a tots morning book read, an evening Paws for Reading with elementary school age children reading to a dog to craft classes for children, adolescents, adults or senior citizens and chess class one afternoon a week for high school students. They offer book totes (with 8 books and a study guide) for book groups and put together educational packs with age appropriate resources for parents home schooling children. It was a beautiful sunny Saturday afternoon yesterday, but in the half hour that I was there, I saw several families (mom and dad along with 2-3 children), stop in to return and pick out more books. Last, how can you not love a library for all the money it saves us. I am always amazed when I look at my checkout receipt by the amount of $$$ saved per visit and annually.
It feels likely that everyone reading this book (and belonging to this community in the first place) is going to agree that libraries have a major place in society. I would argue that they’re actually vital not just for people who don’t have access to the things libraries offer but to everyone in general, because we need more third spaces in the world, places where we can go without having to spend money.
The advent of technology has made libraries more important than ever. The touch of my keyboard brings my local library right into my living room. I can search the card catalog for a book, put a hold on it, and pick it up when I’m notified that it is available. I can take on-line courses in a wide variety of subjects, most of them free of cost. I can check out movies, cookbooks, magazines, reference material, all at no cost. Our local librarians are firmly against the new trend in banned books and make sure that those books are available to patrons. The staff helps with research into any subject a patron might want to investigate and can usually point to areas that might not have been considered. In this age of the onslaught of social media, the library offers resources to combat the inaccuracies that are often perpetuated online. Yes, libraries are still important to society. They may be our last line of defense against big brother.