Recently, Forbes published an article suggesting libraries should be replaced by Amazon. As a librarian I find a lot wrong with that idea. More importantly, the article signifies that the author doesn’t understand what libraries do.
Simply put, libraries make connections.
Libraries make connections for the members of our community in four basic areas: Information needs, Literacy, Culture & Cultural Conversations, and Community.
Our information needs connection encompasses everything from crossword help to providing a robust nonfiction collection for lifelong learners. We also provide free internet services, which are used for job searches, at-home businesses, research, and more.
When we make literacy connections, we do so by providing and recommending books, teaching early literacy skills to the toddlers and preschoolers in our storytimes, offering online resources for basic adult education, and partnering with our Friends of the Library group for English language tutoring.
Culture and cultural conversation connections come through offering cultural classes and events like Robert Lewis’ Cherokee storytelling. We also make these connections by providing bestselling books and movies for checkout. Having access to the internet helps our community stay abreast of the latest meme craze as well.
Finally, we make community connections by offering classes and events where our community can gather. We house information our community needs. (Want to read the charter language that we’ll vote on in August? We’ve got it.) And through our internet services, we enable those without internet the ability to connect to a larger, world community.
Libraries do a lot. And we’re far more than just a service for books.