They say it takes a community to raise children. Well, we say it’s better to raise children in a community that maintains its own library. Libraries are rooms that fill our children’s minds with wonder, curiosity, and knowledge. It is a place for self-discovery and self-learning. Aside from these, there are more than enough benefits of having a community library in your neighborhood. Here’s a list we made:
Libraries are places where people come to know themselves and their communities.
Robert Putnam says that the library connects people. He noted how new moms can connect with each other after meeting at the baby’s bedtime story section or how kids who want to know if aliens really exist meet other kids who have the same interests. He is convinced that libraries are great places to start new relationships and rekindle acquaintance.
Libraries help build political awareness.
Libraries have an important role in shaping the political values of the community they serve. Community libraries provide a venue for children to know how governments work; how democracy has shaped the United States; and how other countries are oppressed without their freedom of speech. Community libraries can help provide a sense of justice to its readers with enough books to cover this topic. It is a space that help citizens learn how to become advocates for themselves and their communities.
Libraries provide an alternative venue for learning for their differently-abled patrons.
Community libraries has facilities that can cater to everyone who needs information, whether they are blind, deaf, or mute; there is a space and ample materials for them to explore. This means that libraries can build the capacities of these people because sometimes browsing through Google can be tougher than a five-minute walk to the library for these people.
Libraries help local artists grow and grants them a learned audience.
Libraries are like museums. They encourage creativity and has a crowd of learned audience who has appreciation for various forms of art. With the materials in the library, artists can breathe in new inspiration and breath out new art. It is also a place of opportunities for children and adults, where they can participate in arts programs ranging from the simplest form of crafts to fine arts.
