Florida’s Public Library Deficiency
Public libraries are incredibly valuable. In addition to offering free books, they also offer technology and other services like homework help and study spaces. Many of these commodities may be found elsewhere, but they cost money. Even though people utilize these services daily, the general public frequently overlooks them until they are in dire need of them. For many people, the pandemic recently brought these demands to the forefront. According to Georgia Public Broadcasting, “At the beginning of the pandemic, schools transitioned into virtual instruction, and most public institutions were physically closed. Many families did not have technological resources such as wifi access — Libraries served in unprecedented capacities. Many libraries provided free supplies, book bundles, curbside assistance, and wifi access.” Libraries not only offered these services to families, but they also offered a calm setting. A peaceful workspace during the pandemic was uncommon for many families. Public libraries provide the solitude and professional environment that many people require to be productive.
You may anticipate that Florida, the third-most populous state in the US, would excel at offering public libraries to its residents. You would anticipate a higher abundance of public libraries than most states for people to use whenever necessary, given the size of the state’s population. You would be incorrect, though. Florida is shown on the map containing a light pink color, indicating a smaller number of public libraries. For example, Florida contains 81 public libraries for its 21.2 million citizens. This means that per 1000 citizens, there are 0.004 libraries in Florida. Florida does not provide its residents with an adequate number of public libraries. On the other hand, New York has 756 public libraries despite having a smaller population of 8.4 million, meaning that per 1000 citizens there are 0.09 public libraries, a greater than 2000% difference when compared to Florida. Compared to Florida, many other states with relatively small populations contain a significantly higher number of public libraries.
13.3% of the population of Florida was living below the poverty line in 2020. Adults who are below the poverty line have free access to job training in public libraries, claims GPB.
There is a multitude of ways in which we would benefit as a state from adding more public libraries. Not only would we be servicing the public by giving people a variety of services for free that some are in need of, but public libraries can also be beneficial economically. According to Poverty and Public Library Usage in Iowa “First, there is a negative correlation between library usage and poverty, associating higher library usage with lower poverty. Second, there is a subtle positive correlation between library usage and median household income, associating higher library usage with higher median household income.” In addition, Florida’s biggest counties made an average of 52,837,958 through public libraries in 2019–2020. As a State, it benefits from these public libraries, so why not implement more of them? It supports the government and Floridians.
In order to support Florida’s local communities, we must build more public libraries. This will aid children and adults who don’t have access to the internet and books to excel and have equal opportunities in gaining knowledge and intelligence.
