Libraries are awesome and you should go sometime
Do you think libraries are still important? I do. I have loved them ever since I was a little kid walking out of the orange- and white-painted facade of the Dimond Library, carrying a stack of books that must have been taller than I was. In the years that have passed since then, I have moved on to reading on PDFs and ebooks. But libraries still hold a special place in my heart. They are a truly safe space that anyone can enter, and even in this modern world of computers and Tik Tok, you should still take time out of your week to visit and support your local library.
Some people claim that with the rise of the digital age libraries are becoming obsolete, that people just don’t read anymore, and that the space libraries use would be more useful for something else, like a parking garage or yet another department store that plays hollow 2000s pop songs and sells cheap replicas of fashion brands. Libraries have adapted to our new screen-focused society. They have apps full of ebooks that you can borrow (for free! at almost any time!) and websites with catalogs that let you put books on hold from anywhere. And if you don’t like reading, libraries have movies on DVD you can check out (which is useful when you want to watch a movie that isn’t on any streaming service), and audiobooks that you can listen to. They are also one of the few places where you can get WiFi and access to the internet for free.
In addition to all that, reading is still a valuable skill, at least until some tech bro invents a way to text directly to your brain. And libraries support everyone from babies to adults with learning. According to Journal of Community Health, “public libraries enhance children’s reading skills, social skills, and literacy development, all of which can have lifelong impact on health.” Libraries do all this by hosting sing-alongs, story times, and craft projects for tiny kids to learn how to read. They run summer reading programs to help elementary school kids with their reading comprehension during the summer. They hold book clubs and English conversation groups to help adults with their reading comprehension.
Libraries aren’t just a place to get free books and other media, they also offer all sorts of fun non-reading (I still think reading is a fun activity) activities for everyone. The things you can get from a library range from power tools such as drills and jack hammers to children’s toys like rattles and those slider games (you know the one with the wires and the wooden bead that you always see at the doctor or the dentist), to snacks, to seeds. I’d like to see you try and download some goldfish off the internet, or a drill for that matter. Libraries also offer community activity groups such as D&D clubs, bracelet making, book clubs, and video game clubs. They offer helpful services such as tax help and legal help. I encourage you to check the See & Do tab on the Oakland Public Library’s website and see what they have to offer.
Libraries don’t just offer books, although books are great. Having a library in an area is good for the community. It is a safe place that everyone has access to, and they have bathrooms that anyone can use at any time (assuming the library is open). Libraries are a place where as long as you are quiet, you can stay all day. And last and possibly most important, libraries provide free books for people who don’t have the money to buy them (the books, not the libraries).
Although, according to a press release from Oakland Public Library’s website, the main branch of the Oakland Library will be closed until early November 2024, you should check out your local library, read some books, check out some movies, and generally see what they have to offer.
Philbin, Morgan M., et al. “Public Libraries: A Community-Level Resource to Advance Population Health.” Journal of Community
Health, vol. 44, no. 1, 11 July 2018, pp. 192–199, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6329675/
Oakland Public Library. http://oaklandlibrary.org/. Accessed 17 April 2024.
“Oakland Public Library Main Branch to Close Temporarily for Infrastructure Upgrades.” Oakland Public Library, 16 Apr. 2024.
oaklandlibrary.org/news/oakland-public-library-main-branch-to-close-temporarily-for-infrastructureupgrades. Accessed 1 May 2024.
