This is not a plea begging you to go visit your local library. I haven’t visited mine as much as I should because I’m in the middle of a long book right now. I’ve been reading a lot of headlines about more cuts being proposed for libraries who are already all but bled dry from funding. I could keep talking about the negatives, which would make this like any other article you read on the internet these days, or, I could but a positive slant on it. What exactly does the average person get out of having a library around? Let’s talk benefits!
When you walk into a library, you get free access to…
- Friendly people who will help you research any topic you want or find your next read.
- Up to date information on any topic. (New books cost money)
- You have a say in what goes into the library’s collection. They’re always open to new suggestions.
- Wifi (Not everyone can afford their own connection).
- E-books (It’s not all about the hard covers these days.)
- You can sample that album you’ve always wanted to listen to.
- Free movie rentals (You can’t do that anywhere else anymore).
- Access to government documents, databases, journal and magazine articles that you would otherwise have to pay for.
- Special programs which allow for making new friends and social interaction while learning a new skill.
- Help learning how to use that new device.
- If you can’t find it from the collection, the library will borrow the requested item from another library and make sure you get to use it within a reasonable amount of time.
This is by no means an exhaustive list. You could come up with more benefits if you wanted to.
Libraries are freedom for everyone, nothing is off limits, no matter what your walk of life. For the unemployed it means access to job searching through the internet without having to spend any money on a connection. this opens up the ability to go to an interview and become employed, meaning he now has money to spend and further stimulate the economy. Everyone wins in this instance For the lonely, they can have the opportunity to make new friends. Libraries allow everyone to reach their full potential and be informed about whatever topic they are interested in. The corporate potential for success because of the existence of libraries can not be quantitatively measured by a mere glance but I can tell you very briefly what will happen if the cuts continue.
De-fund libraries….de-fund freedom…de-fund potential…de-fund success.
Is this the world we want? I could be wrong but I don’t believe so. Cutting government funding to such a valued and useful institution would not be a good idea. People can’t improve anything if they don’t have access to information anymore.