By Mark Bialczak
LPL Communications Specialist
Liverpool Public Library Board of Trustees Vice President Donald MacLaughlin sent along a note recently pointing out a significant feature story on the National Endowment for the Humanities website titled “The Complicated Role of the Modern Public Library.”
Below that, in smaller type, an editor typed a very big statement.
“Something for everyone.”
Yes. Yes, indeed. As we settle in at the corner of Tulip and Second streets in the Village of Liverpool with a new look and improved services that came after a transformation that carefully considered our strategic plan and the voices in this community, it’s a good and proper time to reflect about how important the public library has been, is, and will be all across this country.
Writes Jennifer Howard in her article:
“One place … remains open to everybody. The public library requires nothing of its visitors: no purchases, no membership fees, no dress code. You can stay all day, and you don’t have to buy anything. You don’t need money or a library card to access a multitude of on-site resources that includes books, e-books and magazines, job-hunting assistance, computer stations, free Wi-Fi, and much more. And the library will never share or sell your personal data.
“In a country riven by racial, ethnic, political, and socioeconomic divides, libraries still welcome everyone.”
Howard reports how Eric Klinenberg, a New York University-based sociologist, investigated the branches of the New York City Library for his latest book “Palaces for the People: How Social Infrastructure Can Help Fight Inequality, Polarization, and the Decline of Civic Life.” That book title, she points out, was borrowed from Andrew Carnegie, the Gilded-Age philanthropist who funded 3,000 public libraries.
Klinenberg wrote in an op-ed piece for the New York Times: “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 of busy parents, language instruction for immigrants and welcoming public spaces for the poor, the homeless and young people.”
So, yes, we are celebrating out transformation.
We know it will help us accomplish our significant mission together, every day.
You can find Howard’s article at this link: neh.gov/article/complicated-role-modern-public-library.
