As the planet relies more and more on the digital world, libraries are losing importance. A place where someone can find almost any book they want, can be accessed within a few minutes on their phone. However, libraries are much more than just a place to hold books. Libraries are a center of knowledge, and they still are deeply rooted into society.
While a book can give facts, it can’t teach them. That’s what a library is for, to be a space filled with many levels of information along with librarians eager to help someone out. A book on its own just isn’t the same.
To start, there is just a different feeling when holding an actual book, rather than just staring at a phone for hours. It increases one’s focus by reducing the need to constantly deal with notifications. Even the smell of books can bring comfort to people, and that’s ultimately the main purpose of books, to bring comfort.
Libraries also manage to keep up with the times in order to stay as useful as they can to the public. Now, almost every building has a computer lab that can be used for free, allowing people to solve issues that some physical books cannot. This includes our own Palatine Public Library where anyone can borrow copies of movies and even video games to enjoy for a limited time. It even has a 3D printer for personal projects that its members can use. This way, libraries can cover almost all problems one could have, whether they need technology or not.
However, the main issue with libraries is the availability. There’s always a chance that a book is unavailable, and instead, people just browse online. So, while the main point of libraries is to hold books, many have turned to online versions of them. All that’s needed to use one is to make an account, just like how one would check out a book, without even leaving their seat. Additionally, some days libraries have very short opening hours, while the internet is available 24/7. Convenience is very popular in today’s world, and going all the way out to a library doesn’t fit into that system. However, all those online websites and apps just don’t have the soul that a physical library has.
“Libraries don’t just provide free access to books and other cultural materials, they also offer things like companionship for older adults, de facto childcare for busy parents, language instruction for immigrants and welcoming public spaces for the poor, the homeless and young people,” Sociologist Eric Klinenberg says.
For people who don’t have anywhere else to go, libraries turn into a sanctuary for them, one full of kind people willing to help. There’s not many other places that would let anyone in just like that. In addition, online libraries also usually require some sort of subscription to be used, which many people cannot afford. Public libraries always have their basic services as free, as long as some form of ID is provided. People struggling to make ends meet can rely on the library for comfort through hard times.
To conclude, libraries are still very relevant in the modern world because of all the access to resources they provide for people who can’t usually get them. Providing this while keeping up with technology by inducing things such as computer labs allows libraries to be connected to both the past and the present.
