I just watched the video of the librarians behind Awful Library Books appearing on Jimmy Kimmel and thought it was great, but I have to say that I cringed when Kimmel seemed surprised (joke or not) that libraries still exist when we have the almighty Internet to help us.
Let’s face it, there are a lot of people out there who haven’t used or even thought about using their local public library since they were in high school. Naturally, there are also a lot of people who don’t think their community should invest in building a new library or even improving the one they have. Jamie Larue touches on this issue in his recent blog entry, “Seven Arguments for Building New Libraries.” Each of his points is important, but a few stand out to me:
Argument #3 – Library buildings are a bridge over the digital divide. Libraries are about access, and our record of allowing digitally disadvantaged people – poor, young, elderly, etc. – to use public technology to bootstrap themselves out of technological ghettos is real.
Argument #4 – The Internet encourages, not replaces, library use. Every time we add more Internet terminals, the use of everything else goes UP – more books checked out, more browsing, more magazines read, more reference questions, more program attendance. There’s a lot of data about this (see the Library Research Service).
Argument #6 – Library buildings manifest and reinforce a statement of community values. The library is a tangible sign of a community’s commitment to individual inquiry, a safety net for the young and old, a secular sanctuary for people who need public space either for public contact or for private pondering. I remember pondering this comment from a member of the Greatest Generation: “In my day, we lived in modest homes, but built significant public monuments. These days, we live in palaces, and build government buildings out of split-face concrete.”
For me, it says a lot about a community if people care about their library and invest time, energy, and resources into it. I love hearing about new library building projects and seeing a community gain a sense of pride from their new library.
Anyway, I recommend checking out Jamie Larue’s full blog entry. It’s definitely worth reading.