Over the weekend, the Boston Herald ran an article about the soaring usage of the state’s public libraries.
Add me as another voice in support of our public libraries.
Clearly, computers have changed our lives. Might not like them, but can’t live without them…which is a problem if you don’t have enough money to even pay for the basics.
In that quiet little building called The Library, there are banks of computers with great internet access just waiting to be used. This is an important safety net.
I know several people who are now employed just because they were able to email job applications to potential employers through their library. I also know that I had to wait over an hour a couple of times to use the library computers – demand is getting higher every day.
Step into your public library on any given day and you will see how many of our elders are in there. Who doesn’t know a senior citizen who goes to the library, sometimes every day, to meet with friends or perhaps enjoy the newspaper or a book in a safe and friendly environment? For older citizens living on limited budgets, it’s either the Senior Center or the Library.
And don’t forget our kids. After-school services are great, if you have access to them. Funny how most after-school programs are no longer available when you need them most – in middle school. Although it is seldom mentioned, it is important to note that many of our middle school students use our libraries as a refuge after school: our libraries are taking up the slack created by the underfunding of afterschool programs.
Libraries offer our school children and teens a place to do research and work on school assignments. Some libraries even offer private tutor rooms and quiet rooms.
Studies have shown that a key indicator of how well our children will do in school is directly related to how many books they have in their homes, which is related to how much people in the house actually sit down and read.
Current data shows that it is now unusual to go into a house and see books. If we are going to get our children to learn to love to read, then this is a serious problem.
While it is understandable that when money is in short supply people will not spend it on buying books, it is important to remember that books are still critically important and the library is the only other place to get them.
As economic times get tougher and difficult budgetary decisions must be considered, I hope that people will rally in support of our public libraries. Continued cuts to our public libraries will impact:
Vibrant public libraries are important to the strength and health and wisdom of our communities. Let’s encourage our legislative leaders to stop under-funding our public libraries. We need our libraries to continue to provide high quality services for the residents of the Commonwealth.
Susana Segat
President
SEIU Local 888
In Norton
When the state that has a history of libraries, and invented the public library, starts to lose libraries and library services, it saddens me. Even in the age of Wikipedia, Google, Amazon, and all the other online information resources, the public library still has a critical role to play.
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p>Luckily, Medfield’s library retains strong community support and usage. While neighboring towns have cut back, or nearly eliminated, their libraries we continue to rank among the busiest libraries in the state for town’s our size.
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p>We ATTRACT people to Medfield center. This is often overlooked by towns and libraries, their role in the economy of the town. Libraries attract people who turn into customers for surrounding businesses. Foot traffic is vital for downtown development, we provide it.
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p>We live in the information age and libraries will remain the place where we collect, collate, catalog, and circulate information in all forms. In a world of continuing life-long education it is the library that is the key resource for the educated workforce.
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p>As a public space we a focus of community engagement libraries are a place where people mingle, read, browse the internet, access information, borrow videos and music, etc.
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p>It is a town’s living room.
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p>Thanks for the boost for libraries. Let’s hope this state can provide the help town’s need to keep the doors open and the lights on.
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If you want to find out about the people in any given community, take a look at how they support their community library…it will tell you all you need to know about their community priorities.
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p>You read in the news about the many tons and cities who chose to cut funds, staff, hours or even close their libraries…the fiscally prudent thing to do to balance a budget…short term gain, long term mistake…when you cut the library, you cut the essence of your community.
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p>Look at Middleton…fastest growing town in Essex County…their century old library was in critical disrepair…and too small for the community’s size…easy solution: close it. Let residents got to Danvers Library or Borders or Barnes & Noble in Peabody…but, that’s not what happened. They put it to the people on the ballot who voted to appropriate the money to rehabilitate and expand the building…because their library is important to what kind of community they want tp live in…the rehab. money unfortunately only covered the building, not the furniture, shelving, computers, etc needed to reopen the building…so the community stepped up again and raised $600,000 in private donations to cover those costs…the NEW and IMPROVED MIDDLETON LIBRARY opens in November…and a whole community can take pride in their communal accomplishment.
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p>Hats off to the residents of Middleton. They get it.