What You’re Missing If You’re Not Using Your Local Library

You may be surprised by what your public library has to offer — all for free!

EveryLibrary
EveryLibrary
4 min readApr 19, 2024

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While the vast majority of Americans have access to a public library, many people don’t use theirs. In a digital age where you can get just about anything online, many people don’t see the point in visiting a brick-and-mortar library anymore.

However, people who do this miss out on much more than they realize! Here are five things you might be missing out on if you’re not using your local library.

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1. A Massive Collection of Family-Friendly Books

If you’re a family of bookworms, it goes without saying that your local library is the perfect place for a family outing. All you have to do is find a good book for each family member, curl up in a quiet corner, and enjoy an afternoon of reading.

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2. Librarians Who Can Help You Find What You Need

Of course, if you’re having trouble finding something to read, you can ask your librarian for help! Librarians are great at considering people’s preferences in reading and matching them with specific books so you and your family will always have something engaging to read.

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3. Fun Community Events

Aside from reading, though, libraries often host community events for parents and children alike. Whether it’s movie nights, summer reading programs for both kids and adults, or something else entirely, these events are a great way for you and your family to meet other members of your community and form lasting friendships.

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4. A Chance to Explore New Creative Endeavors

Libraries offer far more than just interesting books and fun events, though. They also provide countless avenues and resources for you and your family to explore your creative sides.

Next time you’re in the library, visit the makerspace! They have a variety of hobby materials, from commonplace things like musical instruments to complex pieces of machinery like 3D printers and laser engravers. There’s a little something for everyone in these fascinating little corners of the library, so any time you spend there will be worthwhile.

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5. Time for Family Bonding

At the end of the day, the most important thing is that time spent at the library is time spent with family. We tend to get so busy and caught up in the everyday rhythm of things that we often forget what’s really important: growing closer with those we care about. No matter what you do at the library, it’s sure to bring you and your family closer together, and that reason alone makes it worth visiting.

If you’d like to learn more about the many ways public libraries serve American families, feel free to visit our site at EveryLibrary today!

Visit www.everylibrary.org to learn more about our work on behalf of libraries.

#librarymarketers: Enjoy this story? Want to use it for your library newsletter, blog, or social media? This article is published under Creative Commons License Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International and is free to edit and use with attribution. Please cite EveryLibrary on medium.com/everylibrary.

This work by EveryLibrary is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0

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EveryLibrary
EveryLibrary

EveryLibrary fights for library funding. Any library budget anywhere should matter to every library everywhere. We are in this together.