Libraries still play vital role

This is National Library Week, but some might question the necessity of the occasion. After all, they say, traditional brick-and-mortar libraries are becoming increasingly irrelevant. The advent of the Internet, the heavy use of Google and similar services, and the ready availability of traditional and digital material from Kindle, Amazon and innumerable other sites, they add, are signs that the library is no longer vital to community life. Fortunately, such talk about the demise of libraries is wrong.

There is, in fact, considerable evidence to support arguments to the contrary. Many public libraries attract more patrons than ever. People of all ages flock to them. Individuals of all ages -- especially the poor, the elderly and those in rural areas -- come to the library because it often is the only place they can get online and connect to the digital world. That's hardly a surprise. About a third of Americans still do not have broadband access at home.

Access to the Internet is not the only attraction of public libraries. There's still a huge demand for its traditional offerings and services. Late last week, for instance, several patrons waited patiently in line at the Public Library in downtown Chattanooga to check out a variety of items. They represented a cross-section of the community.

One gentleman in business attire was there to check out a travel book. He'd already searched on-line, he said, for travel tips and the website had recommended the book in his hand for further reading. Another patron was preparing to check out several DVDs for the upcoming holiday weekend.

There were a couple of kids in line, too, standing almost patiently with a parent to check out books. It was obvious from their animated conversation that a trip to the library was still a special experience. That line, in microcosm, is proof that libraries are still vital.

Sadly, some communities around the nation are unable to provide full library services. Several have either closed libraries or significantly reduced services. The budgets of others have become embroiled in the political process. In those instances, the value of libraries and the services they provide quickly are overshadowed by unnecessarily diverting jurisdictional and financial issues. That's certainly been the case here in the recent past. It is time to move beyond such diversions.

Libraries still play a pivotal role in community life. They, as they have done in the past, help people to learn and to grow in a manner that allows them to participate more fully in a continually evolving and increasingly complex society. Even if National Library Week does nothing more than remind us of that fact, it is a worthwhile observance.

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